Massif des Écrins

A national park in the southern French Alps encompassing the highest peaks of the country outside of the Mont Blanc massif, including the Barre des Écrins at 4,102 metres. The park contains over 100 glaciers, alpine meadows above 2,000 metres, and the deep valley systems of the Vénéon, Romanche, and Durance rivers below. The Pilier d'Angle, La Meije, and the Ailefroide massif are technical climbing objectives that have attracted mountaineers since the nineteenth century.