Alti Adventures Italiani Well folks, since some time has passed since my piece on Mont Blanc I thought it was about time I bored you with my exploits on Gran Paradiso as well For those of you who don t know (or have avoided me bleating on about it for the last 12 months), Gran Paradiso is located in Gran Paradiso National Park in north-west Italy and is the 7th highest mountain in the Graian Alps at 4061m. It is close to Mont Blanc which straddles the nearby border between France & Italy and whilst Mont Blanc has seen much dispute over the years as to whose side of the border the summit actually lies on. That was yet another battle the Italians lost and therefore as Gran Paradiso is the only mountain whose summit reaches over 4,000m that is entirely within Italian territory, it is duly considered their highest peak. It was first climbed in 1860 however by Alpine mountaineering standards it is considered fairly easy for a 4,000m peak. However it does have one of the longest ascents of 1,300m on summit day with the final 60m covering rocky terrain and requiring mountaineering skills and it is these factors that make it an ideal acclimatisation peak for anyone thinking of making an attempt on Mont Blanc. My three day expedition started on a beautiful sunny Wednesday August morning with a short van ride through the Mont Blanc tunnel into Italy. This tunnel is truly a wonderful feat of engineering as it drives straight through the Mont Blanc massif for about 12km and passes right under the Aiguille Du Midi Its notable for being the first large rock tunnel to be excavated full-face and it was driven from both sides with Italian and French crews beginning work in 1958 and 1959 respectively and duly meeting somewhere in the middle in August 1962. When the tunnel finally opened in 3 years later in 1965 it was the longest vehicular tunnel in the world and is of huge economic benefit to both countries as it provides a significantly shorter all-year-round land route between the two. Sadly in 1999, a fire killed 39 people and caused extensive damage to the tunnel forcing it to close. When it reopened in 2002 many safety improvements had been added to ensure that a similar event could not happen again and as such there are now strict rules in force when using it and fines are commonplace for not adhering to them. You ve been warned Once through the tunnel and into Italy we had a short drive towards Aosta before turning due south and heading up the Val Savarenche to the Grand Paradiso National Park. The head of this valley, named Pont Breuil, is a stunning location with steep sides terminating in high snow topped mountains and would be a wonderful place to camp and a perfect start point for anyone looking for adventures. Pont Bruil On this occasion however we had another destination in mind so after a brief lunch stop at the cafe (pasta of course) we abandoned the van, hoisted on our fully laden rucksacks and set off in the blazing sun on the steep 2-3 hour climb to our refuge. The climb up, although frighteningly slow compared to what we are used to in this country due to the altitude and the need to acclimatise, was awe inspiring to someone who had never been much above 4000ft, never mind metres. The initial part of the climb was on a well-developed path (apparently dating back to the King s hunting days) which ran in a zigzag up the Eastern side of the valley through an extensive Larch wood. Thankfully the
shade afforded by the trees at least gave us a bit of protection from the burning sun but eventually we broke out onto the higher, flower sprinkled pastures where we got our first view of the high peaks of the Gran Paradiso itself. I simply cannot explain the feeling I get when I see our mountains in the UK so these Alpine peaks were simply spellbinding to me and I behaved like a school kid taking photo after photo. Anyhow at least now that we had gained some considerable amount of altitude we were rewarded with a cooling breeze whilst we had a quick break to refuel and take yet more photos before pushing onwards and upwards to our 'digs' for the next couple of nights, Il Rifugio Federico Chabod. First View of the Gran Paradiso (right of centre) Federico Chabod, to whom the refuge owes its name, was born in Aosta in 1901 to a working class family. However despite his humble beginnings, Chabod went on to become a historian, university lecturer, regionalist, politician and also an outstanding mountaineer with numerous first ascents to his name. These include being the first Italian to climb the NE face of the Grivola without a guide and with his uncle the first to take on the south-western face of Gran Paradiso, again without a guide. He was also the first to climb the Tours de Notre Dame, Punta Judith and the Becca di Guin via its western face. The refuge itself stands at about 2750m and is situated at the foot of the north-west face of the Gran Paradiso. The idea of establishing a refuge named after Federico Chabod was suggested in 1966 by members of the Val Savarenche guide federation. The location was chosen using the guides' own experience and the need to reach routes that were not easily accessible, e.g. the Becca di Montandayné, the north-west face of the Gran Paradiso and the south face of the Herbetet. However, after much wrangling it was not until the autumn of 1977 that an initial hut was finished, with the building gradually growing over the years to become the excellent Refuge it is now. On arrival, we were booked into our 16 bed, first floor dormitory by our guides Mattheau & Klemen and given a pair of slippers to wear in and around the building. Boots and all hardware such as ice axes and crampons had to be placed in storage but thankfully rucksacks could be taken into the dormitory. To be honest, having never used a mountain refuge before and having heard stories about how basic they can be I was slightly nervous as to what I would find. However I needn t have worried as the place was excellently equipped with running water, showers, drying room etc. and also spotlessly clean, to be frank I ve stayed in worse hotels Once booked in our guides explained that we were to be at a meeting later but other than that we were left to our own devices to settle ourselves in. As such I duly requisitioned a top bunk right opposite the door of our room thinking I