Alpine bivouacs to combat high-altitude overtourism

Alpine bivouacs were very popular in the 1950s and 1960s, when the mountains were not yet overrun in summer and winter. Mountaineering was a relatively unpopular discipline, climbing routes were few, and high-altitude support points were sought. Alpine bivouacs , in fact, are small emergency structures located high in the mountains, designed to offer shelter to climbers and hikers in times of need.

These aren't actual tourist shelters, but rather basic, unmanned shelters , free to enter and always open. Even the interior furnishings are very spartan: bunk beds with wooden planks that can accommodate 4 to 12 people, blankets, and no heating. The materials are natural, with steel used to make these small structures more resistant to storms.

They are usually found in very isolated or high-altitude areas (ridges, glaciers, rock faces), along challenging mountaineering routes, and where it is not possible to build a traditional shelter. But now alpine bivouacs are coming back into fashion, with a function far beyond that of simple emergency shelters: they can become one of the simplest and most practical solutions for reducing overtourism in the mountains.

First of all, alpine bivouacs can better spread out and distribute tourists and climbers tackling the mountains: since they're a simple structure, easy to assemble and dismantle, they're easily installed even in hard-to-reach locations, making them accessible to even less experienced climbers. In practice, those climbing the mountains aren't "condemned" to only frequent iconic and overcrowded destinations, but can choose their own more isolated and slower route.

Secondly, the alpine bivouac is never associated with "hit-and-run" mountaineering and therefore serves as a catalyst, and an incentive, for more natural and authentic high-altitude days, even in remote areas. Those who use an alpine bivouac tend to stay at high altitude longer, and this also decongests the mountains and encourages more widespread and less concentrated tourism.

At high altitude, a bivouac can serve as an intermediate support point, and this allows the climb to be divided into several stages, making it accessible even to inexperienced climbers, and avoiding forced concentrations (the so-called "mountain traps").

In fact, although very basic and basic, alpine bivouacs are an alternative to refuges, other typically congested mountain locations. Why not use them for this purpose, too, at a time when the mountains are at risk of being overrun every day?

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