Tackle the mountain ridges with an Alpine guide
© Patrick Smith
Forty enthusiastic guides are available to assist apprentice mountaineers and hikers on the trails and glaciers of the Ecrins.
Aged between 20 and 80, they are there to direct you and provide equipment for mountaineering expeditions: excursions on skis and snow rackets, treks over icefalls in winter, hikes and rock climbing in summer.
Alpine guides provide services for beginners and for experienced mountaineering groups: "Dealing with beginners is a real source of satisfaction, as they usually start out feeling that the Alps are not for them. We help them to get over their apprehension and make them feel safe. We teach them how to get organised, to walk slowly, we bring them to sites they would never have discovered by themselves!", Lucien Giraud explains enthusiastically. And when you're with a guide, you learn to read the landscape, to recognise the flora and fauna. "Landscapes have their stories to tell, about the glaciers, climate change, the history of mountaineering throughout the centuries" he says with a passion.
He goes on to describe the history of the first mountain guide office in the Ecrins, built in 1909 with a view to organising the profession. Situated in the hamlet of Ailefroide, it was destroyed during the 2nd World War. "The mountain guides rebuilt the chalet with their own hands!" Lucien Giraud adds, giving a fine example of their professional commitment.
Contact us
Bureau des guides du Pays des Ecrins
05290 Vallouise
(0033) (0)4 92 23 32 29
E-mail contact 
Website
See the access map
Topic : Gastronomy and accomodation
Published on : 2008/12/23
Tags : guides alps tackling ridges
