Bivouac · 4166 m
Bivacco Felice Giordano
Bivouac at 4166 m in Lys Valley, Aosta Valley. Beds: 6. Data from OpenStreetMap; verify opening before setting out. Practical info: bivouac at 4166 m in Lys Valley, with 6 beds.
Set on the rocks of the Balmenhorn in the heart of the Monte Rosa massif, it is one of the highest shelters in the Alps; beside it stands the Cristo delle Vette statue (1955). Always open and unstaffed, it serves as an emergency shelter for climbers heading to the Monte Rosa 4000ers, on glacier terrain reserved for experienced mountaineers.
Altitude
4166 m
Valley
Lys Valley
Beds
6
History
The first shelter was built on the Balmenhorn rocks during World War I for military purposes. The current bivouac, placed in 1985, is dedicated to Felice Giordano, a mountain guide from Alagna Valsesia who died in a crevasse during a rescue near the Piramide Vincent on 29 April 1968.
Contact & booking
Official manager details — always check opening dates and rates on the website before you go.
Where it is
45.9137, 7.8581 · 4166 m
What to bring
Everything you need to be self-sufficient: sleeping bag and mat (often absent or minimal), food and water or a small stove, layered and windproof clothing, a headlamp, a first-aid kit. No money is needed — the bivouac is free. Carry out all your waste.
What to do there
If you stay overnight, enjoy the silence and the starry sky far from any light. The reward for climbing this high is dawn from altitude: wake early, while the air is still clear, and watch it set the ridges alight. Which summits and passes you can reach depends on the area — check the routes on the trail pages above.
What is a bivouac
A bivouac is a small unmanned shelter, always open and free, placed at high altitude where a staffed hut could not exist. It was conceived to break up long traverses, to wait for first light before a climb, or as an emergency shelter in bad weather. There is no keeper and no services: you find what those before you have left. Hence the golden rule — leave it as clean and tidy as you would wish to find it.
Nearby peaks
Community gallery
Photos are published immediately. JPG/PNG/WebP, max 6 MB.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors
Bivacco Felice Giordano