The Tuckett refuge

Description

A journey in a stone atmosphere at the heart of the valley, giving visitors a better understanding of the glacier landscapes of the Ecrins. The former Tucket refuge was built in 1886 to replace a shelter below a rock that was used by early mountain-climbers and bears witness to the pioneering age of Alpine mountain-climbing in Vallouise in the second half of the 19th century. From the chalet-hotel, head north-east across the footbridges over the Momie torrent and the Noir glacier. The path then rises towards a group of smooth, polished and mottled rocks. The path passes the fork towards the Glacier Noir trail (to the left). - Then take the winding path upwards. Cross the footbridge over the Glacier Blanc torrent and follow the path running along the left bank of the torrent and rising to the old Tuckett refuge. - Take the same way back down to the Pré de Madame Carle car park.

Difficulty

Official rating: easy, by Parc national des Écrins.

Before you go

• Summer route: make sure the access road to Pré de Madame Carle is open and that the footbridges over the torrents have been put back.
• There has been a charge for parking in the Pré de Madame Carle town car park since 2013.

Getting there

Start: Pré de Madame Carle, Pelvoux, Vallouise-Pelvoux (05).

Sources

• Track: Parc national des Écrins, Licence Ouverte 2.0, Licence Ouverte 2.0 (Etalab) (destination.ecrins-parcnational.fr/trek/903976-Le-refuge-Tuckett). Time estimated by GPX Path with the Mac app rule, breaks not included.
• Official elevation gain: 602 m, Parc national des Écrins