The Galibier sits right in the way after Valloire. The road first follows the narrow Valloirette valley, then turns bare above Plan Lachat: grass, scree, snow lines, almost no houses left. The final bends to the Col du Galibier are exposed on the mountainside, above 2,600 metres. From the pass, the route drops to the Lautaret, where the view opens towards the Écrins. Then comes the long descent through the Guisane valley: Le Monêtier-les-Bains, Serre Chevalier, and the fortified walls of Briançon.
