Refuge Ottorino Mezzalama

Refuge Ottorino Mezzalama (Italian: Rifugio Ottorino Mezzalama) is a mountain refuge in the Alps, located in the Aosta Valley region of Italy. It sits at an altitude of 3,036 metres at Rocce di Lambronecca, above the Ayas Valley (Valle d'Ayas), and is part of the network of mountain huts and bivouacs managed by the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) Torino section. The refuge is a custodial (custodito) hut, meaning it is staffed during its opening season, and it is classified in category D within the CAI hut grading system. The refuge offers 25 beds in its main dormitory and an additional 14 places in a winter room (locale invernale), allowing limited off-season use when the main hut is closed. Its published opening period runs from 13 June to 12 September 2026. The hut is currently managed by the cooperative "La barma des fleurs de glace". Access to the refuge is typically on foot. The standard approach starts from Champoluc, in the frazione of Saint-Jacques, where hikers leave their cars near the church square and walk a few minutes to the Blanchard hamlet. From there, trail marker no. 7 leads through woodland and clearings, joining a mule track and then a dirt road (closed to private traffic) that comes from Saint-Jacques. The route continues across the green plain known as Pian di Verra Inferiore and onward to the refuge, a walk of roughly four hours. The refuge is named after Ottorino Mezzalama, an Italian mountaineer and figure associated with the early twentieth-century alpine tradition, and it serves as a base for mountaineering, hiking and ski-alpinism in the Ayas Valley and the Monte Rosa massif area. As a CAI Torino hut, it is part of a wider system of alpine accommodation that supports access to the Italian Alps.

Refuge Ottorino Mezzalama is a mountain refuge in the Alps in the Aosta Valley, Italy. It is named after Ottorino Mezzalama, an Italian mountaineer, and forms part of the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) Torino section's network of rifugi and bivacchi. The refuge is located at Rocce di Lambronecca above the Ayas Valley, at an altitude of 3,036 metres, and is classified as a custodial hut (tipologia: custodito) in category D. It provides 25 beds and a winter room with 14 places, with published opening dates of 13 June to 12 September 2026. The hut is operated by the cooperative "La barma des fleurs de glace". Access is on foot from Champoluc, frazione Saint-Jacques, following trail no. 7 through woodland and mule tracks to the Pian di Verra Inferiore and then to the refuge, a walk of about four hours.

• Published opening period for the 2026 season: 13 June to 12 September 2026.

A high-altitude, custodial alpine refuge in the CAI Torino network, serving mountaineers and hikers in the Ayas Valley.

• Custodial mountain hut accommodation (25 beds)

• Winter room (14 places)

1. 1Rifugio Mezzalama | CAI Torinocaitorino.it
2. 2Refuge Ottorino Mezzalama - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
3. 3Refuge Ottorino Mezzalama - Wikidatawikidata.org