Ski tourers will be happy, the RD 530 road from St Christophe en Oisans has reopened for the spring season although poor weather has prevented helicopters from supplying refuges.
The road accesses la Berade at 1730 meters. An entry point to the western Ecrins for ski tourers, walkers and mountaineers. The road is crossed by a number of avalanche paths. However with High avalanche risk above 2300 meters this weekend it is unlikely that many winter sports enthusiasts will be attempting the trip. Five refuges are accessible from la Berade: le Châtelleret, le Promontoire, le Carrelet, leTemple-Écrins, and the Refuge de la Pilatte
The guardians of those refuges had planned to bring supplies to the car park at le Berade by road. They would then be heliported to the refuges. However due to low cloud the operation has been postponed to Wednesday 3 April at the earliest. Nathalie Meignan the guardian of the Promontoire reports that 60cm of fresh snow fell on Friday coupled with winds of 60km/h.