Gran Paradiso

Gran Paradiso
Grand Paradis

The Gran Paradiso
Highest point
Elevation 4,061 m (13,323 ft)[1]
Prominence 1,879 m (6,165 ft)[2]
Listing Ultra
Coordinates 45°30′52″N 7°16′11″E / 45.51444°N 7.26972°E / 45.51444; 7.26972Coordinates: 45°30′52″N 7°16′11″E / 45.51444°N 7.26972°E / 45.51444; 7.26972
Geography
Gran Paradiso
Grand Paradis

Italy

Location Piedmont 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 (French: Grand Paradis) is a mountain in the Graian Alps located between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions of north-west Italy.

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 the 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, so it could be considered the highest peak in Italy.

History

The summit was first reached on September 4, 1860 by J. J. Cowell, W. Dundas, J. Payot and J. Tairraz. By high Alpine mountaineering standards, Gran Paradiso is considered one of the least difficult 4,000 meter peaks, although it has one of the highest ascents of 1,300 meters on the summit day. The final 60 meters cover rocky terrain and require mountaineering skills. Climbs normally start from either the Refuge Frédéric Chabod or the Refuge Victor-Emmanuel II. The latter is named after Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy who created the Gran Paradiso royal reserve in 1856, presently the site of the Gran Paradiso National Park.

Nature conservation

Gran Paradiso is located in the Gran Paradiso National Park, an Italian national park named after the mountain.[4] On the French side of the border, the park is continued by the Vanoise National Park.

Notes

  1. Geoportale IGM on www.pcn.minambiente.it
  2. Gran Paradiso, Italy, www.peakbagger.com
  3. Marazzi, Sergio (2005). Atlante Orografico delle Alpi. SOIUSA (in Italian). Priuli & Verlucca. p. 113. ISBN 978-88-8068-273-8.
  4. "parco.nazionale.gran.paradise - parks.it". parks.it. Retrieved 28 January 2015.

Maps

See also

External links

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