Photo : Eusebius / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
glacier de la Girose
The Girose glacier is a glacier of the Écrins massif, on the north slope of the Pic de la Grave, above the Malaval combe. It ranges from about 3,600 metres to a front around 2,800 metres, with summits such as the Dôme de la Lauze (3,559 m). It lies mostly in the commune of La Grave, in the Hautes-Alpes, in the adhesion zone of the Écrins national park.
La Grave, a small resort village at 1,526 metres' altitude, at the foot of the Col du Lautaret, is the starting point of the Meije Glaciers cable cars, in service since 1978, which go up to about 3,200 metres, right in the middle of the glacier. The ice caves of the Col des Ruillans, at 3,211 metres, are a seasonal destination. Part of the La Grave and Les Deux Alpes ski area extends over the glacier, a starting point for mountaineers in summer and a favoured place for off-piste skiing in winter.
