This extended weekend we did three more or less intensive practise runs and hikes to prepare ourselves and test the equipment for this coming Friday’s Ut4M (Ultra Tour des 4 Massifs) race — we will not do the whole 160 on the four mountain ranges (Vercors, Oisans, Belledonne, Chartreuse), but only the first 40 on Vercors. 
Col de Vence
On Saturday we left for an early morning hill run on Chartreuse. We took the trail GR9 via La Bastille (476m) and Mont Jalla (635m) to Col de Vence (782m), and then the paved road back down. That made total of 16 kilometers with climb and descent of 700 meters (the highest point on GR9 was at 900 meters, and we started at 210 meters).
Pic St. Michel
On Sunday we took the middle and the most arduous section of the route we will do in our race on Friday. Starting again early in the morning we drove to Lans-en-Vercors and started the climb from la Sierre (1400m) to Pic St. Michel (1966m). Can you find Tomi in this pic?
The early part of the descent followed a cross country skiing track with decent grade, although we found it quite challenging for skiing (it was marked as moderate). But then the climb started and very soon we found ourselves high up with a great view over the Vercors plateau.
The last section to the summit was a bit tricky with loose gravel and steep grade. We really had to push hard on our new running poles, but still we kept sliding down on each step. The view from the summit was rewarding.
Moucherotte (1901m) above my right shoulder. That’s the peak where we climb first on our Friday race — that’ll be about 1700 meters uphill in about ten kilometers.
From the peak of Pic St. Michel we ran down to Col de l’Arc (1736m) and then for few kilometers (descent about 400 meters) towards St. Paul de Varces trying to follow the race route, but we think we missed some turns. After an hour of running we turned back uphill again, and returned to our starting place on an easier trail.
All the effort was rewarded by a nice lunch at a small restaurant at la Sierre; a salad with local cheese, and a cold beer.
Charmant Som
On public holiday on Monday (Assumption day) we had an easy recovery hike from Col de la Charmette (1261m) to the summit of Charmant Som (1867m), which is the most accessible peak on the Chartreuse range. Again we left Grenoble quite early in the morning and reached the trail well before anyone else.
By the time we reached the trailhead to the summit of Charmant Som the sun was up.
The summit viewed from a distance of two kilometers.
La Pinéa with Belledone and Vercors ranges in the background viewed as we climbed.
A view from the summit over to Grand Som and Monastère de la Grande Chartreuse.
Le Croix of Charmant Som. We saw few launches of paragliders from the summit. 
This guy was waiting for us on our rental car. It lazily hopped away as I tried to take photos of him.