Buffère Mountain Hut

(S) From the car park, head to the Tourist Office (information) then walk past the roundabout.

(1) Take the snow-covered road (closed to traffic) that skirts round the village. It is completely covered in snow and very easy to walk on. The exit from the upper town will be on your left; continue uphill.
Pass the Oratoire Saint-Benoît, on your right as you climb, and follow the S-bends in the road to reach the Notre-Dame de Bon Secours Chapel. Enjoy the view of both the Cerces massif and the valley.

(2) Carry on along the snow-covered road, pass the Sainte-Barbe Chapel and continue to the junction for the Buffère refuge, which is very well signposted.

(3) The yellow signs indicate the summer route, a path running perpendicular to the road which leads to the car park and follows the Clarée upstream to the Rately Bridge. In winter, the tracks lead you safely to the Rately Bridge.

(4) Follow the signposts and head west, turning right onto a gentle climb. After about 300 m, leave the path on your right which follows the Clarée and climbs up to Fontcouverte. Continue for 150 m and, after a lovely bend, begin the ascent: a lovely climb of about 500 m, fairly straight, where the route through the snow is much easier than the summer path.
After two sweeping bends, you’ll emerge into a clearing (known as Le Serre), where there are two chalets and a ruin.
Just a little more effort and you’ll reach a cluster of chalets and a cross. You’re just below the Buffère refuge.

You’re at the Buffère chalets – take a moment to enjoy the surroundings, the chapel and the refuge (E).

There are clean public toilets behind the Tourist Office, next to the car park.

There are several chapels and shrines along the route, providing opportunities to stop and admire the scenery and take photos.
The banks of the Clarée are ideal for taking photos of snow, ice, waterfalls and so on.
A few chalets, some in ruins and others restored, dot the route.