Alpine Logistics

I’ve been wanting to climb this mountain for a while. I have stood at its flanks many times and often seen it from the top of other mountains but until now haven’t had the opportunity to plan an ascent.

There are various ways of summiting Gran Paradiso but without doubt the most elegant line is via the North West face. It first took my imagination last year during a walk in Gran Paradiso National Park, during which I was able to admire it from the other side of the valley.

The time had come but this is a busy time for us so everything had to come together perfectly. We got together our packs on Friday afternoon and left Biella at 17.30. We arrived in Valsavarenche at 19.30 and began the approach to Rifugio Chabod.

We had apocalyptic rucksacks thanks to our decision not to use the refuge but bivy near-by. This was not so much to be hard but because it seemed stupid to pay to sleep for four hours.

The path gained height with infinite zigzags but the fantastic landscape, chamois grazing undisturbed and the sight of Gran Paradiso’s North face coming into view made the time and elevation-gain pass.

Two hours later we were at the refuge. Through illuminated windows we could see people sitting around tables; it was tempting to go in and have a hot dinner…but we continued walking for another 15minutes and found a place to lay down our bed for the night.

It was cold so we quickly ate and got into our sacks, ready to sleep at 22.30 and with the alarm set for 2.30 the next morning. The stars, moon and Gran Paradiso kept us company as we fell asleep in the warmth of our down sleeping bags.

In the middle of the night I woke up. I was hot and I opened my bivy sack slightly. My movements woke Julia who after a couple of seconds said “Pupi…we didn’t hear the alarm�.

We ate then left at 3.30. In the distance we could see the lights from the torches of another party heading for our same objective. In the light of our head lamps we followed a winding path up moraine to the base of the glacier.

Here we followed the faint tracks left by our predecessors on the hard icy snow and found a flat spot to put on crampons, harnesses and to rope together. We saw the group of people who had been ahead of us and caught up with them before the beginning of the climb.

We simul-climbed all the way. The first 300m was easy with snow steps; the final 300m was slightly steeper (around 50 degrees) and icy, so we placed a few ice screws for protection. It grew very cold and a freezing, bone-chilling wind blew stronger the higher we went. When Julia finished the ice-screws we swapped leads: standing still at the belay even just for a minute was agony because of the cold. Close to the top we were both almost frozen but the sight of the sun illuminating the summit ridge spurred us on.

At nine o’clock I hopped over the small summit cornice and stood on the top, closely followed by Julia. Finally we could absorb some of the sun’s warmth. However the wind was as cold and strong as ever so, after taking in the 360° view of the Alps and a few photos, we started down the normal route.

Here there were a lot of people were walking up and down so the way was well trodden and we quickly got back down to the moraine we had walked up that morning. The wind lower down was but a breeze so we took off a few layers and enjoyed our success before finishing the long descent back to the car.

The heavy packs took their toll on our legs and knees but tiredness gave way to the joy of having experienced one of those moments that only alpinism can give. I knew that once our memories of the cold and tiredness passed our minds would soon get swept away, dreaming of another route or mountain to climb.

Something local that wouldn’t involve sitting in the car for too long…we scanned the map for new ideas on where to go…some paths we’ve already walked several times. Here was a small dashed line indicating a secondary foot path, perhaps less trodden which departed from the village of Rosazza.

We left behind the castles and higgledy piggledy assortment of houses and plunged into the forest on a well-layed stone footpath. The shade was welcome as the sun was already beating down hard.

The path became gradually narrower as it rose steeply into the mountains along Pragnette valley. After about a kilometre the trees thinned out until we were walking through long grass, flowers, small bushes and sections of scree. The path had all but disappeared and we were only able to pick it out thanks to someone who had gone to the trouble of building a dry stone wall on which the path still runs. Probably some farmer investing in his herd of sheep many years ago. Now it’s completely overgrown.

It was clear that not many people ventured here for their week-end walk…the valley seems to have been forgotten. It was beautifully peaceful and it felt wild; hard to believe we were so close to home. I thought of the wilderness I experienced in Canada some years ago and expected to see a bear groping around in the undergrowth at every corner.

There were no bears, just the odd snake taking in the sun or a dear grazing in the higher parts of the valley. Eventually we came to a junction; footpath signs had resumed. Under the one we wanted to take was written “sentiero disagevole� (uncomfortable path). It traversed the steep grassy hillside for about a kilometre before reaching Colle d’Irogna (2092m). From here we descended through bushes and along boulders into the neighbouring valley.

This we soon discovered to be equally wild and unfrequented. It was carpeted with pink mountain rhododendrons…a spectacular sight. To our delight we discovered that lower down the hillside was also lined with blue berry bushes! We stopped several times and ate them by the handful.

We reached the bottom of the valley and the first signs of civilisation; some old stone houses which didn’t look as though anyone had lived there for a long time. A field full of sheep and goats was being carefully surveyed by a dog but there was no sign of the farmer.

We soon arrived at Piedicavallo, the village at the end of the road in Valle Cervo, and walked the last few kilometres back to the car satisfied that we had discovered a new piece of the Piemonte Alps

The second part of the course taken by Alpine Guide Luca Machetto focused on the techniques and rope-work involved in moving on mixed terrain. Hot sunny weather on the Monte Bianco massif provided the perfect conditions to do this.

