The destabilisation of the Pilatte hut (2577 m a.s.l. - Ecrins massif, France), a paraglacial process?

Abstract : The Pilatte hut is located at 2572 m a.s.l. at Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans (south of the Ecrins Massif, France), ata 3-hours-walk from La Bérarde hamlet. Its capacity is 120 beds for hikers and climbers who are engaged in theascent of Les Bans (3669 m a.s.l.).Built on a rocky ledge on the right side of the Pilatte Glacier (A = 2.64 km2; L = 2.6 km), it currently dominatesthe glacier by about 150 m. This relief results from the retreat of the glacier since the end of the Little Ice Age, asthe till around the hut was deposited during this stage. The glacier has lost about 1.8 km in length during the sameperiod.A first wooden hut was built in 1925 and presently serves as a winter refuge. In 1954, the growth of mountainactivities led to the construction of a larger hut made of cemented stones. An extension to the west made ofreinforced concrete was built in 1994. But in the late 1980s, severe damages to the 1954 part of the building werealready recognized: vertical cracks lining the north and south facades, ,subsidence (c. 10 cm downstream) of theground floor, cracked interior walls.