Bivacco Bonfante, Mountain bivouac hut in Prazzo, Italy.
Bivacco Bonfante is a single-storey wooden hut with a sheet-metal roof at Piano Vallonello in the Maira Valley, in the municipality of Prazzo, near Lake Camoscere and below Monte Chersogno and Rocca la Marchisa. It has 12 beds, is open all year and draws electricity from photovoltaic panels.
The bivouac was built in the early years of the 21st century and inaugurated in 2006. It is dedicated to Elio Bonfante, a mountaineer who died on the Dente del Gigante in 1992. The structure stands at Piano Vallonello in the Maira Valley, in the municipality of Prazzo, near Lake Camoscere.
The bivouac is named after Elio Bonfante, a mountaineer who died on the Dente del Gigante in 1992; the climbing wall beside it also bears his name. It is a stop on the GTA and Via Alpina long-distance routes, linking Elva and Chiesa di Bellino.
Access from the Maira Valley starts at the Campiglione hamlet or the Chiotti grange in Prazzo, following trail T5 to Fonte Nera and then turning right. The easier approach from the Varaita Valley is by car to Colle della Bicocca, then trail T6. Drinking water comes from Fonte Nera, about 10 minutes on foot; the tap outside the hut is not potable.
The climbing wall beside the shelter is also named after Elio Bonfante and holds 13 single-pitch routes plus one two-pitch route, graded 4a to 6b+.
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