Just back from climbing the Gran Paradiso over in Italy, on the final day of a 4000m Peaks Alpine Climbing Course that I’ve been running this week. Conditions over there are excellent at the moment, with good snow cover on the glaciers and great quality cramponing snow from start to finish.
As the name suggests, the aim of this course is to teach people how to climb 4000m peaks in the Alps!
The week started with a glacier skills teaching day on the Mer de Glace, learning all aspects of ice axe and crampon work – as well as the ropework required to travel safely on glaciers. Day 2 concentrated on moving together on snow terrain – ie dealing with steep slopes and snow crests etc with and ascent of the Flambeau N Ridge, followed by an introduction to crevasse rescue before spending the night at the Torino Hut on the Italian side of the range.
On Day 3 we traversed the Aiguille D’Entreves, learning how to move safely and efficiently on alpine rock ridges, including different descent techniques getting off the route. Along the way we also practiced glacier travel and discussed alpine hazards and how to minimise risks in the mountains.
Day 4 started with a crevasse rescue and multi pitch abseiling session at a valley crag, before heading over to the Gran Paradiso National Park and walking up to the Vittoio Emanuele Hut in the afternoon. We then enjoyed a fantastic ascent of the Gran Paradiso today, with everyone climbing as an independent team on their 1st Alpine 4000er. Congratulations to David in particular, who – for reasons best known to himself – carried a roast chicken all the way to the summit and back; I’ve never had that before!
Al
PS – here’s a short video I made during the week:
backcountryuk 