Unusual heat on the Bernina: Marco e Rosa hut closed until further notice

A few steps from the border with Graubünden, the Marco e Rosa hut has closed its doors at the height of the summer season. Not for lack of guests, nor for renovation work: what has stopped the hut is the unusual heat, which has made the access routes dangerous.

The hut stands at 3'609 metres in Valmalenco, on the Italian side of the Bernina massif, just 300 metres from the Swiss border. It is the highest mountain hut in Lombardy and every summer it welcomes thousands of hikers and mountaineers, who use it as the starting point for the ascent of the Bernina.

The decision was taken by the Valtellina section of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), in agreement with the hut's managers. The announcement leaves no room for interpretation: «A causa delle avverse condizioni delle vie di accesso dovute al caldo anomalo il rifugio chiude con decorrenza immediata e fino a nuove condizioni di fruibilità della montagna» (owing to the adverse conditions of the access routes caused by the unusual heat, the hut closes with immediate effect until the mountain becomes usable again).

Behind the official wording lies the situation observed at high altitude. Exceptionally high temperatures have damaged the snowpack and encouraged the opening of crevasses. For those climbing towards the hut, conditions are now considered unstable and dangerous. During this period the freezing level in the Alps, that is the altitude at which the temperature drops to zero degrees, has averaged between 4'200 and 4'500 metres: well above the hut and most of the surrounding peaks.

No date for reopening

The closure took immediate effect and has no end date: it will last until the mountain can be travelled safely again. In the meantime, mountaineers heading for the Bernina lose their main base on the Italian side.

The news has also struck the area's regulars. Under the announcement posted on Facebook by the CAI, one comment sums up how exceptional the event is in two words: «Mai successo» (never happened before).