Climbing Monte Rosa, Italy’s second highest peak! 4,634 mt. (15,203 ft)
THE START
Me, my cousin Paolo and a friend Fabio (who are both mountain enthusiasts) decided to reach Monte Rosa’s peak at Regina Margherita hut 4554 mt tall. We left on Saturday morning around 8 a.m. and after about 2.30h drive we reached Alagna, Gressoney where our journey began.
my cousin Paolo on the left and me discussing with the guide regarding the climb.
One thing I have to say regarding the climb is be prepared, you will need:
- crampon able boots, these are absolutely necessary as you will have to hike a glacier
- sunglasses, believe it or not between the reflection on the snow and the hight of the mountain you will get sunburned
- headlamp (these are very cheap) however super useful since you will have to climb early in the morning when is pitch black
- climb equipment (rope, mountain harness, ice ax etc)
- water and dried fruits/energy bars and some medicine if needed. I had a slight headache during the last few hours so aspirin definitely helped
- rainproof/wind stopper clothes, be prepared to dress up in layers!
On the first day, Saturday, we hiked about 3hours and arrived at Rifugio Gnifetti where we spent the night (3647mt) around 5 p.m. and that gave us the chance to have a relaxing time, playing some cards, drink a couple of beers with dinner have a decent enough sleep and be ready for the 4 a.m. wake up call — yes 4 a.m.
THE CLIMB
We woke up at 4 a.m., quick breakfast in at the Hut then ready with the headlights to start hiking during pitch black
The hike is long, we started walking around 5 a.m. and ended up walking around 6 hours to reach the peak.
If you are planning to go keep in mind that majority of the time you will be walking on a glacier.
We strapped on the crampons on our boots, got our ice ax ready for action, strapped ourselves together with the rope walked into the dark.
The sunrise that followed was one of the best ones I have ever experienced, the warm rays over a desert of white snow make the overall scenery breathtaking.
You would think that the further you go up the colder it gets, but this is not necessarily true. It all depends whether or not you walk under the sunshine or not.
Between the hike and the sun, even near the peak I felt hot from time to time, sometimes even walking only with a t-shirt on! Dressing up in layers is fundamental if you want to have a nice experience.
I think we reached the summit around mid-day or so, some parts where tougher than others but as long as you are a fit person the climb is not particularly difficult, for sure long but not difficult.
Finally is here we can see it, the goal of our journey Capanna Margherita
The view from up there is beautiful. Personally this is the highest I have ever been by walking and regardless of tired feet, cold, and fatigue it was 100% worth it.
I would do it again, and recommend to everyone who is strong willed enough to climb to do this kind of experience at least once in a lifetime.
The hardest part for me was the way back, not from a physical point of view but just overall the walk is long, total of 10–12 hours depending on the breaks you take.
With no other goal than going home I did lose the drive for adventure, especially durning the last 2 hours.
Yet regardless of this the good outweigh the bad by 10 to 1 and we all had lots of fun hiking, if you are an inexperienced climber make sure you have a mountain guide with you and better to be safe than sorry!
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