would at least be afforded a bit of a cool breeze once all eight of us plus kit had piled in. Then it was outside to check out the views and have a nice cold beer and relax for a couple of hours. A few of our party managed a bit of sleep but I was still in schoolboy mode and far too excited to even attempt sleeping. At around six we all duly attended the meeting and after splitting us into 2 teams of 4, each with a guide (we got Klemen) they described the route we would be taking to the summit. In hindsight I guess it was down to the understanding of the guides that they d already assessed our capabilities on the way up to the refuge and as such our group turned out to be fairly well matched in terms of pace. On my rope was Jamie who d already climbed Island peak in the Himalaya earlier in the year, Andy who also done Island Peak (plus been to both the North & South poles), Keith, who had climbed Kilimanjaro and little old me bringing up the rear who had zero altitude experience. I suppose given
my lack of experience they had to put me with someone As we would be crossing a glacier they explained about how to walk roped up and what to do in the event of someone falling into a crevasse. This perturbed me somewhat as it seemed to rely a little bit too much on the guides sorting things out but didn t explain what we were to do if one of them fell in Thankfully they then gave us loads of advice as to what to take and what to leave in order to keep the weight down and frankly I felt as if I d carted far too much up to the refuge in the first place Finally they ensured everyone was happy putting on their harnesses and crampons as we would be expected to do this in the dark as we were making an early start, 4am up, breakfast at 4.15am and 5am off at the latest due to the threat of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Then it was time for the evening meal before bed. Being in Italy it was no surprise that pasta was again on the menu but spaghetti Bolognese for a starter? Thinking of the carbohydrate load I d get I wasn t complaining. However I was served up a humungous plateful a main course if ever I saw one but it didn t stop me eating the lot, plus my main course and a pudding Honestly the food was brilliant, wholesome stuff and plenty of it and all washed down with more beer. After a wonderful night s sleep, on second thoughts no sleep whatsoever. Even wearing ear plugs and an eye mask It was up, washed, and down for a quick breakfast before getting out into the cool morning to make a start on the days adventure. It was eerie just how light it was at 5am but it made the first hour or so walking the up the glacial moraine to the glacier itself fairly easy using our head torches. At the foot of the glacier it was time to gear up with harnesses, crampons etc. and get roped up into our respective teams. In truth the walk up the glacier was fairly uneventful and just a long uphill slog with the only thing to think about being that you made sure you carefully followed the person in front so as to make sure you crossed the snow bridges over the crevasses in the right place. Thankfully, due to Jamie having no end of issues with some new crampons he purchased we got quite a few unexpected breaks along the way and so the climb was fairly simple if not a bit steep. Grinning like a Cheshire cat at 3750m with Mont Blanc in the distance By the time the sun was properly up we had virtually cleared the glacier and had started up the snow slopes onto the col which separates Gran Paradiso from its neighbouring peak, Becca Di Moncorve. Sadly it was at this point that Jamie suddenly stopped again. This time it wasn t to be his crampons but the more worrying effects of altitude as we were now at some 3750m (12300ft). Thankfully he recognised the early symptoms of altitude sickness and straight away shouted for our guide. Obviously the most prudent thing in this situation was for him to descend, at least a little way. However Klemen was adamant he wasn t to descend alone and either we all went down together or he would allow Jamie to wait where he was for the other team to collect him on their descent. I suggested that it would probably be worth checking with the other team via our radio however we were informed that the radio was for emergencies only and this didn t constitute an emergency Thankfully after a brief discussion it was agreed that Jamie would wait for the other team (who were much higher on the mountain due to not having the unscheduled stops) so we could go on to the summit Whilst I was happy I wasn t going to lose my chance at summiting my first Alp, I was still a little uneasy about leaving him but Jamie stressed that he didn t feel too bad and that he was happy to wait. By now it was mid-morning and the sun was beating down and reflecting off the snow making the temperature rise quite dramatically and forcing a clothing rethink. As such the layers we had worn
to fend off the cold morning air were quickly shed. Maintaining an even temperature is something I ve never quite got the hang of and this high on the mountain I d expected to need more layers however with the combination of the blazing sun and the extra work your body is putting in at that altitude and I ended up wearing relatively next to nothing This said it wasn t somewhere I d want to hang around too long as, whilst the scenery was stunning, I can imagine it wouldn t take long for the cold to start to bite. Thankfully the second team were already virtually at the summit so Jamie wouldn t have too long to wait so in contrast to us he layered up and hunkered down on his rucksack to sit it out leaving the rest of us to carry on upwards. Although none of us were to know it at the time, sadly the effects of this were to weaken him so much that it would cost him his chance on Mont Blanc Up to now we had been virtually alone on the route up, with only our two teams plus one other leaving our refuge. However from this point on things started to get rather busy as we now had to contend with other climbers who were making their way up from the Vittorio-Emmanuel II refuge. It would appear that this is the usual staging point for attempts on the Gran Paradiso but due to this it gets rather busy and once the two paths met the summit slopes became a bit like Blackpool prom on a bank holiday With the