Gran Paradiso - Rif. Vittoria Emanuele to Rif. F. Chabod

All seven other occupants of our room had left for Gran Paradiso by 4.00am. We slept on to 6.30am having breakfast in the lovely new conservatory.

We headed up the path at the end of the glacial L. di Moncorve towards La Tresenta. The path was steep and loose but once we were on top of the moraine the path was well compacted and an easier gradient.

We followed the path to the north side of the stream flowing out of the glacier and up onto the snow on the slopes of La Tresenta, going as far as we dare without crampons and ice axes reaching about 3200m. I would like to return with appropriate gear to reach the top as it looked reasonable. 

Morning
Ascent 454m 
Descent 454m
Dist 4km

On our return we headed down the large rock slabs into the valley crossing back to our path that we had used for the ascent but further down.

By the time we arrived back at the refuge Darren (our son) and his friends had arrived back as well. They had reached approx. 3700m before turning back due to the high winds on the final slopes of Gran Paradiso.

In the afternoon we headed off to Rifugio Chabod. A lovely walk that contoured a high above Vallone di Seiva on path 1a. The views across the valley were apectacular and the rock scenery on our side was shaped by the glaciers with large smooth domed slopes.

We were offered a lovely room to ourselves as the refuge was quiet. The staff entertained us with singing and dancing in the evening which was fun. The refuge had a large warm basement for drying clothes and wet boots. There seemed to be plenty of electricity as they had a water turbine and large storage batteries. The showers were excellent. 

Afternoon
Ascent 354m 
Descent 306m
Dist. 4km

 

la Trasenta from Rif. Vittoria Emanuele

Gran Paradiso - Pont to Rif Vittorio Emmanuele

Rif. Vittoria Emmanuel (2732m)

It had rained during the night so we waited for the tent to dry before leaving as we only had a short walk today.

Delivering supplies to Rif. Vittoria Emanuele

We were also meeting our son and his friends who were on an Alpine Club meeting in the area.

By the time they arrived it had started to rain heavily so we retreated into the Auberge for a hot drink.

The path headed south up the Vallone di Seiva to Rif. Tetras Lyre then east via a endless series of zig zags to Rifugio Vittoria Emanuele, an ascent of about 770m. 

We arrived early in the afternoon. it had been cool but windy and dry. The hut is a modern structure with a large and light conservatory on the side. We had some tea and watched the helicopter deliver provisions that seemed to be mostly beer. The refuge become very busy as it is one of the main starting points for Gran Paradiso.

Later that afternoom we all went for a walk up the boulder scree that leads to Gran Paradiso as our son and his friends were going to make an attempt on the summit the following day. This required a very early start, so he wanted to check out the first part of the route that he would be doing in the dark.

The evening meal included minestrone soup, followed by a beef casserole and tinned mixed veg. Lindsey had the better vegetarian option; spinach tart, that everyone looked at enviously as the meat was full of gristle. For desert we had a mixed fruit salad.

Ascent 773m
Descent 80m
Dist. 2km