Access to the mountain huts—a note from the Écrins ranger

Home Access to the mountain huts—a note from the Écrins ranger

So, of course, the road to Pré de Mme Carle is closed to cars for an indefinite period, but… up there, it’s still just as beautiful, and conditions for La Roche Faurio, Pointe Louise, or the rock climbing routes remain decent. The caretaker of the Écrins refuge will be at the refuge until September 20, as will some of his colleagues at other refuges.

There are several ways to come see them:

• Walking distance to the Pré de Madame Carle from Ailefroide: 4.8 km, 360 m elevation gain
• Then head to the Glacier Blanc shelter from Pré de Madame Carle via a temporary footbridge that has been set up over the Glacier Noir torrent; it will be replaced early next week, and the next day, hike up to the Écrins shelter

• Finally, hike directly up to the Écrins refuge—it’s a bit long, to be sure, but doable (about 1,600 meters of elevation gain).

Here is the information about the other shelters:

• Pré de Madame Carle Mountain Hut: Closed
• Glacier Blanc Shelter: Open through September 20
• Pelvoux Shelter: unstaffed but open for self-service use
• Sélé Shelter: Open through September 20
• Refuge des Bans: Open through September 21
• Refuge des Écrins: Open through September 20

The weather looks nice for the coming days—come enjoy it!