Gran Paradiso


The Gran Paradiso or Grand Paradis is a mountain in the Graian Alps in Italy, located between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions.

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 the mountain belongs to an alpine subsection called "North-Eastern Graian Alps" and also gives its name to the gruppo del Gran Paradiso.
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.

Routes

Climbs normally start from either the Refuge Frédéric Chabod or the Refuge Victor-Emmanuel II. The latter is named after Victor Emmanuel II of Italy who created the Gran Paradiso royal reserve in 1856, presently the site of the Gran Paradiso National Park.
It is widely accepted that Gran Paradiso is one of the easiest four-thousanders to get. This is not fully true, however, because while almost the entire route to the ridge is valued at F+, the last several dozen meters to the Virgin Mary summit is rock climbing in large exposure with difficulties I UIAA, while access to the main summit requires 15 minutes of climbing about the difficulties of II UIAA. 99% of those who climb to this peak are, however, amateurs without the right skills, and often even without equipment, who end up climbing the Madonna summit or do not reach any summit.

Nature conservation

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

Maps