Courmayeur · Italy
The Monzino hut
The hut above was built in 1965 by a man who used mountains to arrive somewhere else. Guido Monzino was heir to a chain of department stores and spent the money on expeditions: Greenland by dog sled and, in 1973, the Italian expedition that put its climbers on the summit of Everest. He wanted a base of his own on this side of Mont Blanc, and had one built here. It belongs to the town today. What it faces is the Peuterey ridge, which rises from the valley floor to the summit of Mont Blanc in a single line, about 4,500 metres of height. Climbers call it the Integral. Very few accomplish it.
Go deeper
Did Monzino climb Everest himself?
No. He organised and led the expedition without going high on it. It was very large and heavily equipped, with helicopters, and the style of it was argued about at the time.
What is the Integral?
The whole Peuterey ridge in one go, over the Aiguille Noire and the Aiguille Blanche to the summit of Mont Blanc. It is the longest ridge line in the Alps and usually takes two or three days.
How do you get up there?
On foot from Val Veny, a few hours of steep path. There is no lift. That is part of why the hut still feels like what it was built as, a starting point rather than a destination.
Where it is
More stories in Courmayeur
- The Aiguille Blanche
- The Aiguille Noire
- Duke of the Abruzzi Alpine Museum
- The Brenva Spur
- The Guides' House
- Church of Saint Pantaléon
- The quiet col
- The Col de la Seigne