| Gran Paradiso | |
|---|---|
| French: Grand Paradis | |
) The Gran Paradiso | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,061 m (13,323 ft) [1] |
| Prominence | 1,879 m (6,165 ft) [2] |
| Isolation | 45.1 km (28.0 mi)  |
| Listing | Ultra |
| Coordinates | 45°30′52″N 7°16′11″E / 45.51444°N 7.26972°E |
| Naming | |
| English translation | Great Paradise |
| Language of name | French, Italian |
| Geography | |
)  Gran Paradiso Italy | |
| Location | Piedmont (Metropolitan City of Turin) and Aosta Valley, Italy |
| Parent range | Graian Alps |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | September 4, 1860 by Cowell, Dundas, Payot and Tairraz |
| Easiest route | rock/ice climb |
The Gran Paradiso (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɡran para'dizo]) or Grand Paradis (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃ paʁadi]) is a mountain in the Graian Alps in Italy, located between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions.
Geography
The peak, the 7th highest mountain in the Graian Alps, with an elevation of 4,061 m, is close to Mont Blanc on the nearby border with France. In the SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain belongs to an alpine subsection called "North-Eastern Graian Alps" (It:Alpi del Gran Paradiso; Fr:Alpes du Grand-Paradis) and also gives its name to the gruppo del Gran Paradiso.[3]
While the Mont Blanc massif straddles the border between France and Italy, the Gran Paradiso is the only mountain whose summit reaches over 4,000 metres that is entirely within Italian territory.
Routes
Climbs normally start from either the Refuge Frédéric Chabod or the Refuge Victor-Emmanuel II. The latter is named after Victor Emmanuel II of Italy who created the Gran Paradiso royal reserve in 1856, presently the site of the Gran Paradiso National Park.
It is widely accepted that Gran Paradiso is one of the easiest four-thousanders to summit. This is not fully true, however, because while almost the entire route to the ridge is graded at F+, the last several dozen meters to the Virgin Mary (or Madonna) summit (Italian: Cima della Madonna, French: Pointe de la Madone ou French: Pointe de la Vierge - 4058 m) comprises rock climbing with considerable exposure, with difficulties of grade I UIAA, while access to the proper main summit (4061 m) requires 15 minutes of climbing up to grade II UIAA. Gran Paradiso is popular with novice alpinists and many of these only climb to the Madonna summit.[4]
In addition to the main summit routes, Gran Paradiso possesses a steep snow/ice North West Face, which can be climbed at AD+ from the Refuge Frédéric Chabod.[5]
Nature conservation
Gran Paradiso is located in the Gran Paradiso National Park, an Italian national park named after the mountain.[6] On the French side of the border, the park is continued by the Vanoise National Park.
See also
- List of 4000 metre peaks of the Alps
References
- ^ Geoportale IGM on www.pcn.minambiente.it
- ^ Gran Paradiso, Italy, www.peakbagger.com
- ^ Marazzi, Sergio (2005). Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA (in Italian). Priuli & Verlucca. p. 113. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8.
- ^ The 4000m Peaks of the Alps, Martin Moran, The Alpine Club (2007)
- ^ The 4000m Peaks of the Alps, Martin Moran, The Alpine Club (2007)
- ^ "parco.nazionale.gran.paradise - parks.it". parks.it. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
Maps
- Italian official cartography (Istituto Geografico Militare - IGM); on-line version: www.pcn.minambiente.it
- I.G.C. (Istituto Geografico Centrale) - Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi 1:50.000 scale n.3 Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso and 1:25.000 n.101 Gran Paradiso, La Grivola, Cogne
External links
- Ebyte.it, Gran Paradiso massif, a panorama with the names of all peaks