5 days (4 nights): around Mont Thabor starting from Valmeinier

9 km · 4 h 30 · +1,000 m · −500 m · 1800 m → 2230 m

Park your vehicle at La Chenalette car park. Head towards La Losa to climb up towards the Vallons. After Lac de Roche Noire, head for Col des Marches. From the pass, all you have to do is drop down into Vallon de Bissorte overlooking the dam to reach the refuge. Once you get there, all that’s left to do is enjoy an excellent craft beer.

6 km · 5 h · +800 m · −300 m · 2230 m → 2501 m

Before heading off to Refuge du Mont Thabor in the morning, leaving your rucksack at the refuge and take a walk around the lake (1 hr 30). To get to Col des Bataillières, follow the path up Vallon de Bissorte to Lac des Bataillières, where the fish are plentiful. To reach the pass, simply take the path that winds up above the lake. From the refuge to the pass, it takes around 2 hours 45 minutes. It's then a 45-minute walk back down to Refuge du Mont Thabor. Make sure you stop off at the Sainte-Marguerite lakes, above the refuge, to take a little siesta before enjoying some home-made cakes and pastries.

15 km · 7 h · +600 m · −1,700 m · 2501 m → 1780 m

As the heat is so intense on Mont Thabor, you'll need to leave at dawn, walk down for a few minutes to Col de la Vallée Etroite to then take the path up to the summit. From Col des Méandes, the Chemin de Croix (Way of the Cross) leads to the chapel just below the summit. From the summit, you need to retrace your steps to Col des Méandes, before heading down into Vallée Etroite. You'll have another 1 hour 30 minutes of descent before enjoying an Italian speciality in one of the two refuges in Vallée Etroite (Refuge Terzo Alpini or Refuge I Re Magi).

13 km · 6 h · +1,000 m · 1780 m → 2180 m

From the refuges of Vallée Etroite, head up to Pont de la Fonderie. Before the bridge, there is a fork in the road on your left that leads up towards Prat du Plan (when you came down from Thabor the day before, you will have came down this way). At Prat du Plan, take the path leading to Lac du Chardonnet. You will come across the new GR route from the summit of Mont Thabor. On this GR, head for Col des Muandes, 2,828 m. From the pass, continue to Lac des Muandes and Lac Rond, before arriving at Refuge des Drayères.

17 km · 7 h · +500 m · 2180 m → 1800 m

On your last day, all you need to do is climb Seuil des Rochilles and its Lac Rond. After the lake, head towards Col de la Plagnette to return down to the long valley overlooking Valloire. Be careful not to drop down too far so as to be able to pick up the path leading up to Pas des Griffes. From Pas des Griffes, return to the Chenalette car park in Valmeinier, passing beneath Lac Vert.