The Pavé refuge from Villar d’Arène

Leaving from the Arsine parking lot (next to the municipal campsite), the path to the refuge du Pavé first follows the busy path to the Alpe de Villar d'Arène refuge (GR 54). It leaves it at the top of the glacial lock known to locals as "Les voûtes". It then follows the Romanche on its right bank for 2 km to the Plan de l'Alpe, once coveted as a hydroelectric dam. At the Valfourche bridge, which marks the entrance to the heart of the Ecrins National Park, the route switches to the left bank. It leaves the Romanche valley and heads up the Cavales valley, first along the banks of the torrent of the same name to Les Pichettes, which marks the end of the alpine grassland. The valley then becomes entirely mineral. The path follows the crest of the remarkable moraine to below the Col du Clot des Cavales, skirting a system of rocky bars to reach the refuge and Lac du Pavé. The return journey takes the same route. Hard