I took a beautiful hike up to the nearby Refuge du Sélé from Ailefroide. A early(ish) start in the cool of the morning through the pine trees, soon gave way to some wild views that felt a world away from the busy campsite where I’d parked.

The old path that’s marked on the map has suffered from some rock fall, but if you carry on up towards the Pelvoux Refuge, a new one has been installed that traverses the hillside. I set myself the goal of getting to the hut before midday, and enjoyed working my body and pacing myself against the ‘recommended’ hiking times that were given.

Although it was still morning, the heat and altitude stopped me every 20 minutes or so for a sip of water. After an hour, I sat down in the shade, having decided that I ought to have a snack in order to keep my energy levels topped up. It wasn’t the freshest pain au choc I’d ever had, but perhaps thanks to the views, or perhaps my ravenous hunger, it tasted fantastic.

Higher up the valley, a flattish area opened up with some huge boulders scattered around a braided river that flowed out from a big waterfall.

To reach the refuge, I’d noticed on the map that there were some very tightly packed contours that needed ascending. Soon enough I was facing a large and rather steep cliff, that somehow had a footpath weaving up it!

As is often the way in the alps, an unlikely, yet perfectly passable path existed thought such wild and exposed terrain. It was protected by a series of metal wires that led the way with some degree of security. To the left, part of the neighbouring glacier has recently detached itself from the slabs of rocks to which it had been held, leaving some big blocks of snow and ice strewn across the screes below.

With the cliff surmounted, I was gifted views of the wide open higher valley, that used to be home to the Sele Glacier. These days, it has retreated back around the corner in the far left of the photo below.

A further ten minutes hike was all that was left before arriving at the Refuge at 11:50. It’s a newly built one, although, if you want a hot shower, it’s fixed to the outside of the building! It was cool and cozy inside, but the views from the terrace were superb, so I chose to stay outside. There was also a photo in the wall inside, showing where the glacier used to be in 1956 – reaching almost to the hut!

I bought a ‘cafe au lait’ from the hut guardian, and while enjoying it immensely from a reclining chair outside the front door, chuckled to myself that it was an extraordinarily long way to walk for a cup of coffee! Worth it for the view though!

If you’re going to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee, it might as well be with a decent view…

After a spot of lunch, I hiked a little further up the valley, to see if I could reach the snout of the glacier, but time (and energy) were against me, so I thought better of it and after reaching the bivi sites that had been flattened out by generations of mountaineers, I began the descent back to the valley, past plenty of butterflies, flowers and interesting rock strata.

Just over a kilometre from the car, I stopped by the river to cool my feet down and finish the remains of the food and water I still had.

I picked up a few bits of food in Ailefroide, for a picnic dinner, then drove down the valley to meet Clare who’d just finished running a day of online training for her team. We continued down to Roche la Rame, where the lake offered the perfect place to cool off and catch up with each others news. We stayed until sunset, having had a long swim, drying off in the last of the sunlight and enjoying a big feed. Brilliant.