The Malaval summit (on the right) and the rocks of the Rand Traversier (on the left) constitute, with the rocks of la Peyrouse and the ones of the Playnet, the central part of the long crest of the east of the Vercors massif, boarding the high plateaux. The Malaval summit is one of the higher summit of the massif, behind the Grand Veymond, with an altitude of 2 097m, its base is called the "purgatory" because of the steep slope that it represents sometimes and of the large amount of lapies that, when there's snow, as it was the case there, are covered by the snow and become a true trape for the wandering hikers who did lost the hike path, which is already very common during the summer and which become even more common during the winter. The "Purgatory" is also the place where the rescues services act the most because of wounded people and of the lost and tired hiker who lost their way.

This side is the most welcomeful of the crest, the other side is absolutely magnificent but not very passable for hikers: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe.....ercors_001.jpg