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Serviced Hut · Écrins Massif · 2,226 m
Fédération Francaise des Clubs Alpins et de Montagne (FFCAM)

Refuge du Chatelleret

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Outdooractive Editors

Photo: O.Taris, CC BY-SA, https://commons.wikimedia.org

The Refuge du Châtelleret is located in the Vallon des Étançons above La Bérarde in front of the south face of the Meije. The FFCAM hut has been permanently closed since December 2025 due to storm damage.

The Refuge du Châtelleret is located at 2225 m in the Vallon des Étançons in the Écrins massif, in the municipality of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans, a few hours' walk above the hamlet of La Bérarde. The refuge of the French Alpine Club FFCAM belongs to the Comité de l'Isère and is located in the heart of the Parc national des Écrins, with an impressive view of the south face of the Meije and the Râteau. It was normally a popular base for high-altitude tours such as Pic Nord des Cavales or Tête Nord et Sud du Replat as well as for stages of the Haute Route des Écrins and the Tour de la Meije; in spring it was used by ski tourers, in summer mainly by alpinists and mountain hikers, with the ascent from La Bérarde taking around 2 hours and covering around 510 m of altitude. Due to a debris flow disaster in July 2023, the water supply, waste water and energy supply were severely damaged, and the entire building, including the winter room, was closed to the public indefinitely by municipal decree on December 15, 2025. The access path remains accessible in principle as a high mountain trail, but the hut is currently neither manned nor accessible as self-catering accommodation. In previous years of operation, the hut keepers offered basic accommodation in four mattress dormitories with a total of 68 beds and a separate winter room with 18 beds, as well as running water, washrooms, showers, indoor toilets, electricity, some power sockets and even Wi-Fi. As an FFCAM hut, it was particularly interesting for ski tours in spring (March to May, depending on snow conditions) and for hiking and mountaineering from around June to September; dogs were and are strictly prohibited in the national park, and access is also heavily dependent on the current situation of the road into the Vénéon Valley and any closures. If you want to be out and about in the area today, you should therefore inform yourself particularly carefully about trail conditions, road closures, shuttle regulations and the weather and danger situation and only set off when conditions are stable.

Opening times

Permanently closed

Author

Fabio Staiti

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Outdooractive Editors

Rooms

The Refuge du Châtelleret is a classic high mountain hut of the FFCAM with a simple camp standard. In summer, 68 sleeping places were available in four dormitories, supplemented by a separately accessible winter room with 18 places for the time without maintenance. The hut had running water, simple washrooms, showers, indoor toilets and a small, independent "salle hors-sac" for self-catering. When serviced, heating, cooking facilities, crockery and blankets were available, electricity and a few sockets made it possible to charge small electronic devices, and there was even WiFi access and a room that could be used as a lounge or meeting room for groups. Reservations were usually made by phone, email or via the FFCAM's online system, and it was necessary to book at least one day before the tour; for unattended winter operation, a simple flat-rate arrangement with payment afterwards applied. However, since the municipal decision in December 2025, the building, including the winter room, has been completely closed, meaning that no overnight stays, emergency bivouacs or use of the sanitary facilities or recreation room are currently permitted until a decision has been made on renovation and reopening.

Food and drink

In years when the hut was open, the hosts offered simple, mountain cuisine with regional and partly organically produced products from the surroundings of the Écrins massif; currently, however, catering is completely suspended as the hut is closed.

Sleeping beds

Number of beds in dorm

Winter room

General

Year built 1883
family friendly
hiker friendly

Payment options

Cash

Special features

Internet WLAN

Features

Shower

Prices

from €8.00
Most recently (winter season 2024/25 in unattended operation), according to official tourism information, the accommodation rate was €8 per person per night, payable on site via a simple cash register or by cheque to the FFCAM-Comité de l'Isère. However, due to the complete closure in force since December 2025, neither bookings nor current prices are currently available; future rates will only be fixed once the future of the hut has been decided.

Awards

hiker friendly

Address

Refuge du Chatelleret
Lieu-dit La Bérarde
38520 Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Public transport

By train to Grenoble, then by regional bus (e.g. lines 3000 or 3030) to Le Bourg-d'Oisans. From there, in the snow-free season, there are scheduled buses or regional shuttles to the Vénéon Valley as far as La Bérarde or Combe Noire; due to repeated storm damage and temporary closures of the D530, timetables and access often change at short notice, which is why it is essential to obtain up-to-date information on public transport before setting off.

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Refuge du Chatelleret

Directions

The starting point for the normal ascent is La Bérarde in the upper Vénéon valley. From the large parking lot in the village, a marked mountain trail leads over around 6 km and around 510 m of ascent in around 2 hours through the Vallon de Bonnepierre and further into the valley to the pastures above the Torrent des Étançons, where the hut is located. In winter, there are longer access routes, for example from Champhorent, which are only suitable for very experienced ski tourers. Access is exclusively on foot or on skis; there is no road or cable car to the refuge. Due to the current complete closure of the hut, you should only consider the route as a pure mountain tour without the possibility of a stopover or overnight stay and be sure to inform yourself about any official closures, avalanche danger and weather forecasts.

Parking

To reach the Refuge du Châtelleret, climbers usually use the large parking lot at the lower edge of La Bérarde on the Vénéon. In busy periods, we also recommend parking in front of the bridge at the entrance to the village and in other designated areas in the hamlet; from all these parking spaces, you can walk through the small village and continue along the marked mountain path towards Vallon des Étançons.

Coordinates

44.975856, 6.299381

DMS

44°58'33.1"N 6°17'57.8"E

UTM

32T 287060 4983816

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Localization

Parts of this content were machine translated from German.

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