Grivoletta, Mountain summit in the Gran Paradiso Massif, Aosta Valley, Italy
Grivoletta is a 3,514 m summit in the Gran Paradiso Massif of the Aosta Valley, northeast of La Grivola. A ridge links it to La Grivola, and on that ridge stands the Bivacco Mario Balzola at 3,477 m. To the west the mountain bounds the Trajo glacier, to the east the Nomenon glacier.
The sources record no naming date or link to thrushes; the name Grivoletta is a diminutive of La Grivola, the 3,969 m peak 1.3 km to its southwest. The two are joined by a ridge that carries the Bivacco Mario Balzola at 3,477 m, just below the 3,514 m summit.
The peak's name derives from "griva", the Valdostan word for song thrush, echoing the name of its taller neighbour La Grivola. A ridge links the Grivoletta to the Grivola, and on that ridge stands the Bivacco Mario Balzola at 3,477 m, an unmanned shelter used by parties traversing between the two summits.
The usual access is from the Valsavarenche side, with the Mario Balzola bivouac at 3,477 m on the crest linking Grivoletta to the Grivola, about 1.3 km away. The mountain stands between the Trajo glacier to the west and the Nomenon glacier to the east, so the approach crosses glacial terrain. The summit lies roughly 15 km north of Aosta.
The ridge linking Grivoletta to La Grivola carries the Bivacco Mario Balzola at 3,477 m, just 37 m below the summit; the refuge sits on the connecting crest rather than on the peak itself. The mountain also marks the divide between the Trajo glacier to the west and the Nomenon glacier to the east.
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