Rencontres Jeunes en refuges: five years of action

The Rencontres Jeunes en refuges took place on October 9, 2020 at the Musée Dauphinois in Grenoble. Numerous Alpine players working to develop educational stays in refuges took stock of the actions undertaken over the last five years, and sketched out the way forward.

All agreed that a coordinated effort has made it possible to overcome the regulatory, technical and cultural obstacles to revitalizing youth stays in Alpine refuges: access for minors, publication of a practical guide for stay organizers, raising awareness among teachers, leaders, educators and refuge wardens, etc.

“Today, the results are in, with more and more young people every year enjoying a great mountain experience, including overnight stays in mountain huts,” say the organizers (Educ’Alpes, Syndicat national des gardiens de refuge and Labex ITTEM). The importance of schemes such as “Destinations refuges” (Hautes-Alpes), “Jeunes en montagne” (Grenoble) and “Plan Montagne” (Savoie) were also highlighted.

Philippe Bourdeau (Pacte) reported on the work carried out as part of the Refuges Sentinelles(RefLab) program, providing an overall view of hut occupancy, notably through user surveys.

Find out more about Jeunes en refuges on the Educ’alpes website.