A large round building is sitting on top of a snow covered mountain

A restaurant with wooden tables and benches and a stainless steel bar

A snowy mountain with a building on top of it

A row of bunk beds made of wood with blue sheets

A hallway with wooden walls and a blue light

A building with a lot of windows is lit up at night

New Images of the Refuge du Gouter

First look inside the new eco-friendly hut opening at the end of August

Imprint: By Sophie Nicholson, Updated 6 October 2017

Images have just been released of the new and improved Refuge du Gouter and the pictures look very impressive indeed. At 3,817m, the Refuge du Gouter is already the highest supervised refuge in France and is due to attract even more headlines when it opens its space age doors to alpinists at the end of August.

Two years of work and 6 million Euros has gone into creating the new Gouter hut which is set to be a pioneering mountain hut, not just in terms of its architecture but also in its approach to energy sustainability and the environment. The new Refuge du Gouter will be able to accommodate 120 alpinists who will benefit from solar and wind powered electricity, triple glazing, recycled water, and many other eco-friendly features. Doors will open to the public on the 30th of August and an official opening will take place on the weekend of the 7-9th of September.

This is a modern hut both in terms of its approach and design and is utterly in line with other global initiatives to encourage mountain lovers to think responsibly and limit their environmental impact wherever possible.