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Walking route to the refuge The Chemin de la Liberté |
Alt. 2246 - 2 hour walk to the summit of Mont Valier
Capacity : 70 beds - Tel (33) 05 61 96 76 22
refuge-estagnous@club-internet.fr
During June, July, August & Sept. please reserve by phone as there is not internet connection at the refuge - English spoken
 The refuge undergoing renovation in 1976 HISTORY OF THE REFUGE Constructed in 1912 by the Touring Club de France (TCF) on the initiative of a St Girons touring group, this mountain refuge was used in those days by mountaineers making the ascension to the top of the Mont Valier and by isard hunters. During WWII it sheltered refugees, downed allied pilots and Frenchmen fleeing the nazis as they attempted to cross into Spain via the "Chemin de la Liberté". It suffered considerable damage as exhausted climbers pulled up anything wooden to burn for heat. In the years to follow the refuge was abandoned, ransacked and threatened to fall to ruins until the tourist office of St Girons decided to restore it, the TCF ceeding its rights to the shelter in 1976. Thanks to the remarkable volonteer efforts of a team of mountaineers from St Girons the structure was open to the public in 1978 as a guarded refuge. In 1996 the tourist office ceeded the refuge to the Community of Communes of Castillon, which financed its enlargement and renovation, completed in November 1999. The original structure was entirely renovated to house the kitchens and dining room, with a new extension for the dormitory and bathrooms. The refurbished refuge was inaugurated in July 2000.
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SARL les Estagnous
Pedescaut
09700 Saverdun
 Two wardens are on site continually between 1 June and 30 September, weekends by reservation during May and October. A reservation is essential in July and August, recommended other times.
Capacity : 70 domitory beds (20 beds available for self-catering in winter) + 30 in tents (10 3-pers. tents for hire)
Rates : THE REFUGE IS FULLY BOOKED FOR THE NIGHT OF 14 JULY 2007 Highlights (click on the photo to start slideshow) :
12 July 2008 - Chemin de la Liberté walk (every year around July 14) REFUGE FULL Via Ferrata and alpinism - night in the refuge + meals. Groups organised upon request. Contact the refuge (by phone in July-August) or the Bureau des Guides Ariégeois at 05 61 01 90 62 or infos@guides-ariege.com "Festivalier" : Evenings of storytelling, music and folk arts each Friday during July and August |
