Refuge de Presset

The Refuge de Presset is a mountain hut of the Club Alpin Français and is located at 2514 m in the Beaufortain mountains above La Côte-d'Aime in the municipality of Aime-la-Plagne, directly above the Lac de Presset with a view of the Pierra Menta. The hut belongs to the Chambéry section and is an important base on the GRP Tour du Beaufortain, close to the GR5 and for ski crossings around Col du Bresson, Col du Grand Fond and Mont Rosset. It is generally manned in summer from around the beginning of June to the end of September; there is also a winter service from mid-January to the end of March, with a winter room available outside these times. The kitchen offers a communal menu with homemade, mainly organic and regional dishes in the evening; at lunchtime there is a small menu and cakes, snacks and drinks during the day. Breakfast is included as standard and packed lunches can be ordered in advance, which are suitable for longer stages and overtravel. In summer, access is usually from the Treicol, Chapelle Saint-Guérin or Cormet de Roselend parking lots. From Treicol (around 1700 m) it is around 4.5 km with around 800 meters of ascent in around 2.5 hours, from Chapelle Saint-Guérin (just under 1600 m) around 6.5 km and 920 meters of ascent in around 3 hours, from Cormet de Roselend (1968 m) around 7.6 km with around 800 meters of ascent in around 2.5 hours. In winter, the most common ascent is a ski tour from the Les Pars parking lot above Aime with a climb of around 1100 meters. The best time to visit is snow-free summer for hikes and multi-day tours and late winter for ski and splitboard tours. Peaks such as Pierra Menta, Pointe de Presset, Aiguille de la Nova, Aiguille du Grand Fond or Roignais and stages of the Tour du Beaufortain and GR5 are accessible from the Refuge. As everywhere in the Alps, you should check current conditions, possible closures, avalanche reports and the weather forecast before every tour. The first hut was built in 1966 and extended in 1972; the modern new building was constructed in 2012-2013 and now offers more comfort with a deliberately limited capacity of 30 beds.