Ascent of Corno Grande on 2013-10-31| Others in Party: | Dave Schultz
| | Date: | Thursday, October 31, 2013 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Peak: | Corno Grande | | Location: | Italy | | Elevation: | 9554 ft / 2912 m |
Ascent Trip ReportGreat introduction to the Appennines of Central Italy. Our starting point was Naples, thanks to a lift there from the aircraft carrier I work on. We made our way up to Assergi after dinner in Civitella Roveto at a great restaurant. The menu was only in Italian, and the place was pretty full of Italians - I pointed at something and when it came to the table, it was awesome. With the over-processed slop they pass off as food on the ship, it was the best meal I have had since we left Bahrain in August. Once we left Assergi, we made slow progress up into the highlands before finding a place to sleep off of the road a little bit. It was refreshing to sleep under the stars for the first time in over 9 months.
Our morning started in the fog as we arrived at the ski area that serves as the trailhead to Corno Grande. We got an alpine start, before sunrise, as our plans for the day included 2 different peaks in the area, and we were not sure how difficult Corno Grande would be. Just before the saddle NE of Cima 2422, the sun rose and we emerged from the fog below. After following the trail to the minor saddle due south of the summit at the base of the Direttissima Alpinistica route, we began following the green paint up the Direttissima Alpinistica route. The paint markings took the route-finding challenge out of the route, but I guess that this is how they do it here. From my memory of hikes in Switzerland and Germany, the trails and routes are well-marked. No different than duck-hunting back in the USA. The route was much easier than we had thought it was going to be, and we were on the summit 1 hr and 40 min after we left the trailhead. I could definitely feel the altitude during this hike after living at sea level since late March. We spent 45 minutes on the summit just enjoying the view as the fog cleared in the basin to the SW and we took plenty of summit pictures. We carried a rope for the 4th class but did not need it as we just free-soloed that terrain.
The hike down was pleasant. We took the standard west ridge down, and saw 2 different groups on the ascent during our descent. We saw some small deer/ibex creatures as we descended into the basin SW of the peak. I got a number of good pictures of them. When we arrived back at the saddle, we split SW towards Cima 2422, mainly to enjoy the views from there and take a different route down. Upon arrival at the trailhead/ski area, we refilled our water bottles and prepared to move to the trailhead for Monte Camicia.
Pictures from both Corno Grande and Monte Camicia. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 2599 ft / 792 m | | Quality: | 10 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 2599 ft / 792 m | | Route: | Via Direttissima Alpinistica | | Start Trailhead: | 6955 ft / 2119 m | | Descent Statistics | Ascent Part of Trip: Corno Grande
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 2999 ft / 914 m | GPS Data for Ascent/Trip
 GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/long
Peaks:  climbed and  unclimbed by James Barlow
Click Here for a Full Screen Map
Note: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO responsibility or liability from use of this data.
Download this GPS track as a GPX file |
This page has been served 1460 times since 2005-01-15.
|
