Gran Paradiso / Mont Blanc / Dufourspitze July 24 - Aug 4

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tom22

 
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Gran Paradiso / Mont Blanc / Dufourspitze July 24 - Aug 4

by tom22 » Fri Feb 10, 2017 3:01 pm

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a hiking partner (or a maximum 2 other people) this summer (July 24th - August 4th) to join me in climbing Gran Paradiso, Mont Blanc, and Dufourspitze.
I am currently climbing the highest points in each European country, and these will be numbers 40-42.

I would say my level is intermediate, with more experience hiking and climbing solo rather than in groups. My relevant experience includes Triglav in May (Slovenia/solo), Zugspitze via south face (Germany/solo), Elbrus (in a team, Russia), Grauspitze off trail (team leader of 4, Liechtenstein) and Grossglockner (team leader, Austria).
In addition to this I hike regularly throughout the year in Poland/Slovakia and am experienced in using crampons, via ferrata and basic rope techniques.

I will be looking to camp as much as possible on the trip, except on Mont Blanc as from what I can see, it is illegal and quite strongly enforced. With all 3 mountains I have planned the standard route, although I am open to suggestion of course.

Unfortunately I am rather unflexible on dates, as the trip is placed between other trips. I will be arriving from Belgium on the 23rd of July to Monaco, and returning to Poland no later than the 4th of August. The order of peaks can be altered, and I am open to picking up people from airports etc..

I speak English and some Polish - unfortunately my French/German/Italian are rather lacking!

For further details please contact me directly here, or privately at tdmill @ hotmail . co.uk

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rgg
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Re: Gran Paradiso / Mont Blanc / Dufourspitze July 24 - Aug

by rgg » Sun Feb 12, 2017 7:10 pm

tom22 wrote:I am looking for a hiking partner (or a maximum 2 other people) this summer (July 24th - August 4th) to join me in climbing Gran Paradiso, Mont Blanc, and Dufourspitze.
I am currently climbing the highest points in each European country, and these will be numbers 40-42.


Gran Paradiso is a fine mountain to climb, and if you do it before the other two, it will be useful for acclimatization. However, if you believe that Gran Paradiso is the highest point of Italy, I suggest that you check again. It's not even close.

First of all, there is a long running border dispute between France and Italy about Mont Blanc: the Italian position is that the border runs across the summit of Monte Bianco, as it is called in Italian, while the French claim that the summit is exclusively French. That means that, according to the Italians, Monte Bianco is the highest point of their country. And even if you go along with the French, the highest point of Italy is still near the summit of Mont Blanc, and I think it's Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (in Italian: Monte Bianco di Courmayeur).

In addition, there are a number of peaks on the border with Switzerland that are higher than Gran Paradiso, and also a bunch just south of that border. The highest point is the Grenzgipfel, an insignificant bump on the summit ridge just east of the Dufourspitze. I think the only reason it's got a name at all is because it's on the border.

Image
Mont Blanc de Courmayer, seen from the saddle with Mont Blanc

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tom22

 
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Re: Gran Paradiso / Mont Blanc / Dufourspitze July 24 - Aug

by tom22 » Tue Feb 14, 2017 4:39 pm

Thanks rgg,

I chose Gran Paradiso due to the disputes. Firstly, Mont Blanc/Monte Bianco is the disputed highest point in Italy, Mont Blanc de Courmayer is the highest undisputed highest point of Italy, and Gran Paradiso is the undisputed highest point where the entire mountain lies within the territory of Italy. By climbing all 3 (I plan to summit de Courmayer if the weather holds) then I certainly can say, without any doubt, Italy's highest point was climbed! And any excuse to climb a mountain like Gran Paradiso is fine! :)

Happy climbing everyone!

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rgg
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Re: Gran Paradiso / Mont Blanc / Dufourspitze July 24 - Aug

by rgg » Tue Feb 14, 2017 10:03 pm

Hi Tom,

Since there is no "official" list of European country high points, everyone is completely free to make a personal list, using any criteria. Though my reasoning is different, I understand why you want to include Gran Paradiso, and I say, go for it. I've been there once, and found it a very nice area.

As it happens, by the end of last summer I decided I wanted to visit all European high points myself. After last summer, I had done 18 countries. I have no time limit though, and expect to take many years to bag them all. Personally, I feel that it's all about the process, about visiting all these different countries and cultures. I expect to spend a lot more time in each country than would be necessary just to visit the high point.

For me, when a country high point is a proper mountain, climbing it adds something special, but even unimpressive high points can result in nice trips. Last December I went to Malta. The country high point is an unmarked, unimpressive little bump by the side of the road, and the hardest part was to actually find where it was. Visiting the high point took no more than a few hours. Most of my trip to Malta was about rock climbing and taking it easy. I don't consider it all that important to complete the list. Maybe that will change when I'm almost done, but in the mean time it just adds a bit of motivation to get out there, and it's a good excuse to travel to places I wouldn't think of otherwise.

Cheers, Rob

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mgware

 
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Re: Gran Paradiso / Mont Blanc / Dufourspitze July 24 - Aug

by mgware » Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:36 am

Hi Tom,

I am interested in climbing Mont Blanc during that time frame. Would love to discuss further.


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