Pont - Vittorio Emanuele II Refuge - Gran Paradiso - Vittorio Emanuele II Refuge - Pont

A classic ascent to Gran Paradiso, spending the night at the Vittorio Emanuele II Refuge. Moderately difficult for mountaineering; as a hike, it would be considered very difficult. Not recommended without minimal climbing and technical terrain experience, in addition to the necessary glacier rope skills. DAY ONE The first day is trivial. We leave the car down at the campsite and head up to the refuge, gaining almost 800m. The trail is wide and very well-marked, posing no difficulty. The refuge has everything you need. We prepare our backpacks for tomorrow's ascent and go to bed at 8 PM. In our backpacks, we pack water and food for roughly ten hours, a headlamp, a thermal blanket, and rope equipment: a single rope (with triple certification), crampons and ice axe, helmet, various carabiners and cords, and a harness. DAY TWO We wake up at 3 AM to start before 4 AM, aiming for good ice conditions (harder ice) and to avoid possible afternoon storms. Even though it's dark, the trail is quite visible, with plenty of markers. We did get "lost" several times, but it's easy to find the way again. Once we reach ~3650 meters, we stop to prepare for the glacier. Knowing how to do this or having a good mountain guide is essential; taking a course beforehand is highly recommended. From here, the path is well-trodden, and even though there are a couple of slightly more technical sections, it's easy to follow and not too dangerous. It's a fairly easy glacier. Once back on rock, it would be advisable to remove the crampons, but we didn't. We did leave the ice axes behind. Follow the path to the left and take the via ferrata-style ladders to reach the Madonna statue from behind, and descend along the ridge to avoid long queues. The ridge is equipped with some metal hooks to pass the rope through. We return down the same ascent route, which presents no further difficulties. We have lunch at the refuge and head down to the car with destroyed knees but happy souls. We did our first 4000-meter peak!