To round off 2021, Annie Rayrat travelled with her family to the Vercors, near Mont Aiguille. Over four days, the group walked with a guide, stayed at the Esparron refuge and looked for signs left by wolves, without spotting any. Here, she recounts this guided New Year’s Eve trip in the Valley of the Wolves, on the doorstep of the Hauts-Plateaux du Vercors Nature Reserve, the largest terrestrial nature reserve in mainland France.
One big family © Annie Rayrat
Four days at the Esparron refuge
We became one big family that New Year’s Eve 2022: two couples, their two children aged 11 and 12, two older sisters from Paris, two women travelling independently from the Rhône-Alpes region, a friend from Belgium and a white-haired grandmother.
There were twelve of us adventurers, all fond of a certain kind of “luxury”, and we found all the comfort we needed at the Esparron refuge, with no hot water or electricity: a former farmhouse at an altitude of 1080 m in the Trièves (38).
Our billion-star hotel & preparations for feasts fit for royalty © Annie Rayrat
We were accompanied by Lionel Laurent, a Grand Angle mountain guide and an expert in resourcefulness, wood-burning stoves, cooking, snowshoeing and good cheer! With him, we set off in search of wolf packs in the south-eastern Vercors. No doubt they picked up our scent, spotted us and followed us..? But they did not even come over to say a little hello! So we took Lionel’s word for it when he told us about the packs' movements, the technique for counting that year’s young wolves, their tracks in the snow and their very distinctive droppings.
The snow did not really make much of an appearance, and our snowshoes sometimes felt heavy in our backpacks, but thankfully we had them for the descents!
Why snowshoes come in handy © Annie Rayrat
Not decided yet? Let us keep in touch.
A route idea, a seasonal tip, a date that opens up: one letter a week, written by the advisors who design the trips.
Your weekly dose of travel inspiration.
What beautiful scenery we saw in the sunshine: the Alps, the Trièves (sorry, I did not remember the names of all the peaks!), and the Vercors, with, of course, the two local giants: Mont Aiguille and Grand Veymont.
The giants of the Vercors © Annie Rayrat
A short visit on the last day to the former monastery, Ermitage Notre-Dame-d’Esparron (how majestic!), left our appetite for wide-open spaces fully satisfied.
Ermitage Notre-Dame-d’Esparron © Annie Rayrat
Our New Year’s Eve celebration was very lively: first, the two youngsters in the group tried to introduce us to a role-playing game… with werewolves, of course! They discovered just how unruly adults can be: they do not listen to anything and do exactly as they please (well, well, isn’t that what teachers complain about?).
Then came the Savoyard fondue, made with the best cheeses from the region… and forfeits whenever a piece of bread fell into the pot!
It was a lovely trip, then, a gastronomic one (I dare use the word!), with a wonderful atmosphere, no grumblers, a few snorers at times, and a gentle pace throughout… What a joy when you love nature, good company and the good things in life!
Thank you, Lionel, and thank you to everyone who came along!
Panoramic view of the Alps from the Hauts Plateaux du Vercors © Annie Rayrat
Planning a winter walk in the Vercors
This account describes a New Year’s Eve trip in 2021–22. If it inspires your own journey, check current routes, guides, accommodation and snow conditions before making plans.
For another perspective on the mountains in winter, read Highlights of the Snow-Covered Vercors.
Text and photo credits © Annie Rayrat
