Androsace vandellii is exclusively a rock fissure plant and seems to prefer vertical or overhanging rock.  It has a scattered distribution in the Alps, Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada.  It is not found on limestone rock .

The grey-green cushions are very neat and the flowers a pure white.  On the trail above the Tristaina Lakes it is easy to get very close to superb specimens of this plant

Reference:  Smith, George and Duncan Lowe. 1997.  The Genus Androsace. Alpine Garden Society