Gran Paradiso is the highest mountain in the Graian Alps and the only “four thousand” one fully within the Italian borders. The first ascent to the highest peak (4,061 meters) was completed on September 4, 1860 by the British mountaineers Dundas and Cowell with the French Payot and Tayrraz.
The village of Pont, at the end of the Valsavarenche, is the natural starting point for this interesting climb: after sleeping at the Victor Emanuel hut, that can be reached from an easy and well-travelled path, climb the west slop, first on the rock face and then the glacier, to a couple of meters under the statue of the Virgin Mary on the peak that must be reached by climbing the Tribulation glacier’s rock wall. This is the Gran Paradiso massif’s main glacier, on the northern face, in the vast circle that opens under the highest peak at the head of Valnontey (Cogne). The difficulty of this climb would, in other circumstances, be graded as a walk.
From the Statue, located on what everyone considers the summit (the actual summit is a bit higher to the North), you can enjoy an extraordinary view of the Piedmont Alps that extends to Argentera and beyond, towards Monviso.
The National Park was also named after the Gran Paradiso. Established in 1922 and famous for being the preferred habitat for ibex, whose protection was the main reason for the park’s creation by Victor Emanuel II. In addition to the ibex, Gran Paradiso is also home to the golden eagle and the woodchuck.
The mountain is not only visited in the summer. In fact, its peaks are often used for skiing.