Who?

Noé, buyer at AlpinStore

Activity?



Self-sufficient hiking

Where?


Vercors massif

How long?

4 days, from Sunday, February 4 to Wednesday, February 7

Goals?

Cross the Vercors via the GR91 with perhaps some detours and discover a bit more about winter bivouacking!

Context: I took my vacation in mid-December for early February hoping to have quite difficult and snowy conditions in the Vercors. The idea was to disconnect a bit from the outside world for a short while.

I slept in a bivy for 3 nights (For those who don't know what a bivy is, it's simply a waterproof sleeping bag cover that allows you to sleep under the stars even in uncertain conditions without risking losing your sleeping bag), it didn't drop below -5/-6°C at night and I carried 6 days of food to test an organization that would allow me to be completely self-sufficient regardless of the weather conditions. My pack weighed about 22kgs with everything necessary for optimal adaptation to my environment.

Starting with absolutely summery weather, bright sun, no clouds, and almost no humidity, I crossed the Vercors massif, particularly its High Plateaus from Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte to Die in the Drôme. This represents about 83km for 3700m of ascent and 4583m of descent, with Die being much lower than Saint-Nizier! I also ascended the highest point, Grand Veymont at 2341m altitude, which was really satisfying to do, a (very) small taste of what mountaineering is!

Anecdotes?

I had a hard time getting into it during the first 4 kilometers, which was aimed at climbing to the top of Moucherotte so you can imagine that the effort and warming up were at the same time, consequently I didn't tighten my shoes enough the whole first day and mistake! Because a blister formed! (Link to the blog to limit blisters HANWAG) I dragged it until the end but it only hurt me once I got home so I can't complain.

I found myself the last morning with my frozen shoes, I had forgotten to put them under my mattress! Luckily I had loosened them well the day before, I was able to get into them.

And in terms of self-sufficiency, I ended up with the equivalent of a small Zip Lock bag for 4 days of waste, the organization worked well!


Used equipment and preferred brands?

  • A 55L backpack + a 3L front pouch Osprey Archeon (very practical)
  • TSL Highlander snowshoes (which I didn't touch once during this crossing)
  • A Vaude Taurus 2UL tent (which I didn't touch either)
  • The Trilogy MILLET bivy,
  • The Thermarest Parsec -18°C sleeping bag
  • A foam mattress and a solid emergency blanket for sleeping
  • The Sea to Summit Reactor Compact sleeping bag liner (the sleeping bag being more than sufficient for this crossing, I didn't touch it either)
  • A JetBoil stove (a safe bet!)
  • An Esbit thermos
  • A SIGG bottle (very useful!)
  • A CAMP shovel
  • The Leatherman (which I take everywhere)
  • A Black Diamond carabiner
  • Micropur tablets
  • The lightweight waterproof Escape jacket from Vaude
  • A Haglöfs ROC Down Hooded jacket
  • Black Diamond Punisher gloves
  • A t-shirt, a balaclava, and a pair of Icebreaker socks
  • A 125 ¾ Ortovox base layer
  • Falke TK5 socks
  • The Salewa Mtn Trainer Mid GTX
  • Chains and gaiters were also quite essential, as well as small waterproof bags to store my fragile items!

I really love the following brands: Osprey for its super practical backpacks, Thermarest for its sleeping equipment and Jetboil for stoves of course!


What I love most about this type of outing?

Discovering the place where I decided to go, I had only set foot in the Vercors once on a bike and I really appreciated its landscape, but the High Plateaus! Even better, even wilder! I rested and gained experience while walking in front of a magnificent landscape.