Bivacco Gino Rainetto

The place

Sleeping places planned: 9 Places on mattress: 9 Structure built in 1964, dedicated to Luigi (Gino) Rainetto, a member of the Turin section of Giovane Montagna who died during an outing. Inverted-cradle metal construction painted red, typical of the Italian Alps. It offers: 9 bunks with mattresses and blankets, a fold-down table and benches. Needless to say, no open fires are allowed, only stoves. The Giovane Montagna website is worth consulting for further details (in Italian). Water is reportedly available 100 metres to the west, a detail I would not swear is still accurate today. In dry years and late in the season, it is strongly recommended to carry a good reserve of your own. Any meltwater collected in the immediate vicinity of the bivouac is likely to be contaminated: treatment is essential! Good starting point for the Petit Mont Blanc, or even the Aiguilles de Trélatête, via the north branch of the Lex Blanche glacier: Petit Mt Blanc glacier; large crevasses at the start below the Aiguille de l'Aigle - impassable in autumn '89. Tré-la-Tête massif, at 3047 metres elevation on the south-east ridge of the Petit-Mont-Blanc. IGN 1:25000 mapping, Mont-Blanc Massif (2 maps) Arriving via the Val Vény road, you reach [->8847] on the north shore of Lac de Combal (1970 m). Just before the refuge, turn left onto the yellow-dot waymarked path n°14, which heads north-west around the lake, at the base of the moraine on the true right bank of the Miage glacier. Once at the foot of Mont Suc, the path heads south-west through grassland. Among the boulders and scree, the climb itself begins by entering a wide gully-valley alongside the torrent, between the Aiguille de Combal on the left and Mont Suc on the right. The torrent must be crossed (a few easy passages over rocks) during the ascent, which becomes increasingly steep and stony: the ground is poor, the path is eroded with small landslips, slippery, and prone to rockfall. Depending on the season, small snow patches may persist. Caution is essential; do not linger in this section. You then emerge onto a vast desert-like sloping plateau with rock slabs crossed via easy scrambling (grade 1). Traces skirt around them to the right or left and lead to the snow patches (season permitting) immediately before the small platform where the bivouac sits. Well before reaching it, you can spot a small metal cross with gaps packed with stones, marking its location. Allow 3 to 4 hours, difficulty EE+/F. UTM-WGS84 coordinates: EAST 332186. UTM-WGS84 coordinates: NORTH 5072693. Giovane Montagna (Turin section). Also known as the Petit-Mont-Blanc bivouac. Official website: https://www.giovanemontagna.org/rifugio.asp?n=bivacco-gino-rainetto&id=10