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Hi all,

I've got a week in Abruzzo with the family at the end of May and want to bag a day to hike up Corno Grande, as it looks amazing. However, my wife & little one won't be coming with me so i'd need to go solo.

I've hiked a few peaks (lots of North Wales, plus Kinabalu 13kft, Meru 15kft) but a novice when it comes to snow, only really experienced this on Snowdon in winter once or twice, and that's only following a clearly furrowed channel.

So - question is, given that Corno Grande is a reasonably popular hike, does anyone with experience think it;s OK to do alone or is this madness? I have decent gear for the cold but no specific snow/ice equipment - would this be necessary?

Thanks
Steve.

I wouldn't worry too much about snow. Especially since there hasn't been that much this year. I don't know the mountain, but it says: Klettersteig, so prepare for that. Take a South facing slope as well. I've done a couple of 3000'ers here in Ticino in the last month and the South slopes are almost clear of snow (and you'll be a lot more South).

conflax wrote:Hi all,

I've got a week in Abruzzo with the family at the end of May and want to bag a day to hike up Corno Grande, as it looks amazing. However, my wife & little one won't be coming with me so i'd need to go solo.

I've hiked a few peaks (lots of North Wales, plus Kinabalu 13kft, Meru 15kft) but a novice when it comes to snow, only really experienced this on Snowdon in winter once or twice, and that's only following a clearly furrowed channel.

So - question is, given that Corno Grande is a reasonably popular hike, does anyone with experience think it;s OK to do alone or is this madness? I have decent gear for the cold but no specific snow/ice equipment - would this be necessary?

Thanks
Steve.

Ciao,
climbing Corno Grande west summit (the highest) at the end of may is not a madness for an expert hiker (but it's better if he has a little of mountaineering experience). For the average hiker it's not advisable: the best period to climb Corno Grande is from July to September. Until June, usually, above 2500m there is still a lot of snowfields and some passages could be tricky and dangerous.

In the webcam below you can see the current conditions on Gran Sasso southern slopes (Campo Imperatore):



http://www.meteoappennino.it/index.php?option=com_webcam&task=loop&idw=79

and northern slopes (Prati di Tivo):



http://www.meteoappennino.it/index.php?option=com_webcam&task=loop&idw=13

You have to decide based on your mountain experience. I climbed Corno Grande dozens of times, in every seasons: in late May I take always with me the ice-axe and maybe the crampons...

Saluti,
Renato