The refuges

To provide mountaineers with a little more comfort, refuges gradually replaced the early bivouacs and shelters. Thus, the Tuckett refuge, built in 1886, superseded the rock shelter still visible nearby. It was replaced in 1948 by the Refuge du Glacier Blanc and later converted into a museum. The existing Refuge des Écrins, standing at the top of the glacier, was built in 1968. It replaced the Refuge Caron which had been built in 1922, itself replacing an initial 1903 Caron shelter.