Gran Paradiso

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Gran Paradiso

The Gran Paradiso
Elevation 4,061 m (13,323 ft)[1]
Prominence 1,879 m (6,165 ft)[2]
Listing Ultra
Location
Gran Paradiso
Italy
Range Graian Alps
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
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 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 that it could be considered the highest peak in Italy.

History

The highest 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 less difficult 4,000 meter peaks, although it has one of the longest Ordinary 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 national park.

Nature conservation

Gran Paradiso is located in Gran Paradiso National Park,[4] an Italian national park named after the mountain. 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 del Gran Paradiso". Protected Areas and World Heritage Programme. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 

Maps

  • Italian official cartography (Istituto Geografico Militare - IGM); on-line version: www.pcn.minambiente.it
  • Istituto Geografico Centrale - Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi 1:50.000 scale n.3 Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso and 1:25.000 n.101 Gran Paradiso, La Grivola, Cogne

See also

External links

  • Ebyte.it, Gran Paradiso massif, a panorama with the names of all peaks
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