Punta San Matteo is a secondary peak of

Ortler Ortler (; it, Ortles ) is, at above sea level, the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps outside the Bernina Range. It is the main peak of the Ortler Range. It is the highest point of the Southern Limestone Alps, of South Tyrol in Italy, of Ty ...

-Vioz in the

Ortler Alps The Ortler Alps ( it, Ortles-Cevedale ; german: Ortler-Alpen; rm, Alps da l'Ortler) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group in the Central Eastern Alps, in Italy and Switzerland. Geography The Ortler Alps are separated ...

, at the border between the

Province of Sondrio The Province of Sondrio ( it, provincia di Sondrio) is in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2017, it has a population of 181,403. History The Province was established in 1815, within ...

(

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

region) and

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

(

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol it, Trentino (man) it, Trentina (woman) or it, Altoatesino (man) it, Altoatesina (woman) or it, Sudtirolesegerman: Südtiroler (man)german: Südtirolerin (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official ...

region) in northern Italy. It was the scene of the

Battle of San Matteo The Battle of San Matteo took place in the late summer of 1918 on the Punta San Matteo (3,678 m) during World War I. It was regarded as the highest battle in history until it was surpassed in 1999 by the Kargil Conflict at 5,600 m. At the be ...

in World War I, which, until the 1999

Kargil war The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

, has been the highest battlefield in modern warfare history.

Climbing Punta San Matteo

The easiest approach and the normal route starts from the

Gavia Pass Gavia Pass ( it, Passo di Gavia) (el. 2621 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Italian Alps. It is the tenth highest paved road in the Alps. The pass lies in the Lombardy region and divides the province of Sondrio to the north and the ...

side with a good access road from Bormio. It is best to park in the vicinity of the Berni hut and the monument which is on the opposite side of the road. This is an alpinist glacier tour and the glacier is full of crevasses. The climb can be done in one day. An alternative option is to start from the same place but, instead of climbing up the glacier, walk in the direction of the Bivacco Battaglione Ortles which is at 3122 m of elevation, there is no guardian and it is always open. The Bivacco can be reached in 3 hours from the road. In summer this is just a walk up with no snow on the route all the way to the Bivacco. There are 6 places for sleeping and blankets are available. There is a wood burning stove inside. You can stay the night in the Bivacco and then follow the ridge route to the summit of Punta San Matteo.

Huts

The mentioned Rifugio A. Berni is the most convenient place if you want to climb the mountain directly from the road. The closest refuge to the summit from this side is the previously mentioned Bivacco Battaglione Ortles (3122 m). There is also Rifugio Bonetta directly on the Gavia Pass with plenty of free parking space around.

External links

Bivacco Battaglione Ortles
in Mountains for Everybody.
San Matteo
in Summit Post.

Climbing Punta San Matteo

Huts

External links

Further reading