A "permanent" closure.
In Isère, the Pilatte refuge, located at an altitude of 2.577 m in the Ecrins massif, was forced to close its doors for security reasons.
According to the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs (FFCAM), global warming is destabilizing the rocky base on which the refuge, opened in 1954 and which served as a base camp for many mountaineering races, is built.
It had already been closed since the summer of 2021 due to the accelerated melting of the Pilatte glacier, causing a "paraglacial phenomenon" which caused the appearance of major cracks at the level of the refuge.
These cracks had been monitored annually by experts since the 1990s.
Geological monitoring measures carried out in parallel around the building all showed a “new and brutal acceleration” in the spring of 2021, “resulting in a weakening of the structure of the refuge”, explains the Federation in a press release on its website.
Loss of 50 m thickness
The glacier, which played the role of buttress of the granite base, has "lost nearly 50 m in thickness since the beginning of the 1990s", notes the FFCAM.
“The state of natural disaster is recognized, and the insurance expertise is underway.
Geological studies have been carried out for a year to understand the phenomena at stake, to assess the stability of the bedrock and its impact on the safety of practitioners, ”underlines the federation.
A temporary solution near the refuge will be put in place this year to allow guides to accompany groups on the races around the refuge, she continues.
The future of the building, made up of the part built in 1954 and another built in 1994, "is very uncertain", she warns.