summit now in sight, although still another 300m (1000ft) away up a steep 50 slope, it didn t take too long to drag our backsides up to the rocky outcrop which defines the top section of the mountain. It was here that Klemen suggested we drop our crampons as we would be on rock for the short scramble to the actual summit which is marked, unlike in the UK with a cairn but by a statue of the Madonna. What he failed to tell us was that to reach the topmost point we would have to cross a wall, about 5m wide but with a sheer drop of what appeared to be about 1500-2000m Now as some of you are View from the Summit Showing the Route Up aware I m not brilliant with heights and given that I am prone to fainting fits when stressed due to an ongoing condition, I took one look and could quite easily have gone straight back down. However I don t like to let things beat me and added to the fact that I d already climbed 99% of the peak I bit my lip and followed the rest of the team onto the ledge. Thankfully there were bolts anchored into the wall which we could clip into but as I was last on the rope it was up to me to unclip as I crossed squeaky bum time I can tell you The summit was, if not a little precarious, a beautiful place to be on such a clear, bright day. There was just about sufficient room for about 4 climbers at a time which made summiting quite an intimate experience but the views afforded were simply breath-taking with a 360 panorama of the Alps including our main objective, Mont Blanc standing clear but cloud topped in the near distance. To be honest the Madonna made a pretty good belay point whilst we all furiously snapped away not wanting to miss a thing. Thankfully all Jamie s trials and tribulations were, whilst no doubt a disappointment to him, a big help to us as we were virtually the last to summit and as such we could spend as much time as we liked on the top compared to the huge queue which had built up earlier with teams taking it in turns to cross to the summit slabs. Sadly all good things have to come to an end and it was already lunchtime by now. So it was back down across the chasm with me leading this time to pick up our crampons and grab a bite to eat and drink before making the long journey back to the refuge. The walk down was rather uneventful other than by now some of the snow bridges over the crevasses were beginning to weaken in the afternoon heat. This prompted Klemen to offer to show us some crevasse rescue techniques including an Abalakov Thread which is an ice anchor created by Russian climber Vitaly Abalakov. For anyone interested it s made by drilling a couple of holes at approx. 45 in solid ice. These interconnect at the ends to form a v-like channel through which a cord can be threaded and tied with a knot. The resulting loop is then normally used to abseil from using the strength of the ice as support. On this occasion however Klemen asked for a volunteer to be lowered into one of the crevasses so he could show us how we could use it as an anchor point to pull someone out. To be honest, on the way up in the gloom of the early morning I hadn t paid much
attention to the crevasses but now, in the full light of day some of them were ridiculously deep and wide and frankly I wasn t eager to step forward, especially if only supported by a bit of ice Thankfully Keith volunteered and he was duly lowered over the edge and into the abyss Despite Andy and nye shouting constant requests he seemed reluctant to have a look around at just how deep the crevasse was and all he would say was it feels deep Anyway Klemen then proceeded to rig up what appeared to me a rather complex series of pulleys etc. which, whilst all very interesting, brought me back to my original feelings on what to do if one of us drops into a crevasse. Sadly, whilst I truly paid attention there would have been no way I could have reconstructed the apparatus, even if I had had all the necessary ice screws, pulleys, ropes etc. and as such we would have been up the proverbial had our guide been the unfortunate one to fall in We duly hoisted Keith out of the crevasse and once out (but looking rather shaky) he joined Andy and me in our feeble attempts to create our own anchors and thank god none of us were subject to being lowered using any of them. Crevasse Rescue Training (Poor Keith s over the edge) Sadly all this mucking about in crevasses had taken up a fair bit of time and it was now getting late in the afternoon. With the refuge was still another hour or so away, we duly packed up and headed down to try to catch afternoon lunch before they stopped serving food. Unfortunately we had our timings wrong and it became apparent that we weren t going to make it. As such Klemen duly got on the radio and asked Mattheau (who was already back) to order us all lasagne and a beer. So much for emergencies only In fact as we got to know Klemen, he turned out to be quite a character. He d taken part in the Balkans conflict where he d been conscripted and according to Mattheau he d destroyed a tank using a rocket propelled grenade whilst defending an airport. Impressive and not someone to mess with I d guess. He was also one for telling stories but for some unknown reason all his stories ended up with the main protagonist dying. Consequently it became an in joke within our group that no-one wanted to end up being the subject of a Klemen story. At the refuge we were welcomed back by the other jubilant team plus said lasagne and cold beer. That evening, not surprisingly, we had a bit of a celebration with a few more beers and wine before retiring early ready for the next days gentle walk back down to the valley. Even a partially recovered Jamie joined in despite his disappointment at missing the summit and a good night was had by all after a truly memorable day. Thankfully the weather the next day was glorious as usual and so we took our time on the descent, picking a different route to the way up to see a bit more of the stunning scenery before jumping back into the van to head back to Chamonix for a well-deserved day rest. My first 4000m peak completed, a severe test of my head for heights and absolutely no hint of altitude sickness. It was looking good for Mont Blanc should I be lucky enough to get the weather. But then that s another story.. Thanks for listening, Phill Larter.