Bivouac · 3047 m
Bivacco Gino Rainetto
Bivouac at 3047 m in Val Veny, Aosta Valley. Beds: 9. Data from OpenStreetMap; verify opening before setting out. Practical info: bivouac at 3047 m in Val Veny, with 9 beds.
In Val Veny, on the slopes of the Petit Mont Blanc in the Mont Blanc massif, it offers a close-up view of the elegant west face of the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey. Built of wood and sheet metal, with mattresses and blankets but no running water, it is always open as a shelter (nine places).
Altitude
3047 m
Valley
Val Veny
Beds
9
History
Begun in 1963 and inaugurated on 2 August 1964 as Bivacco Giovane Montagna, it was renamed after Gino Rainetto on 23 July 1972. It is also known as the Petit Mont Blanc bivouac.
Contact & booking
Official manager details — always check opening dates and rates on the website before you go.
Where it is
45.7856, 6.8401 · 3047 m
How to get there
Effort to reach it
Difficulty of the access trails: EE, +1079 m (CAI scale).
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 Gino Rainetto