Pending the completion of construction works, the new Capanna Carrel will provisionally open for the summer season — a mountain refuge situated at 3,800 metres on the normal Italian route to the summit of the Matterhorn. The new building, owned by the Municipality of Valtournenche (Aosta), was constructed 50 metres lower down than the historic structure, which can no longer be used due to stability issues and rockfall hazards. It will be managed by the Società Guide del Cervino. "To welcome mountaineers to the new Capanna, we need to complete some equipment necessary for the service. The opening to the public will take place as soon as possible," explains the president of the guides, Laurent Nicoletta.
"This is a provisional handover," explains Valtournenche mayor Elisa Cicco, "which will allow the Capanna to be used during the summer of 2026 already; the official inauguration will be organised once all planned works have been completed, and that will mark the end of a journey begun in 2020."
The new Capanna has a capacity of 25 beds and rests on a steel base, upon which a three-level timber and steel structure has been assembled. It is equipped with photovoltaic panels and a dedicated storage system, which also powers a tower for monitoring meteorological conditions belonging to Arpa Valle d'Aosta, located approximately 100 metres from the Capanna. Some fine-tuning work on the systems still remains to be completed, as does the demolition of the old structure, scheduled for the month of September. "It is a strategic infrastructure for mountaineering and for the entire mountain system of the Aosta Valley," commented the Valle d'Aosta tourism councillor, Giulio Grosjacques, during the handover meeting with the guides' association. "The Capanna Carrel is a successful example of cross-border collaboration and of the use of resources from the Fund for the Development of Italian Mountain Areas," added European affairs councillor Leonardo Lotto.
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