Mountain refuge Chalet-Refuge CAF La Pile Dessus

Among the rounded reliefs of the Jura and very close to the border strip between France and Switzerland, the land is organized in lomas, steps and cords that link the area of Les Rousses with the heights of The Department . In that context it fits Chalet-Refuge CAF La Pile Dessus at 1248 meters, as a half-mountain coat in a sector where orientation depends more on reading the relief than on a large enclosed valley. Its position helps to understand it as a point of passage within routes that move between hills and dorsal, with itineraries close to Col du Porte, Col du Vuarne and the Dôle itself, in addition to the passage of the European route E4 for this environment.

More than a shelter associated with an alpine circus or an isolated ascension, here the utility is in articulating displacements on an open mountain, of continuity, where close as Pointe de Poêle Chaud , Pointe de Fin Château or The Barillette reinforce this character of journey on soft crests and side changes. Reasonable autonomy is needed: the nearest invented source is about 2.8 km away, so it is not wise to take immediate water from the shelter. It is also important to provide for fog, wind and rapid time changes, common in exposed cords and moderate-altitude border areas, where simple mountain access in appearance may require good orientation if visibility gets worse.