Lac de la Fare
Description:
The Abri Rajon is a mountain hut which was a temporary field hospital for the French resistance in the area. A crew of downed American aviators aided in evacuating wounded to the remote location which today holds a memorial plaque. The B-24 #42-51085 “My Gloria” took off from Spinazzola, Italy, on a mission to bomb the Allach motor factory in Munich. They were hit by German flak during the bombing which caused a fire in two of the motors and fuel to leak into the fuselage. They attempted to return to Italy, but the problems worsened as the third engine started to falter so they diverted in the hopes of landing in neutral Switzerland. They parachuted out of the doomed plane at 1154 and the plane crashed 300 meters further by the French town of Prunieres in the Savine-Briançon valley. The local French resistance immediately gathered the crew into hiding in the “Pierre Rouge” forest at over 2400 meters. After five days there they started evading to Switzerland. Eight days after the crash they made it in the Oisans in the French Alps. There was a hospital at the Alpe d’Huez which treated wounded resistants who were constantly attacking German positions. A similar hospital in the Vercors was crushed by the Germans, massacring 35 maquisards. It was decided that the hospital at the Alpe d’Huez would need to be evacuated to avoid a similar fate. The crew of eleven Americans were instrumental in helping evacuate patients and supplies in a push-cart convoy up into the mountains. Chased by the Germans and after several firefights, they make it all the way up to a mountain hut now called the Abri de Rajon (after Father Rajon, who lived there) at 2600 meters. The area was eventually liberated by invading American forces after the crew had been 34 days on the run. They made their way back to their unit in Spinazzola. The saga is recounted in the book “Eleven Americans who Fell from the Sky” by Pierre Montaz.
Address:
, 38114 , Vaujany , 38-Isère , Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes , France
At the north end of the Lac de la Fare at 2800 meters above Vaujany. Inaccessible from November through June due to snow. From Vaujany, take the telepherique to the Domes des Petites Rousses (2 gondolas). The gondolas are only open in July and August. A very difficult hike with over 1200 meters of elevation gain without the gondolas. From the top of the second gondola it is a 2.5 km hike to the Abri Rajon. Not accessible by mountain bike or horse. These are difficult, steep, narrow, and rocky trails. From the Abri, you can continue down past the Refuge de la Fare to the plateau between the two gondolas, retracing the evacuation in the opposite direction. Do not underestimate the difficulty of this spectacular hike.
Map reference (click on pin to see Lat/Long):
45.142915 6.118422
Flag Poles :
none