The group ascended Pointe Lachenal from its North face on Saturday; a brief excursion excellent to help gain confidence, whilst Sunday saw the ascent of the ridge of Aiguille d’Entreves. A very good time was had by all. 

 

The valley of Valpelline is renowned as one of Valle d’Aosta’s gems. It neighbours the more famous valleys of the Monte Rosa massif and Matterhorn but unlike them is seldom touched by tourists and the infrastructure that inevitably follows. It abunds in fields, forests and wonderful views onto nearby mountains such as the Gran Combin in Switzerland.

It is particular known for the quality of its ski mountaineering excursions and walking itineraries. So on this beautiful summers day we headed to the village of Ollomont and parked outside the church. Walking at first through the village we admired the old dry stone houses still in excellent condition after so many years exposed to mountain elemets. The rooves are aslo made of overlapping stone called ‘lose’. Although this is much more expensive than using modern tiles the region of Aosta provides grants to those who choose to maintan their houses in the traditional way.

We turned corner after corner in the shade of a sweet smelling pine forest before emerging into a field full of beautiful yellow, pink, white and purple wild flowers. Zig zaging up we came across a heard of bulls grazing near an alpeggio (a mountain hut used in summer by farmers who keep cattle or sheep) and thought it wise to make a wide detour.

Soon we reached Col Cornet (2354m) from which a fantastic view opened out to the north. A high level plateau full of lakes and winding rivers was headed by the glacier of Mont Gelé and rugged peaks of Mont Avril, Gran Testa di By and Mont Velan. Looking back south instead we could see the huge white pyramid of Gran Paradiso peak towering above the neighbouring mountains.

After a sandwhich and a peach we descended over grass and boulders between the lakes and rivers we had seen from the col. The rivers were in full force due to substatial rainful in the preceeding weeks and had formed several very spectacular waterfalls. Finally we descendd more steeply down a final section of forest back to the valley floor; the increase in temperature was significant.

The weather in the Alps has been unusually unstable these last few weeks. Most days are characterised by heavy rain; sunny mornings give way to afternoon thunderstorms which drench all the rock.

Desperately looking at the forecast for the week-end on the internet, we hoped in vain to find a corner of the Alps in which we could go climbing without running the risk of storms. We soon reached the conclusion that to find somewhere dry we’d have to head south, towards the coast…Finale. We drove down on Friday night.

Saturday we woke in the midst of people from all over Europe. Summer heat here is no good for grip but attracts climbers who enjoy a swim after cragging.

We decided to go to Grotta della Strapatete, Boragni, which is in shade for most of the day. This is a very nice and slightly overhanging sector with tufas, which makes for fairly pumpy climbing. The day past quickly but despite being in shade the heat was overwhelming and by the end of the day we were ready to enjoy the beautiful evening in good company over a dinner of grilled fish.

Sunday was hotter and more humid. It was impossible to keep hold of small crimps and the skin on our fingers soon disintegrated. We gave up after a few climbs and did what the conditions begged for: headed for the beach and the sea!

Despite not having ideal weather conditions a local guide Luca Machetto held the first of a 2-part alpine course last week-end on Pre de Bar, Monte Bianco. For several of the participants it was their first time on a glacier and using alpine equipment such as crampons and axes. They learnt and practiced the techniques of moving on ice and tying together in preparation for the second part of the couse next week-end.

The first week-end of June had been preceeded by a week of very mixed weather…thirty or more degrees in town turned to ten with a generous dump of snow on the mountains by the end of the week. Saturday dawned sunny and warm…summer was back, or so we thought.

We headed to the village of Andrate, starting point for our walk to Mombarone (2300m). Knowing that the weather had been anything but predictable recently I had come prepared with everything: sunhat, sunglasses, shorts, wooly hat, gloves, windproof, long trousers. 

A wide panoramic path winds its way from Andrate gradually up Val Viona through meadows in full flower. Some are alpine pastures in which cows were gorging themselves on the years’ first fresh mountain grass after a winter of hay.

Eventually the path narrowed and gained a grassy ridge which forms the mountain’s south-east sholder. This spot is especially scenic since to the south east the flat Pianura Padana plains stretch as far as the eye can see…this is where Italy’s famous Parmisan Cheese and Parmaham are produced. Just to the south west lies La Serra; Europes longest tongue of glacial morrain, whose five humps are evidence of the five periods of glacier retreat during the last ice age, when Vale d’Aosta was being carved out by a river of ice and rock debris. Beyond this the mountains of Gran Paradsio and Valle d’Aosta roll into the distance and into France.

Clouds began to accumulate, at first creating very beutiful and dramatic lighting effects, but before long we were enshrouded in mist. It grew dark and visibilty went from being several hundred kilometres to several metres and we soon had the last few day’s snow underfoot. As we reached the small alpine lake Lago Pasci it started to snow, so despite being only a few hundred metres from the summit we decided it was best to head down before conditions got any worse. This wouldn’t be a nice place to get cauht in a thunderstorm.

It’s increadibly difficlut to orientate yourself in thick cloud even in a place you know well; we blindly followed the path as it twisted and turned until we gratefully emerged from the bottom of the cloud back into the green fields and warmer air below. The next day it was back to thirty degrees and the snow on Mombarone had almost vanished!