Cabane du Merdaret

Cabane du Merdaret is a non-staffed backcountry refuge in the Beaufortain/Belledonne area (commonly around 1740 m). It’s is a single large room with a small number of mattresses (2) plus additional places using a loose arrangement of bedding; sleeping capacity is given as 8 places total. Facilities for the hut include a wood stove, outdoor seating near a nearby fountain, and latrines located downhill to the east of the cabane.

Use is primarily for hikers in summer/autumn, and in winter access may be intermittent and sometimes closed depending on conditions; one source flags the opening as suspended and another notes the winter/spring avalanche exposure. Approaches can involve areas with heavy avalanche risk in winter (the slope above and a large transversal valley face the cabane).

Sleeping and cooking are self-managed: bring a sleeping system suitable for a hut with limited mattresses and plan to use the stove for cooking/heating if you find it stocked with the usual essentials. Water is available from a fountain within a short walk of the hut, and an outdoor direction marker is for the latrines.