The Crêt de la Neige: The Top of the Jura Above Geneva
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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Jura Summit
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300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
1 day
The Crêt de la Neige: The Top of the Jura Above Geneva
300 + 100 XP
The Crêt de la Neige is the highest point of the whole Jura at 1,721m, in the Pays de Gex within the Haute Chaîne du Jura national nature reserve and the Haut-Jura regional park. The top is a long rocky escarpment about 650m in length where it is hard to tell which point is the highest, running between the Reculet to the south-west and the Grand Crêt to the north-east.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Climb from the pays de Gex side to the crest on the Thoiry–Lélex boundary, and find the deep creux cut into the mountain that held snow the whole year round before the warming and gave it the name crêt des Creux à la Neige
2
of 4
Walk the 650 m of escarpment south-west towards the Reculet and find the 1907 survey marker at its far end — then work out that it is not the summit: the top of the Jura is a rock measured in 2024 at 1,720.83 m, two metres above that marker and three above the Reculet
3
of 4
Turn the full 360 degrees from the crest and name what is in it: Lake Geneva and the Alps on one side, the Valserine valley and La Dôle on the other, and on a clear day the Vosges and the Black Forest beyond them
4
of 4
You are on the fourth largest national nature reserve in mainland France, 10,800 hectares classified in 1993 — find the summer herds on the alpage, which still covers about 3,447 hectares of it across 53 separate grazing territories
Climb from the pays de Gex side to the crest on the Thoiry–Lélex boundary, and find the deep creux cut into the mountain that held snow the whole year round before the warming and gave it the name crêt des Creux à la Neige
Walk the 650 m of escarpment south-west towards the Reculet and find the 1907 survey marker at its far end — then work out that it is not the summit: the top of the Jura is a rock measured in 2024 at 1,720.83 m, two metres above that marker and three above the Reculet
Turn the full 360 degrees from the crest and name what is in it: Lake Geneva and the Alps on one side, the Valserine valley and La Dôle on the other, and on a clear day the Vosges and the Black Forest beyond them
You are on the fourth largest national nature reserve in mainland France, 10,800 hectares classified in 1993 — find the summer herds on the alpage, which still covers about 3,447 hectares of it across 53 separate grazing territories
Before you go
The crest is a long exposed ridge with no shelter and holds snow late into the spring. Hunting is still permitted on about a tenth of the reserve, so wear something visible in the autumn season and keep to the waymarked paths.
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About Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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