Monte Viso wonderland
I first read about Monte Viso in 1999; Will McLewin’s classic book describing how every one of the Alps 4000m peaks could be seen from its summit. 3 days later and there it was, standing like an isolated church tower nearly 100km south of us. It stands 500m clear of any other mountains nearby and is one of the few “must do” peaks I’ve ever had.
A chance opportunity to climb with my old mate Icky saw us heading off over high passes on Tuesday and down into Italy. Our first close sight of it got the adrenalin rising nicely but quite a worry about how Red the dawg was going to get on!
Gulp! Monte Viso out to the right.
We got there, Red opted to stay in the Andretti bivvy hut @ 3200m (top of the heavy red line marked below) and sadly the haze limited views somewhat. The whole experience was outrageously good though with possibly the most beautiful alpine approach & descent I’ve ever done, quality climbing, a tiny handful of friendly other climbers and superb company throughout. Enjoy the pics which I’ll label in time.-
Arnica
Marmot
Recovery meal.
