Snowy Summer Hike Above Snake Lake | Vallée de la Clarée Series Part 3

Welcome back, dear friends of Provisualstock! This is the third part of our exciting series, “Exploring Vallée de la Clarée,” where we continue our journey in the beautiful Hautes-Alpes of France.
In this episode, we continue our hike presented in the previous two episodes, above the picturesque Snake Lake (Lac du Serpent), climbing to an altitude above 2500 meters. Despite it being summer, we were greeted by a snowy landscape, creating stunning and unique views. A few years ago, during the same period, we experienced completely different weather conditions with no snow, allowing us to reach the Pic du Lac Blanc just below 3000 meters. This time, the snow prevented us from reaching the summit, but the breathtaking scenery and the distant views of the highest peaks of the Ecrins Massif made the hike truly memorable.
Join us as we navigate through this unexpected snowy terrain and marvel at the majestic landscapes. Don’t forget to check out the previous episodes where we explored the road to Refuge Ricou, then hiked from Refuge Ricou to Laramon Lake, and afterward to the Snake Lake.
Stay tuned for the next part of our adventure where we’ll explore even more hidden gems of this stunning region.
Thank you for watching and see you next week for the next part of our exploration of Vallée de la Clarée!

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00:00-01:40 – Intro
01:41-22:09 – Climbing from Snake Lake to the snowy plateau
22:10-49:43 – The snowy plateau and Lacs des Gardioles
49:44-50:10 -End screens
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Hello, dear friends of Provisualstock! This video presents the final part of our first hike in Vallée de la Clarée in the Hautes Alpes of France. I remind you that we started at Refuge Ricou, ascended to Lake Laramon, and then continued to Snake Lake at 2448m. We are here just above the lake, trying to reach the highest part of the hike. From there, we eventually intend to reach Pic du Lac Blanc at 2980m. We reached this peak a few years ago around the same time of year during a hike that took us to a refuge in Italy. As we get closer to the highest part, the wind becomes stronger and louder. However, the weather is better than in the previous part of the hike. If you remember the last two films, you know how crowded the sky was. In this part, the footpath is quite vague, lost in the rocky environment. However, the general direction is very clear, and you can keep to it easily. Here, we find a very rich torrent, which can indicate a significant amount of melting snow above us, despite it being the height of summer. The sky is clearer now compared to when we were at a lower elevation. If you’ve watched the previous two videos, you might recall the stunning views of the Ecrins Massif, which prompted us to turn around frequently. This is one of the final views from this ascent of the hike. Vallée de la Clarée is a stunning hiking area in the Alps, situated on the border between France and Italy. While we are currently in France, the rocks directly ahead of us are located in Italy. It appears that snow is quite prevalent here. Let’s see how long we can navigate without crossing a completely snow-covered section. From our previous hike, we recall encountering a small patch of snow amidst green surroundings. This time around, I’m unsure of what we’ll encounter, but I anticipate surprises along the way. So now we can clearly see the origin of these torrents. Here we still find flowers… And here is the snow…. It seems we need to cross this patch of snow. There are a lot of footprints here, indicating that many people have passed this way. Hopefully, it’s safe and we won’t encounter any unexpected risks. We aren’t specially equipped for challenging snow and ice tracks. Wish me luck! Back on solid ground! And here we encounter a lot of snow. This is not exactly what we expected to find, but this kind of landscape looks very nice. Wow! We are here at about 2700-2800m, in an amazing landscape of snow, rocks, and sky. It is simply breathtaking! This is like another world… Just you and nature with no other distractions! Let me know in the comments how do you perceive this kind of situation. If you want to see these landscapes in a warmer setting from our previous hike here, please visit my gallery "The Alps" on my website www.provisualstock.com. The direct link is in the card above and in the description of this video. I remind you that all the images from my website can be presented as fine art gallery quality prints with authenticity certificate. Because the quantity of snow is significant and there’s a delicate portion of the track near Pic du Lac Blanc, we decided to stay below the peak and admire the fantastic views we discovered. In a few minutes, we’ll explore some new lakes, so keep watching! And there, partially covered in ice, is one of the five Lakes Gardioles. These lakes, located between 2600-2700m altitude, are the last stop before reaching the Col and Pic du Lac Blanc at 2980m. The presence of such a significant amount of snow makes the trail very difficult, but at the same time, the view is breathtaking! I’ll let you enjoy this amazing view for a while! When it’s fully summer, there are five lakes (Lacs des Gardioles) here. Now, due to the snow, we can only see a part of the largest one. Pic du Lac Blanc is right there in front of us. And here is probably the best view of the highest peaks from the Ecrins Massif on this hike: On the right, you can see Barre des Écrins (4101m), the highest peak in the Ecrins Massif. In the center is Mont Pelvoux (3946m) and Glacier Blanc. The end of this fantastic hike is approaching. Thank you for watching until the end. If you enjoyed it, please leave a comment and don’t forget to subscribe or join my channel to support its development. Until next time, take care and keep exploring!