(Stade de Neige de) Vauplane

(Stade de Neige de) Vauplane
	Height	Climbing height - length
	1607m	815m - 14.8 km (Lac de Chaudanne) 757m - 14.6 km (Lac de Castillon) 705m - 18 km (Pont de St-Pierre) 587m - 15.5 km (Saint-Auban)
	Difficulty	Beauty
	3 (5) West; 2-3 (5) East	3-4 (5)
How to get there	The southwest start is by the dam: Lac de Chaudanne (792m) not far from Castellane on route napoleon to/from Nice. This is the longest and hardest approach. The climb from Lac de Castillon (885m) if coming from the northwest is somewhat similar and both roads meet up just before Demandolx. If coming from the northeast (Briançonnet), you start the climb at Pont de St-Pierre (902m) and go up through the nice Clue de Saint-Auban to Saint-Auban (1020m), where you would start if coming from the south. This road is only a little steep above Soleilhas to Col de Saint-Barnabé (1366m), where the roads from both directions meet up to start the last climb up to the ski station, which oddly has no pass name, but it is a quite high pass for the region and of very little value, I can imagine. (Only Montagne de Lachens (1704m) is a higher paved route south of this in the Alps.)
Other comments	The views are great from the pass up north, but you should continue a bit on the grass to get a bit better view than from the end of the road. There is a track going down the other valley, but it actually first climbs the mountain before descending as the the mountain side has been sliding down here. There is also a path on the other side, that also climbs a little before descending. This pass and Col de Saint-Barnabé are quite nice. (The geographical pass is just below at 1597m.)
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