Rifugio Capanna Regina Margherita: An icy 4,554m hike to Europe's highest overnight stay

You can sleep over at this historic mountain refuge straddling the Italy-Switzerland border – but only if you're willing to undertake a days-long, high-altitude icy mountain trek.

I'm roped to four strangers, concentrating on the light cast by my headtorch, as I wend my way through the icy labyrinth of crevasses tearing across the Alpine Lys Glacier. We've been here since 05:00, tugging each other ever higher up the Monte Rosa mountain massif towards the highest altitude building in Europe.

We've just reached a giant mountain bowl filled with clouds of snow. The milky blue twilight fades to the soft glow of dawn. Our guide squints into the distance.

"Up on that ridge" he says, "Do you see it? That's the Margherita refuge." I can't see anything, but the peak he's pointing towards is so sheer sided that I'm convinced he must be mistaken. We press on and, by midday finally arrive at the summit, 4,554m (14,941ft) above sea level. The crystal frosted world of the Punta Gnifetti peak is revealed.

I can see the refuge now. I gasp.

Somewhat resembling a giant tin can, the narrow three-storey metal building is not so much built onto the mountain as it is balanced on the edge of a precipice. On one side is a steeply falling snow slope and on the other, there's just a vertical kilometre of thin air.  

This is Rifugio Capanna Regina Margherita; the highest building in Europe. And it's where I'm supposed to sleep tonight.

A refuge fit for a queen

Sharing the Alpine border between Italy and Switzerland, the Monte Rosa massif contains some of the highest peaks in the Alps, including Monte Rosa itself, which at 4,634m (15,203ft) is behind only Mt Blanc. Punta Gnifetti (also called Signalkuppe) comes in sixth. It's here where an Italian scientific research facility and mountaineers' shelter was constructed and named for the then-queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy. The queen, famed for her adventurous, athletic nature, insisted on climbing to the refuge herself for its 1893 inauguration and spending the night.

When to go: The Rifugio Capanna Regina Margherita is staffed only between mid-June and early September. This is a very popular hike, so make guided tour, accommodation and travel reservations well in advance. The refuge sleeps 70 in summertime.

How to do it: Most people climb with a qualified local guide on organised tours, which depart daily in summer. To stay overnight at the rifugio, chose the three-day climb.

What you need: Winter clothing, sturdy mountain hiking boots and crampons (not micro spikes).

More than a century later, the refuge still supports scientific research while also operating as a mountain hut (rifugio) offering rustic accommodation and thrilling panoramic views. Hiking the massif's eternal winter landscapes has become a popular trek in its own right. Roughly 30,000 hikers summit the peak each year and 4,000 stay overnight, ready like me – and Queen Margherita – to say they've slept in the continent's highest beds.

I opted for a three-day guided hike, which requires crampons and ropes. As a frequent hiker, this didn't faze me. If anything worried me, it was the altitude. The hike to the refuge involves a........

© BBC