Sélé Refuge

Description

In a very high mountain setting, this hike follows the valley of mythical mountains which lead to two refuges by crossing a perilous cliff. Since 1913, the French state, through the administration of Water and Forests, bought ground from certain communities. In this way Celse Nière valley benefitted from protection well before the creation of the Ecrins National Park in 1973. From the carpark, go up the Sélé valley on the path which follows the right bank of the Celse Nière torrent. After a long climb with a hidden gradient, the path goes up in steep bends to a junction with the track to Pelvoux (1993m). - Follow straight along on large crossings that lead on foot to the very steep cliff. - A wide track enables you to hold on to the cables going up this face firstly to the right, then crossing towards the left. - After the cliff, go up a good path which turns abruptly to the right to reach the summit of the rocky promontory where the refuge is located.

Difficulty

Official rating: difficult, by Parc national des Écrins.

Before you go

• In the barre du Sélé, there is a difficult passage equipped with cables, exposed and very slippery when it is wet and raining. Camping is forbidden after Ailefroide, bivouacking is authorized at a distance of more than an hour’s walk from the limits of the National Park. Fire is forbidden.

Getting there

Start: Ailefroide, Vallouise-Pelvoux (05).

Sources

• Track: Parc national des Écrins, Licence Ouverte 2.0, Licence Ouverte 2.0 (Etalab) (destination.ecrins-parcnational.fr/trek/903313-Le-refuge-du-Sele). Time estimated by GPX Path with the Mac app rule, breaks not included.
• Surface and path types: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, extract of 28 October 2026, matched to the track every 10 m (openstreetmap.org/copyright)
• Official elevation gain: 1,012 m, Parc national des Écrins