Gran Paradiso

 No trip to Europe would be complete without a walk! So though we couldn't squeeze in a Camino route this time round, we really wanted to walk in Italy. The Piedmont region of the Italian Alps is less busy and well-known than many other parts of the Alps, and we discovered a four-day guided walk in the Gran Paradiso National Park that seemed perfect. [Dear Reader, it is impossible to convey the scale and grandeur of this landscape in photos but if you have access to a computer we suspect you will appreciate seeing what lies ahead in this blog on a larger screen.]

We met our guide Elisabetta and 9 fellow walkers at Fermi metro station on the outskirts of Torino, and then drove 2 hours to the small hamlet of Rhêmes-Notre-Dame. A brief briefing in the car park and we were off on a glorious sunny day. (NB. We were by far the oldest members of the party!!)

Lunch by the lake and then our first climb. 

Above the tree line, where we'd stay for the next 2 and half days, we had a break by an old shepherd's hut.

Note the angle of the slope!

We stayed in mountain refugios, which are brilliantly set up for hikers. They serve a communal dinner and breakfast, and you can order a simple packed lunch for the day. The sleeping quarters at the first hut were cramped - triple layered bunks on two sides of a room which was the size of a railway carriage - six packs and six people to squeeze into the almost non-existent floor space! It's one way to get to know your companions.

On Day 2 we woke to pouring rain and the prospect of an 800m climb. Oh yes - there was wind too.

After the first 400m uphill, we reached a glacial lake in a murrain covered moonscape.

It was too cold to linger long. Another 400m up a gruellingly steep and rocky path took us to the pass. 

Ugh! We were now above 3000 metres, which is 800 metres higher than Mt Kosciusko. It was harder to breathe here, which along with the cold added an extra challenge to the walking.

A massive glacier awaited over the other side.

The descent was also freezing, steep and long with some big wind gusts. That's our destination hut in the mist ahead.

Closer to the hut, we saw ibex (a previously endangered kind of mountain goat) grazing on the sodden slopes.

By late afternoon, there were intermittent breaks in the rain though it was still freezing. But by then, we were safely ensconced in our refugio for the night.

Overnight it rained and blew a gale, but Day 3 dawned clear and sunny. We began with a 400m climb straight from the hut!! It turns out that Alpine valleys are narrow and steep. The only way out is up!!

Once up the slope, our little band relished the clear skies and incredible views. The scale of these mountains is impossible to convey in the photos.

Mont Blanc in the background.

Today we could linger at the glacial lake - complete with frogs.

Lunch (and astonishing vistas) were the reward for another 300m climb.

But what goes up ...

Day 4 saw another beautiful morning and another 400m starting climb! Here we are ready to set out.

The climb began gradually as we moved towards the end of the valley but soon rose steeply up murrain to the pass called Col de Fenêtre.

The pass itself was a narrow 'window' which looked down (or rather precipitously) into the next valley.

On one side, a view of Gran Paradiso itself - the 4061m mountain from which the Park takes its name.

On the other side, the view from where we'd come.

And ahead, the 1000m descent down the steepest trail we've ever walked without rope! The prospect of pitching ourselves over the edge was definitely daunting. 

One section, in fact, did have a rope. Elisabetta, the most low key and phlegmatic of guides, showing us how it's done.

The descent began to flatten out over Sound of Music like meadows.

Down, down, down... (hang in knees!)

Past a long waterfall and canyon.

And then the trees and the village - back to where we started.

So, dear reader, what an adventure, through a stunning and dramatic landscape. We are grateful for the experience and to arrive at the other end with body in tact and soul uplifted. Gran Paradiso indeedo!!!

⛰️🏔️🛘🏔️⛰️