A table with a view of Mont-Blanc, the traditional blueberry pies, but no health pass required: at the Parmelan refuge, you almost forget the QR code entry conditions applied to the restaurants in the valley, 1,400 meters more low.

After a hike of a few hours, Marie-Odile Guitton had only to sit down to order a small organic beer before enjoying a tartiflette on the terrace: no digital sesame was asked of her.

“And after, dessert and coffee”, launches this 63-year-old retiree with a smile, installed with her family on a wooden table in the refuge, built in 1883 at the top of the cliffs overlooking Annecy, in Haute-Savoie.

One of the rare categories of catering services without a sanitary pass required

Mountain huts, built by man to protect him from the elements at altitude, constitute one of the very rare categories of catering services without a sanitary pass required at the entrance, with truck stops and collective kitchens in particular.

Families of locals, tourists from elsewhere, novice hikers and mountain runners, the exception is little known to visitors.

In the valleys, towns and villages, restaurateurs are worried about a possible drop in attendance at their establishments due to new health constraints.

But at 1,825 meters above sea level, Philippe Graham is a happy man: after a month of July as dull for his refuge as the weather was, the season is relaunched this week with good weather.

"We have no way of putting people out here"

This refuge, like around 120 in France, belongs to the French Alpine Club (now FFCAM), which collects the price of overnight stays and delegates their management to the caretaker, who offers snacks during the day and half-board to those who sleep there. in one of the 45 beds. The decree of August 7, 2021 will not slow down accommodation at the refuge either, because the health pass is only necessary for hotel-restaurants, guest houses and group lodgings.

"We have no way of putting people out here," explains the guard. “That night, there was a thunderstorm, there was someone who returned at 2 am to take refuge in the refuge, he was bivouacking there, the lightning fell very close to him. I had no way of controlling his health pass, anyway, ”adds Philippe Graham. Here, energy is limited, "when there is fog, we no longer have telephone connections" and provisions arrive once a week by a cable elevator. The only obligations: the reservation and placement of a single group per dormitory, so as not to mix up possible Covid-19 aerosols at night.

In front of the refuge are a few wooden tables wedged between the rocks, popular with hikers for picnics and enjoying a magnificent alpine panorama.

Between the Léman lakes and that of Annecy, in the middle of the yellow-billed choughs playing in the wind, a multitude of summits makes you lose your head at the orientation table.

And to the east, Mont-Blanc melts into the clouds.

Gaëlle Abondance, 18, serves omelets, cold cuts or daily specials on the terrace and in the dining room.

No health pass, then?

“No!

Here, we are free, ”she replies.

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