While the refuges reopen in the Alps for the summer season, that of La Pilatte (Isère) will remain closed.
Perched at an altitude of 2,577 meters, in the Ecrins massif, the building is a collateral victim of global warming.
“The refuge sits on a rocky base that was once supported by the La Pilatte glacier below.
But when it melted, the latter lost 100 meters of thickness and its role as a buttress, causing the mountain to decompress, ”describes Nicolas Raynaud, the president of the Federation of French Alpine Clubs (FFCAM), owner of the walls.
An old crack got bigger
“This manifests itself very concretely by a crack, which we have been monitoring for 15 years,” he adds.
Significant movements have recently been detected and the crack is now 4 cm wide.
The refuge is therefore being cut in two at the level of the dining room and the daylight passes through the roof where the water rushes in.
Beyond the building, a whole section of the moraine threatens to collapse.
This closure until further notice is a hard blow for the La Bérarde guides office, because the La Pilatte hut is a welcome stop after a 3h30 approach walk, before setting off on the glaciers the next day.
Read alsoMountain: a summer in the Ecrins
“It's a big loss,” regrets Jean-Marc Vengeon, co-president of the office. “The glaciers around this refuge are magnificent. It is one of the main destinations from La Bérarde, that is to say a third of our races. We will have to adapt, make bivouacs in tents, harsher. Attendance will inevitably drop, with less initiation to mountaineering. In the meantime, the keeper who should have reopened the La Pilatte hut could take over the Carrelet hut, 600 meters lower.
