btw, does anyone know if the campsite shop stocks basic food supplies for cooking and standard stove gas canisters?
Valerie and I will be there on the 4th or 5th and will try to get a space not too far from the toilets (at our age thatās quite important!)
Going off memory here but in AiIlefroide there is
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Sherpa food store, sells most things although not sure about camping gas, but not huge and like a local food shop
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A good hotel bar that does great ice cream
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A guideās office
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Tourist / Park office
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One more hotel
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A buvette that does great coffee
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A least one gear shop, maybe two
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Campsite office but not sure there is much there
The campsite is huge with several areas labelled A -> maybe F or G. There are numerous toilet blocks scattered around, some nicer than others as built more recently. Most of the camping is under trees but there is at least one large grassy area, but be warned it can be hot at that time of year so you might want some shade. Depending upon where you camp you might be much nearer the handful of hotels and shops than the campsite office which is down the road a little near to Pelvoux. It can be tricky to find people on the campsite if you donāt know where to look.
There is a crag more or less backing onto the campsite, Secteurs De La Fissure Dāailefroide and most of the other sectors are no more than 15 or 20 mins walk.
Down the valley in Vallouise is a slightly larger shop, 8 a 8 in the village centre and a cashpoint, and a little further down there is a Casino at Vallouise La Casse. There are a handful of gear shops as well, one in Pelvoux Sport 2000, one in Vallouise, Jacky Sports and 2 in La Casse, Kings and another. There are also a couple of bars, the Luc Alphand does good beer they brew themselves, and a restaurant Poive et Sel which does good food but doesnāt always provide the best service.
For bigger shops head out of the valley to Argentiere where there are 2 medium sized supermarkets or up to Briancon where you can find big hypermarkets, Carrefour in Centre Sud, Aldi on the way in to Briancon before Centre Sud and Geant just off the roundabout on the main road near the centre. There are also some bigger gear shops including Decathlon in Briancon Centre Sud.
Cheers Paul
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Hi Paul (sorry - corrected that now!),
Your recollection is encyclopedic. I can confirm that the campsite is huge (good luck finding anyone, and forget about phone signal), and that the meadow can be roastingā¦ my Thermarest burst in my tent!
@Tutu, yes the Sherpa or the gear shops have coleman/msr style gas canisters, and the supermarket has campinggaz ones.
There was also a proliferation of pop-up pizza vans last year.
M
I bulk bought camping gas last summer, and still havenāt used most of it, so Iāll be able to sort anyone out with emergency fuel if necessary. At least at first.
We shall have Union Jack bunting on our tent (just to help recognise it and not for overly patriotic reasons.) Hope to be there July 4 or 5 and will try to camp at village end close to toilets.
Hello!
Donāt know if everyone that wanted to come has already sorted flights, but John and I will be flying to Milan and then drive to the Ecrins on saturday morning returning wednesday, and we have space in the car! I think flying to Milan might be slightly cheaper and easier to arrange if anyone wanted to join last minute, also I can host people in Milan if needed!
Cheers,
Laura
Laura
I am interested and have yet to book anything. What are your flight details?
Regards
Peter
On that noteā¦Rebecca and I will be driving. We are going to Chamonix before coming to Ecrins, but we could offer a lift on the drive back to London on Su 15th July from Ecrins. 1 or 2 spaces left depending on baggage.
Iām leaving England on the 1st/2nd July.
@Max_A and @khalidqasrawi if you want to sling some gear in the van before I head, let me know and we can arrange.
Hello Peter!
I fly thursday night 18:30 and return on wednesday night at 20:30 to and from Linate with Alitalia (which is 5 min away from where I live). John got a friday night flight (I think easyjet from gatwick). If you want to join us get a flight to Milan either on friday (to any airport), can stay over at mine, or saturday early morning (in which case Linate would be easier). Cheers,
Laura
Thanks Laura. However, could you confirm the dates, as some people are going earlier/later?
Regards
Peter
Silly me!
thursday the 5th- wednesday the 11th of july!
Laura
Thanks, that suits me well. Iāll look at flights tonight. It would be helpful to share contacts; I am on 07398718422 & botanybay5050@gmail.com; feel free to either text, or email me with yours, if ok with that.
Regards
Peter
Hi Peter,
yes, quite a few will be out from the 5th, others coming Sat 7th to Sun 15th.
Great to see you and others getting on board.
Cheers
M
I emailed the campsite about getting a designated area. There were very sanguine about it, but not obviously minded to help. So I think itās a case of those out there first nabbing an area and trying to get a message out about where to head to.
Here is a sketchy map of the campsite - Area 1 is a clearing in the woods, has its own toilet block, and is near the village. It would be idea for a group our size, however weāll just have to play it by ear and see what we can find.
@PaulSagar - thanks for the offer - might chuck in a few things just to make the packing equation easier .
Few other little things for everyone to consider.
- Mosquito repellent is a good idea for the campsite
- Blister plasters become the hard currency of alpinists.
- A small (5-10L) rucksack can be useful for the bolted routes
Max
Just to clarify, John and I will not drive to Ecrins until saturday the 7th in the morning, my flight is thursday night so that I can spend a day in Milan 
We hope to there on there on the 4th and will try to get area 1. We have a dark red Skoda Estate reg. YG 06 ZXX. We will have some Union Jack bunting on the tent to aid recognition.