Refuge de La Pilatte

Rooms

The Refuge de la Pilatte consisted of a main building and a winter room below. According to the official infrastructure overview, the main hut area offered 92 sleeping places in eight simple multi-bed dormitories when the hut was open. When the hut was not in use, there was a winter room with 28 sleeping places in a large dormitory. The hut belonged to the Club Alpin Français (FFCAM), managed by the Comité départemental Isère. It was equipped with mattress dormitories and blankets, washrooms, indoor toilets, showers, heated lounges, a small self-catering area, Wi-Fi and an infrastructure that partly took into account guests with reduced mobility; according to the official information, dogs were allowed in certain areas. However, since a decision by the municipality of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans in connection with ground movements caused by glacier retreat, the entire building, including the winter room, has been closed. Reservations are no longer possible, there is no emergency room and the plateau around the hut may not be entered; overnight stays must therefore be shifted entirely to other bases in the Écrins massif.

Food and drink

As long as the hut was managed, the team offered simple catering and hot meals for mountaineers and high-altitude tourers, but remained clearly focused on functionality and early tour starts.

Sleeping beds

Address

Refuge de La Pilatte
38520 Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Directions

The classic ascent began in the hamlet of La Bérarde at the end of the road through the Vénéon valley. From there, a well-maintained mountain path leads into the valley towards Refuge du Carrelet and on into the high valley below the Pilatte glacier. After crossing to the left side of the valley, the path climbs more steeply and reaches the former Refuge de la Pilatte at 2,577 m after around 9.7 km, around 860 meters in altitude and around 3 hours 15 minutes of walking. In winter and when there is a lot of snow, the ascent is partly from Champhorent (approx. 1,584 m), which takes around 5 hours and almost 1,000 meters in altitude. However, due to the municipal closure order, access to the platform of the building is now prohibited; tours can only be planned past the hut without entering the structure.

Parking

In summer, climbers generally used the large final parking lot in La Bérarde at the end of the D530 departmental road, just a few minutes' walk from the starting point of the ascent. In snowy periods or when the road was closed, people often parked in the hamlet of Champhorent and continued their ascent from there via the valley path. Following the severe floods of 2024 and subsequent safety work, the location and capacity of parking spaces and the accessibility of the road to the upper Vénéon valley may vary; current information from the municipality of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans and the Parc national des Écrins should therefore be checked before setting off.

Coordinates