The refuge, opened in 1954 and which served as a base camp for many mountaineering races, had already been closed since the summer of 2021 due to the accelerated melting of the Pilatte glacier.
The Pilatte refuge, located at an altitude of 2577 m in the Ecrins massif in Isère, closesdefinitively“For security reasons, global warming destabilizing the rocky base on which it is built, according to the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs (FFCAM).
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The refuge, opened in 1954 and which served as a base camp for many mountaineering races, had already been closed since the summer of 2021 due to the accelerated melting of the Pilatte glacier, causing a “paraglacial phenomenonwhich caused major cracks to appear in the shelter. These cracks had been monitored annually by experts since the 1990s.
“Weakening of the structure of refuge”
Simultaneous geological follow-up measurements around the building all showed a “new and brutal acceleration“in the spring of 2021, “leading to weakening of the structure of the refuge“Explains the Federation in a press release on its website. The glacier, which played the role of buttress of the granite base, “lost nearly 50 meters in thickness since the early 1990s“, notes the FFCAM.
“The state of natural disaster is recognized, and the insurance expertise is in progress. Geological studies have been carried out for a year to understand the phenomena involved, assess the stability of the bedrock and its impact on the safety of practitioners.“, underlines the federation.
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A temporary solution near the refuge will be put in place this year to allow guides to accompany groups on the races around the refuge, she continues. The future of the building, made up of the part built in 1954 and another built in 1994, “is very uncertain“, she warns.
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