There is possibly nothing more socially distanced than spending a night alone in a polar shelter.
Perched on a mountain top at 1830 metres above sea level, with Lake Annecy sparkling in the distance and pine tree speckled peaks protruding through cloud inversions, these particular shelters may not be quite so hostile.
Although, for me, finding them in the first place is part of the challenge.
After a 50 minute drive from Annecy, we reached the bottom of the La Sambuy ski lift in the small, former farming town of Seythenex in the
Annecy Mountains and headed upwards along a forest path, the smell of pine filling the warm early evening air.