High Altitude Cappuccino

🗺️   Overview Highest point: Gran Paradiso, 4,061m — the only 4000er fully in Italy Elevation gain: 2250m over 2 days, 1350m the second Duration: 2h30 first day, 10-12h the second Day 1: Hike to Rifugio Federico Chabod (2h35, 950m elevation gain) Day 2: Ascent to summit and return to the valley (~11 hours total) Difficulty: Long but non-technical (glacier + short via ferrata) Gear: Crampons, harness, helmet, ice axe — rentable at the hut Best advice: Start early to avoid slushy snow and traffic on the summit! Download GPS file Gran Paradiso (4,061m) holds a special place in the Alps: it's the only 4000-meter peak located entirely within Italy. After climbing to Capanna Margherita last year (4,556m, the highest building in Europe), Gran Paradiso was the natural next step. It's known as one of the easier 4000ers technically—but don’t be fooled, it’s long and demanding due to the lack of lifts. Day 1 – The Climb to Rifugio Federico Chabod We arrived on a Sun...

🗺️ Overview Starting point:  Staffal (1800m) Arrival point:  Capanna Margherita (4554m) Lift dropoff:  Punta Indren (3200m) Altitude gain:  1300m Time:  2 days (at least for normal people like me) Difficulty:  Difficult (especially due to the altitude) Technical difficiulty :  Easy Download GSP file If you love mountaineering, you can't miss  Capanna Margherita . At  4,554m , it’s the highest mountain hut in Europe and, surprisingly, accessible to anyone with  average fitness . I went with a friend, joining a  guided tour  organized by  MonteRosaBooking . It cost us  €420 , and I can say— worth every cent! You can start your ascent from  Staffal (Gressoney)  or  Alagna . Either way, you take the lifts (included in our tour in our case)  up to Passo dei Salati (3,000m).  There we met our guide, Fabio. He immediately made us feel at ease, provided the necessary gear ( crampons and harnesses ), ...