Refuge Temple Ecrins

The Refuge Temple Ecrins is an FFCAM hut at 2410 m in the heart of the Écrins National Park, above the hamlet of La Bérarde in the municipality of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans. The modernized building from the 1940s is located on a grassy slope below the south-western flank of the Barre des Écrins and Pic Coolidge and offers a sweeping view over the Vallon de la Pilatte and the surrounding peaks. The hut is open in the summer season, currently from the beginning of June to mid-September; the months from the end of June to September are particularly suitable for hiking. From the parking lot in La Bérarde or from the current access point at Combe Noire, a marked mountain trail leads up along the Vénéon via the Refuge du Carrelet; depending on the starting point, it takes around 2.5 to 3.5 hours to cover the 700 meters in altitude. The Refuge serves both as the destination of a scenic day hike for sure-footed families and as a base for high-altitude tours to the Pic Coolidge, the Barre des Écrins or crossings such as the Col de la Temple. Due to the damage to the valley road after the events of June 2024, access, closures and driving bans may change - current information, trail conditions and weather should be checked before each tour. The original wooden building from 1927 was destroyed by an avalanche in 1938; the current, half-buried concrete building was built between 1941 and 1947 and was extensively renovated in 2017/18.