September is Helicopter Season

Heliportage_Bayssellance by totoletopinambour
Have you ever wondered how high alpine huts restock for the summer? What about clearing out trash during the fall? Here’s a little info from the Refuge Bayssellance (2551 m), the mountain hut on our new Pays Basque and Pyrenees hiking tour. 
At the end of spring, it’s the helicopter! The helicopter has to make a dozen trips to restock the hut with canisters of gas and necessitites. In total, 8 to 10 tons are lifted more than 1,000 meters in less than two hours. 
In September, a new helicopter arrives to carry the empty gas canisters and material back to the bottom.
Many of the mountain huts across Europe follow a similar protocol; helio in the spring and helio in the fall. Considering that today’s date is September 24th, it looks like we’re still in the midst of helicopter season!