Home " Gazette " Readings " The Parpaillon saga " Page 23

The Parpaillon saga

Mon Parpaillon - Jean Dejean dit Kikou, CC n° 1403 Limoux - magazine n° 42, 2014

As a member of the Confrérie des Cent Cols, after crossing the two magnificent mule-track passes, the Col Mitja (2367 m) in the Pyrénées-Orientales and the Port d'Aula (2260 m) in the Ariège, there was only one thing missing: the mythical Tunnel du Parpaillon at 2632 m in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

At the age of 75, this dream has finally come true, and I owe it all to our chairman Régis Paraz, who scheduled the outing for Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 August 2013.

Arriving the day before in Guillestre, we cycled to the resort of Risoul where we spent the night.

Départ de Risoul à 8 h 30 le mercredi pour aller franchir le col de Chérine (2270 m), le col de Valbelle (2372 m), le col de Saluces (2444 m), le col Sans Nom (2683 m), le col de Jaffeuil (2503 m) et le col de Vars (2108 m). Au total pour ce mercredi, 7 cols pour 45 kilomètres.

We stopped fifteen kilometres down the road at the village of La Condamine and the Hôtel du Midi, where the owner and her daughter looked after us admirably.

Jeudi 22 août, départ à 8 h 30 après un super petit déjeuner à l’hôtel, à 1300 m d’altitude.

The road to this mythical pass starts right at the foot of the hotel, tarmacked for about eight kilometres, and then the adventure begins on a very difficult track for me. The mountain is so beautiful, and it's a relief to reach the summit at the entrance to the tunnel, which you can see at the last moment, at 2637 m!

After taking a few photos at the entrance, I had a hard time crossing the 520-metre long tunnel - I'd forgotten my headlamp. After 50 metres, I had to get off my bike - I couldn't make out anything and was wading in all directions the whole way.

Photos were also taken at the exit, before heading for the Col de Girabeau (2488 m), two kilometres further down and after two nice little steep sections at 15 %, then continuing down a very dangerous 20 km descent (heavy gravel), rejoining the tarmac road and, after 65 km, reaching Crévoux and Guillestre via the balcony road above the Durance.

Thank you to our President who made my dream of doing the Parpaillon come true.

Also present were my friend Gérard Fillion-Robin, from Grasse, as well as two couples, Christine and Pierre Charnay, and two future members of Les Cent Cols, specialists in snowshoe trekking in the high mountains, Joëlle and René Chautemps.

Thank you all for your support, without you I don't think I could have done it at the age of 75.

I've been a member of the Confrérie des Cent Cols since magazine no. 9 in 1981, so I've been part of the family for 32 years, and after these two days, I've climbed a total of 1957 passes, including 193 at altitudes of over 2,000 metres.
Best regards.

Note de l’auteur : For members of the brotherhood who want to do this hike, I recommend doing the ascent from Barcelonnette and, of course, from the village of La Condamine.
Pour moi la descente de l’autre côté sur Crévoux est trop dangereuse. Et, surtout, si vous voulez tenter l’aventure, n’attendez pas d’avoir mon âge !