At the beginning of August 2019, the Périades bivouac was a victim of global warming.
A pot was later launched to restore it. The objective was to collect 800 euros (712 £), but, amazingly, people from all over France donated a total sum of 14,230 euros (12,678 £).
At the moment, a new identical hut is being built, and the old one will most likely be exposed at the Alpine Museum.
Situated at an altitude of 3,421 m (11,223 ft), the little cabin was has a rich history. Built in 1925 and renovated in 1966, it could host three people. But everything changed in August 2019, when the cabin became a victim of global warming.
As global warming intensifies, an unusually high number of collapses took place this summer in the Mont-Blanc massif.
On the 1st of August, it was the Périades bivouac's turn to fall, when a section of the bivouac collapsed and destabilized the platform on which it rested.
The Périades bivouac crashed, photo source @ledauphine.com
Jean-Sebastien Knoertzer, an instructor from ENSA (National School of Ski and Alpinism, from French: École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme), organized a pot to restore the Périades bivouac.
He aimed at gathering 800 euros, but in just a few weeks people from all over France donated 14,230 euros.
But the cabin suffered from its foundation, so to build a new one would be the right choice.
A choice that has already been taken. A new identical hut is being built and the old one has already been repatriated to Chamonix, at the expense of the town hall, "happy to play its role in this widely shared operation", says Claude Jacot, deputy safety in Chamonix.
And if a new hut is being built, then what to do with the old one? As it constitutes a symbol of mountain life, "It will very likely integrate into the Alpine Museum", says Claude Jacot.
In the meantime, the new Périades bivouac should be operational in December.
