A rustic wooden cabin in a misty mountainous landscape with a colorful tree in the foreground.

Alpine chalets are small dwellings usually found far from the main roads.

They are often (but not always) reached by 4×4 in summer, and on foot, snowshoes or skis in winter.

In the past, these chalets served as summer residences for the farmers and peasants of the Alpine valleys. During the coldest months of the year, the animals stayed in the cowsheds, but in the summer months, they and their carers moved to the higher alpine pastures. They were milked in the meadows, and the cheese was made on the spot.

The tradition lives on, but it's rare for traditional ways of doing things to be preserved in their entirety.

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Fujifilm X-T3
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4.0 R OIS
20 mm (13.2 mm with crop factor)
ISO 1600
ƒ/8
1/90 s
Map showing location of “Alpine chalet above the Clarée valley” in Névache, France

Névache, France

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