Mountain Hut La Pointe Percée - Gramusset

The Refuge de la Pointe Percée - Gramusset is located at 2164 m above Le Grand-Bornand in the Aravis range, at the western foot of the Pointe Percée, the highest peak in the massif. The refuge belongs to the Fédération Française des Clubs Alpins et de Montagne (FFCAM) and the CAF Annecy section and is part of the Bornes-Aravis area. From the terrace, you can look out over the Vallée du Bouchet to the Bargy chain and the Pic du Jalouvre, and the sunsets are a trademark of the hut. It is usually open in winter from January to mid-March and in summer from June to early October, when it is a central base for day visitors and multi-day tours. During the day, the kitchen offers bar and restaurant service with simple, home-made dishes: hot meals such as daily specials, omelettes and pasta at lunchtime, plus soups, cakes and snacks with cold meat and cheese platters at any time. In the evening, there is a standard menu with soup, bread and cheese, a hearty main course - partly vegetarian - and dessert, prepared with fresh, mainly local products such as Savoy cheese (Tomme, Reblochon) and regional sausage specialties. In summer, the shortest ascent is the marked path from the Col des Annes: from the parking lot below the ski slopes, a mountain path leads over the ridge and the Col de l'Oulettaz up to the hut in around 1.5 hours at an altitude of around 445 meters. From the Troncs in the Vallée du Bouchet, the ascent takes around 2.5 hours over alpine pastures and a serpentine path with an altitude difference of around 885 meters. In winter, access is usually from the Troncs or via the Le Grand-Bornand ski area, sometimes using the cable cars and then climbing on skis or snowshoes; depending on the route, it takes around 3 hours and an altitude difference of around 1000 meters. The hut serves as a staging post for the Tournette-Aravis route and as a starting point for ascents of the Pointe Percée and neighboring destinations such as Col des Verts or Pointe de Chombas, in winter especially for ski tours and snowshoe hikes. Before each tour, it is essential to check the current conditions, any closures and the weather and avalanche reports. The first stone building at the site was built in 1899, destroyed by an avalanche in 1914 and rebuilt in 1928. Later extensions followed in 1972, before the complex hut building was extensively renovated by the FFCAM and reopened in 2023 as a modern, environmentally friendly new building with a historic section preserved. Today, the refuge is a base that can be used all year round with a focus on mountain sports, but thanks to the "Refuges en famille" label, it is also explicitly geared towards families with children and young people.