From the highest point, at 1634 metres, the panorama is splendid over the glacial valley of Le Fossat. But also the volcanic Cantal mountains, the Sancy massif and, with a bit of luck, Mont Blanc.
In the course of its travels, it tore an enormous quantity of boulders and earth from the walls. After the climate warmed up around 10,000 years ago, the glacier melted, leaving a shallow lake in its place.
The lake was gradually filled in by the deposits of a torrent. Today, you can still see traces of the glacier’s passage. Here, rocky materials called glacial moraines; there, isolated boulders.”
“On the Forez mountains several centuries ago, you wouldn’t have discovered a vast expanse of grass. But an almost continuous forest cover. That all changed when Man, the true craftsman of the landscape, gradually cleared the peaks. This created pastures: the estives.
In the summer months, women herded cows through these pastures. They made the incomparable Fourme d’Ambert cheese in the jasseries, the small farms you can see in the distance.
Today, cows still go up to the mountain pastures under the supervision of cooperatives and shepherds.
“All along this itinerary, you’ll walk between the Puy-de-Dôme and the Loire.”
870x489 Pachade Bpratdebouc S Favat 775x650 1“Imagine that a glacier about 150 metres thick and 5 km long once occupied the Fossat valley.”
