Refuge Jean-Antoine Carrel is a refuge in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

at an altitude of 3,830mhttp://www.pcn.minambiente.it/viewer/index.php?services=IGM_25000&box=-72539.293458645,5117399.7899385,-66539.293458645,5117400.7899385 in

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

, Italy. It is located on the south-west ridge of the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

, near the Swiss border. The

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...

was named after

Jean-Antoine Carrel Jean-Antoine Carrel (1829 – August 1891) was an Italian mountain climber and guide. He had made climbs with Edward Whymper and was his rival when he attempted to climb the Matterhorn for the first time. Whymper ultimately succeeded in making th ...

who made the first ascent of the Matterhorn via the south-west ridge. It is located along the south-west ridge of the Matterhorn (''Arête du lion''). The new shelter, owned by the Cervin Mountain Guides' Association (It. ''Società delle guide del Cervino'' / Fr. ''Société des guides du Cervin''), was inaugurated in 1969 and partially redone after the major landslides that affected this side of the mountain in 2002–2003. The Carrel shelter has 50 beds and is always open. The nearby ''Capanna Luigi Amedeo di Savoia'' / ''Cabane Louis-Amédée de Savoie'', built in 1905 by the CAI section of Turin, has been transformed into a museum and moved first to Valtournenche and then, in September 2009, in front of the Italian Matterhorn Guide Company office. This bivouac was an alternative shelter to the Carrel refuge, and was heavily damaged in the summer of 2003 following a large landslide (the same that caused the fall of the so-called ''Cheminée''). The platform where the bivouac was located is now used as a landing point for the helicopter. Access is from

Breuil-Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia (; ; Valdôtain: ), officially Le Breuil from September 2023, is a of the ''comune'' of Valtournenche, Italy. It is a winter and summer tourist resort. Etymology The name ''Breuil-Cervinia'' is a fusion of two terms. On the one ...

. The refuge can be reached from the ''Duca degli Abruzzi''-refuge (Fr. ''Refuge Duc des Abruzzes'') in a hike of about four hours. The last part of the track, despite the presence of

fixed ropes In climbing and mountaineering, a fixed-rope (or fixed-line) is the practice of installing networks of in-situ anchored static climbing ropes on climbing routes to assist any following climbers (and porters) to ascend more rapidly—and with le ...

, is reserved for experienced mountaineers.

References

Mountain huts in the Alps Mountain huts in Italy Matterhorn {{Italy-struct-stub