Refuge de la Pointe Percée

The Refuge de la Pointe Percée, also known as the Refuge de la Pointe Percée – Gramusset, is a mountain hut (refuge de montagne) in the French Alps, located at an altitude of 2,164 metres in the Bornes-Aravis sector of the Bornes massif, above the commune of Le Grand-Bornand in the Haute-Savoie department. It is owned and operated within the refuge network of the Fédération Française des Clubs Alpins et de Montagne (FFCAM), the French Alpine Club federation, and is one of the federation's staffed high-mountain huts. The refuge functions as a base camp for a wide range of mountain activities. Its own presentation describes it as "le camp de base idéal pour s'exercer à tous types d'activités: randonnée, escalade, parapente, contemplation, ou juste pour venir se restaurer et découvrir la nature sauvage qui nous entoure" — that is, an ideal base for hiking, climbing, paragliding, contemplation, or simply dining and discovering the surrounding wilderness, whether alone, with friends or with family. It is also authorised to receive school groups. The hut offers both dormitory accommodation and catering (restauration), and is staffed (gardé) during defined winter and summer seasons; outside those periods it operates as an unstaffed (non gardé) shelter. The building's history reaches back to 1928, the date given on the refuge's own history page for the construction of the refuge. The name "Gramusset" attached to the hut is the subject of a dedicated toponymic study published on the refuge's website by author Marie-Christine Blaise, indicating the local significance of the name. The current structure is presented as "le nouveau refuge de la Pointe Percée" (the new Refuge de la Pointe Percée), the result of a renovation programme documented on the site under the heading "Rénovation"; the guardian's welcome note refers to the ongoing summer season as the team's third summer season at the renewed hut. Operationally, the refuge is run by a resident guardian (gardienne/gardien). The guardian listed on the official site is Clarisse Binetruy. Published guarding periods for the 2026 season are 10 January to 15 March in winter and 13 June to 5 October in summer, with the homepage text also stating that the refuge is staffed from 12 June to 4 October 2026. The refuge publishes practical information on access, tariffs, booking, wildlife and flora, and environmental commitments ("Refuges phares pour l'environnement"), and provides webcams. Bookings, modifications and cancellations are handled by visitors themselves exclusively through the refuge's own website, under its general terms of sale. As a mountain refuge rather than a conventional commercial retailer, the Refuge de la Pointe Percée is best understood as a service brand within the FFCAM network: it markets accommodation, meals and mountain-safety infrastructure to hikers, alpinists, skiers, paragliders and school groups, and it carries the FFCAM identity alongside its own local name. Its address is given as 74450 Le Grand-Bornand, in the Alpes > Bornes-Aravis > Bornes area, and it can be contacted by telephone at 04 58 17 05 98.

The Refuge de la Pointe Percée – Gramusset is a mountain hut in the Bornes massif of the French Alps, above Le Grand-Bornand in Haute-Savoie. According to the refuge's own history page, the construction of the refuge dates to 1928. The hut takes its double name from the Pointe Percée, the highest summit of the Bornes massif, and from the name "Gramusset", whose toponymy is treated in a dedicated study published on the refuge's website by author Marie-Christine Blaise. The refuge belongs to the network of the Fédération Française des Clubs Alpins et de Montagne (FFCAM), the French Alpine Club federation, which owns and manages a large family of staffed and unstaffed mountain huts across the French Alps and Pyrenees. Within that network the Refuge de la Pointe Percée is listed under the Alpes > Bornes-Aravis > Bornes sector at an altitude of 2,164 metres, with the postal address 74450 Le Grand-Bornand. In the 21st century the hut has undergone a renovation programme, documented on its official site under the heading "Rénovation". The current building is presented as "le nouveau refuge de la Pointe Percée" — the new Refuge de la Pointe Percée — and the guardian's welcome message refers to the ongoing summer as the team's third summer season, indicating that the renewed hut has been in service for several seasons. The renovation is presented alongside the refuge's environmental commitments, under the label "Refuges phares pour l'environnement" (flagship refuges for the environment), reflecting a broader movement among Alpine huts toward reduced environmental impact. Operationally, the refuge is staffed during defined seasons and otherwise functions as an unstaffed shelter. For the 2026 season the official site lists guarding periods of 10 January to 15 March in winter and 13 June to 5 October in summer, while the homepage text states that the refuge is guarded from 12 June to 4 October 2026. The guardian named on the site is Clarisse Binetruy. The refuge offers dormitory accommodation and catering, is authorised to receive school groups, and asks overnight guests to bring a sleeping-bag liner, a headlamp and a plastic bag to carry out their own waste. Booking, modification and cancellation of stays are handled by guests themselves exclusively through the refuge's website, in accordance with its general terms of sale. The site also publishes information on access, tariffs, wildlife and flora, and provides webcams of the area.

• 2026

  Published guarding periods: winter 10 January–15 March and summer 13 June–5 October 2026 (homepage also states 12 June–4 October 2026).

• 1928

  Construction of the refuge, according to the refuge's own history page.

• Publication of a toponymic study of the name "Gramusset" by Marie-Christine Blaise on the refuge's website.

• Renovation programme documented on the official site; the current building is presented as "le nouveau refuge de la Pointe Percée".

A staffed FFCAM high-mountain refuge positioned as an all-round base camp for hiking, climbing, paragliding and contemplation in the Bornes massif, with catering, school-group capacity and environmental commitments.

• Guarded mountain hut accommodation

  Dormitory accommodation in a staffed FFCAM refuge at 2,164 m.

• Restauration (on-site catering)

  Meals and refreshments served at the refuge, listed as a dedicated section of the official site.

• Unstaffed shelter (non gardé)

  Use of the refuge outside the guarding periods, listed as a separate section of the official site.

• School group accommodation

  The refuge states it is authorised to receive school groups.

• Activity base for hiking, climbing, paragliding and ski touring

  The refuge presents itself as a base camp for these activities, which are listed in its Activities section.

1. 1Accueil, Refuge de la Pointe Percéerefugelapointepercee.ffcam.fr
2. 2Histoire, Refuge de la Pointe Percéerefugelapointepercee.ffcam.fr
3. 3Refuge de la Pointe Percéeen.wikipedia.org
4. 4Refuge de la Pointe Percéewikidata.org