3. From Le Casset to Le Lauzet along the Chemin du Roy

11 points of interest

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  Fauna

  Lover of old stones

  The rock sparrow is a sedentary bird. It generally settles in well-exposed, agricultural areas where there are lots of stones, stone terraces, ruins, piles of stones, old buildings. This southern sparrow can be found up to an altitude of 2000 m provided there is an open landscape and many mineral elements. It nests in the hole of a rock, in a wall and sometimes under the roof of a house. It will then mingle with the house sparrow. A sociable bird, it lives in small, dispersed colonies.
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  Fauna

  Whiskered bat

  The whiskered bat is a dark-faced bat. It is quite common in certain mountain regions and is one of the most frequent species after it cousin the common pipistrelle. It likes trees, be they on the banks of a river or in the high altitude forests, but it is also possible to catch sight of them in gardens and villages such as the hamlet of Casset. This small mammal lives on flying insects and thus helps in controlling their numbers. Like all mammals, the female feeds her sole offspring with her milk.  
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  Architecture

  Doors and courtyards

  As you stroll through the streets of Le Casset, some house doors will attract your notice, as they bring together most of the decorative elements of the facades. Made of larch wood, they have been moulded or sculpted with geometric or floral patterns and have a tympanum above them, often with a grating. Behind the door is the courtyard, the shared entrance for people and animals. The way people lived and organised their homes resulted in this single entrance, an area giving access both to the stable and to the living quarters. Between the world inside and outside, the courtyard provided a passageway, insulation, but also storage space.
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  Fauna

  Rock sparrow

  The rock sparrow is here at the north-western limit and highest altitude of its home territory and regularly nests in the area. The species is in decline nationally and is on the endangered ‘red’ list in Rhône-Alpes and is being studied in the PACA region. People sometimes pay little attention to house sparrows since they are so familiar, which is a pity. The rock sparrow is bigger and although its plumage is similar to a female house sparrow’s, its call sets it apart at once: pi-yip or pi-yui or even a chay sound that is similar to a brambling’s!

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  History

  Le Casset

  At the entrance to the valley, Le Casset is a stone shell village surrounded by farming landscapes. Its name comes from the verb 'cassare' ('to break, to shatter' in late Latin), describing a place covered with stones. In fact there are many such villages in this mountain valley carved out by a vast glacier. Le Casset, on the left bank of the Guisane, is sheltered from avalanches beneath the watchful eye of the prestigious summits and glaciers that “move” in a different time scale from our own.

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  Architecture

  Sundials

  As you walk through the village of Lauzet, you will see recently made sundials made in traditional style. Easy to see from the main village streets, they adorn the beautifully restored facades of the old houses.
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  Architecture

  Saint Claude’s church in Le Casset

  With its disproportionately high spire, the Casset church never goes unnoticed. Its four-sided Comtois steeple was modelled on the collegiate church in Briançon. The church is listed as a Historic Monument and is placed under the protection of Saint Claude. In its present condition, it dates from the 18th century. The previous building was constructed prior to the 16th century. Inside, the eye is immediately attracted by the choir ogives, creating an intimate atmosphere, particularly since the unusually large spire does not suggest an interior of such a small size. The choir was rebuilt in 1716-1717, probably after the previous chapel burnt down. Traces from this period can be seen on the keystone. The wrought-iron choir gate has the inscription "HM 1717", a date that can also be seen in the apse, on the wrought iron railing of the impost of the axial window, and on the baptismal font.

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  History

  The Serre Chevalier resort

  At the edge of the Ecrins National Park, the Serre Chevalier ski resort extends over several towns and villages on the right bank of the Guisane, from Monêtier-les-Bains to Briançon. Founded in 1941 with the Chantemerle cable car, it has the biggest ski area in the southern Alps with 61 ski lifts on all levels from an altitude of 1,200 m to 2,830 m to Pic de l'Yret (Le Monêtier-les-Bains). The resort’s logo is an eagle, in reference to Baron Borel du Bez, Briançon’s representative in 1792 at the Legislative Assembly, which ruled France between 1792 and 1795, during the French Revolution. Le Bez is a hamlet in Villeneuve that was united with the Chantemerle ski resort in the 1970s.

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  Water

  La Moulette catchment

  From the snow on the high peaks to the tap, there's just one step: catchment of the water sources. Located over 2,150 metres above sea level at the entrance to the valley of La Moulette, the upper catchment of La Moulette supplies the municipality of Le Monêtier-les-Bains with a proportion of its drinking water. With 164 thousand cubic metres of underground water abstracted every year, this is an important water source for the village. The water is naturally drinkable and meets the quality requirements in force for every parameter measured by health controls.

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  Geology and geography

  Climbing on the left bank of the Guisane

  While the right bank of the Guisane Valley and the high summits of Les Ecrins are a dream for mountain climbers, the Massif des Cerces, with its tall limestone rocks on the left bank, is a paradise for rock climbers. A large number of sites for all levels have been opened here since the 1930s. The Tour Termier opened the way, soon followed by Roche Robert, Roche Colombe and the famous Aiguillette du Lauzet. Multi-pitch climbs, beginners’ sites or via ferrata (the site in Le Lauzet was one of the first in France) - there is something for everyone. In summer, some car parks are packed and you can continually hear the clicking sound of snap hooks!

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  Vernacular heritage

  L'Alpe du Lauzet

  L'Alpe du Lauzet is a mountain village at an altitude of 1,940 m, below the Aiguillette du Lauzet, which reaches 2,717 m, in the region of Monêtier-les-Bains. The village is aligned at mid-slope to avoid the avalanches that regularly fall into the bottom of the valley. The handful of houses were once used as summer pasture homes for the inhabitants of Le Lauzet in the Guisane valley. On the chapel door, a plaque recounts that five people were buried alive by an avalanche during the winter of 1892.