According to a study by the Alpes 1 Radio Statio the number of people visiting high mountain areas is decreasing. They compared summer 2009 with 2008 and found that the number of people reserving places in high mountain refuges had dropped 5%. Experts blame poor weather early in the season.

The Glacier Blanc refuge in the Pelvoux recorded 600 fewer nights than normal. The French Alpine Club (CAF) for the Ecrins region confirms that this is part of a long term trend. CAF spokesman Jean-Louis Flandin says that walkers are less interested in long multiday tours and prefer walks that can be completed in a day.

Of course some of this may be down to the poor state of some refuges in France compared to Switzerland and Austria.

davidof - 05 November 2008 03:37 PM

… walkers are less interested in long multiday tours and prefer walks that can be completed in a day.

I think that long-term trend may hold among ski tourers as well. Speaking of the Refuge Glacier Blanc, about three years ago I skied the Dome de Neige des Ecrins as a day-trip from my car parked at the road closure at Ailefroide—I just climbed right past the Refuge [photos]. (actually I would have preferred to sleep in the Refuge Glacier Blanc, but I didn’t have time to get up there in the previous afternoon).

I think part of it is now that better avalanche / snow / weather info has become available—and with easy communication among ski partners by Email and mobile phones—experienced ski tourers get accustomed to making (and changing) plans at the last minute—and not bothering to do big tours unless they know they have excellent conditions. Sometimes that means waiting for the newest avalanche + weather report at 16:00—but by then it might be too late to drive out and ski up to a refuge—so instead we just set our alarms for 4:00 the next morning and drive out in the dark.

It’s not just France. Last spring in Switzerland, Andi and I lodged the night before at the Diavolezza hut, made a pre-dawn start and had a great (and relaxed) day summiting the Piz Bernina (highest peak in the Eastern Alps) and skiing on the Buuch icefall (rarely in condition) [photos]. But on our way down to the train station at Mortaretsch we were overtaken by another skier who had taken the first lift in the morning up to Diavolezza hut, followed our tracks and did the same tour without lodging at the hut. It was a woman visiting from Austria.

Ken

Having “done” time in Alpine huts I must admit nothing excites me less than spending days reading 25 year old copies of Vertical magazine looking out at snow and fog. Well ok, actually going outside and skiing excites me less. I have some mad friends who put every waypoint into their GPS and go out come what may and I guess it is all character building stuff. Okay skiing a narrow couloir in fog is not so bad, but climbing up the valley and getting the wrong couloir is .

You would have been able to ski the Barre des Ecrins this year, the late season snow was that good.

I’ll leave the Barre des Ecrins summit for you to ski. But I’d be glad to go to the Dome de Neige again in good snow and weather.

Instead I took advantage of the big snowpack last spring to go to the Piz Bernina and ski a great route which is rarely in condition.

Then I went to Gran Paradiso and discovered that not everywhere had a big snowpack in early May this year. After parking at Pont very early in the morning, I did lots of hiking on dirt carrying my skis—almost up to Rifugio Vittorio Emanuel. I met a guy who I think was the guardian, and he asked where I’d started, and I told him down in Pont, and nodded his head unsurprised that I was climbing the peak without lodging at his refuge.

It was a perfect calm blue-sky day. But then I gave up a couple hundred vertical meters below the Madonna because I hadn’t bothered to bring crampons or ice axe. I’d just assumed I would ski all the way to the top, but the snow was wind-blasted. It wasn’t that I was consciously trying to climb ultra-light—I had somehow imagined Gran Paradiso as an “easy” ski peak—so I just didn’t think about bringing mountaineering tools. I felt a bit foolish as I saw other people were coming down from the Madonna on their crampons. Then skiing down the snow was pretty bad—another reason to come back another time: for better skiing, as well as reaching the Madonna.

Ken

The Barre is seriously steeped and exposed. Just to ski the dome would be achievement enough. I have a friend who does the Dome from la Berade every spring which sounds like a nice long day out.

Your GP story reminds me of some friends who were touring in Switzerland and were blocked by a ridge of hard snow and ice maybe 50 meters from one of their summits without crampons. The most sensible decided it was a nice spot for a picnic while the other two continued to the summit, he said it was really sketchy and the guy who skied from the top was as white as a ghost when he got back to the picnic spot. The grip had been very marginal on his randonnee skis. Not something for me.

The Ecrins hut always seems overbooked to me, a few less people may be a good thing. Maybe people just have too much work these days.

I actually have figures for the Swiss huts as well, I’ve not analysed them in any way but I did glance at them and read the editorial and I wasn’t struck by any reported decrease. I’ll dig them out sometime and re-read them, although I’m not sure if it was for this year or last. Possibly last, judging by my tax return filling in forms can take a couple of years in some parts of Switzerland.