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Italy: Appenines

Gran Sasso, June 2005.

Corno Grande West Ridge, with rescue helicopter, 2915 m.

Standing at 2600 m, we looked up the last 300 m of the Corno Grande Direct Route. So far the trail was steep but fine, a mix of scree of loose rocks and solid rocks.

 The next 50 m up looked also fine but higher up it seemed to get very steep. 'Best left to walkers with climbers experience', the Lonely Planet said. We asked an Italian with an impressive outfit and with full gear including an ice axe on the way up. Ah, ni crampons, he said, ni possible! We believed him.

Gran Sasso

The Gran Sasso mountain range in Central Italy near Rome has the highest peaks of the  Italian Apennines. There are several over 2500 m high mountains. Corno Grande at 2915 m is the highest peak of the Apennines and is a popular target  for both mountain climbers scaling the near vertical rock faces of 300 m (shortest South face) to 1000 m (East face) but also walkers taking the two marked trail routes.

Access

The Gran Sasso is easily accessible from Rome. The main access town is l’Aquila,  which means eagle in English. It is only 1.5 h by the ARPA bus from the Rome Tiburtina Station (500 m away from the frontal entrance) with busses every hour to 45 minutes on Saturday but only half the frequency on Sunday. Tiburtina is only 40 minutes from the main Fiumicino airport with trains every 20 minutes.

We took Virgin Express from Amsterdam to Rome on Saturday which has ideal flying times to travel to and from l’Aquila the same day for only Euro 150, a similar price as the overpriced regular train  ticket by Thalys to Paris (Euro 180) .

L’Aquila

L’Aquila has a medieval walled city on a hill top and a large town square with very Italian side walk cafes and ice cream bars. On Saturday night it was busy on the main square. A  projection television was broadcasting a football game loudly and competing in the noise of the terrace. Later,  they switched to teenage karaoke which was more pleasant to listen to.

Hotel Amiternum

We stayed in the hotel Amiternum, 2 km West of the city centre which can be booked through the Internet  at a mark-up of 15 Euros, from 75 to 90. It is not easy to book hotels over the phone in small towns in Italy and the Amiternum staff didn't speak English or French, so it is worth it. The ARPA bus from and to Rome and the local bus in L’Aquila all stop at the hotel. There is a much better located hotel in the City centre on the main square but this is more difficult to reach. However, walking from the Hotel Armiternum to ht ecity centre is along a busy road and not very pleasant. Luckily, there is a good restaurant at 500 m from the Hotel.

Maps

I found three maps of the region. The best one is the 1:25,000 mountaineering map of the Club Alpino Italiano. It has numerous marked trails but some are out of date or have old very faint marks. The more challenging mountain ridge routes can be too difficult for walkers like the West and North route of Pizzo Cefalone.

The second best map with a good overview is the German 1:50,000 Compass map. It has less marked trails but these are reliable although some  important trails are missing.

The third map is a 1:25000 mountaineering map that comes with route descriptions in Italian. Most of these routes are already on the map of the Club Alpino Italiano and the route descriptions are too brief to be of any use. The WWW has better descriptions and these you can translate from Italian to English easily using BabbleFish.

A big problem with all the maps is that the refugio information is out of date. Only four Refugios are open from roughly late May to mid September, Refugio Abruzzi and Garibaldi South of Corno Grande, Refugio Franchetti  NW of Corno Grande and Refugio Forestale in the far East near Monte Prena. Refugio Antonelli Alessandri in the far West near Pizzo del Belverdere is only open in the weekend. This prevented a nice trip to the West through the high mountains back to L’Aquila the next day.

Day 1, from L’Aquila to Campo Imperatore C2135 m)

One access route, also marked on the Kompass Map, starts North of the Hotel Amiternum going slowly up the hill to  Collebrincioni, then past Assergi and finally to the Funivia (cable car) North of Assergi. This may take 5-8 hours. At the funivia there are a few hotels like the Crystallo. The funivia is closed from late May to late June for maintenance but this is also the quiet period so you will have to walk, using the shortest 2-3 h route below the funivia cables or the longer Western route.

Another, easier 7-8 h route from L’Aquila to Campo Imperatore marked on the map of Club Alpino Italiano (but not on the Compass map) starts in Paganica, which can be reached by the city bus. It first goes to Fileto along an old narrow gravel road. From here you will need to navigate using this map as the marker quality is variable, from none to very clear. You follow a NE route until the foot of the main 2000 m high WNW - ESE ridge of the Gran Sasso and then go North-West up the ridge picking up the number 10 route coming up from the Funivia, North of Assergi. This is  a very gentle walk, ideal as a walk-in our walk-out.

From Campo Imperatore you could continue another hour to Refugio Abruzzi or Garibaldi.

Campo Imperatore

This only has three buildings, a large hotel named Campo Imperatore, a refugio annex restaurant and an 'Osservatorio', an astronomical station. Most visitors come by car using the long, winding tarmac mountain road or use the Funivia, very few walk-up.

Osservatorio (with domes) and the hotel Campo Imperatore (red)

Osservatorio at Campo Imperatore.

You have a view at Corno Grande to the North in the far distance, the highest peak of the Italian Apennines at the 2915 m.

Monte Aquila is also North of the station and deep down underneath there is a particle physics lab consisting of a big basin of heavy water to track solar neutrinos and other rare particles. The 1500 m thick rocks filter out background radiation and cosmic rays. When the scientists started, they could only spot 5 particles per month, now they count  55 per day. The access tunnel is close to the Gran Sasso highway tunnel NE of Assergi.

The Campo Imperatore hotel has a famous history and was built in 1923. It was renamed after the Imperatore, 'Emperor Mussolini'.  This is where Mussolini was imprisoned on 28 August 1943 by King Victor Emanuel III,  see [1], as the Italians were fed up with him. German paratroopers in gliding planes freed him on 12 September 1943, only 14 days later. His 2-room suite is still in the original state, even the blankets on the bed, and is now a museum.

Mussolini's room

Detail, plague at Mussolini's room

The hotel has small, but neat, comfortable rooms with room and full meals at only Euro 104 per night (in June) for two persons served by a very friendly staff. The ceiling in the rooms is surprisingly low but the restaurant is majestic, having a high ceiling and a round outer wall. This must have been a summer and winter play-ground for the Upper Class citizens of Rome in the 30's as a substitute for Switzerland.

Day  2, to Corno Grande, 2915 m, and Refugio Franchetti

When staying at Campo Imperatore, Corno Grande to the North looms from a far distance being lit by the late night or early morning sun when it tends to clear. During the day this mountain is generally  obscured by clouds.

Corno Grande, view from the Campo Imperatore parking lot, at 7 PM.

Corno Grande, detail from Campo Imperatore. 4th degree direct route visible, running along the snow fields bit left and vertically straight-up, “only for walkers with climbing experience”.

As the highest peak of the Italian Apennines at the 2915 m it does challenge many visitors but the trails to the top are a bit steep and rough, and it is an effort, especially in June when steep trails can still be covered by equally steep but very slippery snowfields requiring a pickle and crampons.

We stayed at Refugio Garibaldi which saved 1 hour. This is the oldest refugio built in 1886 with thick walls for the meters thick snow cover and a chimney to get out through the roof when needed. There is space for only 10 people and in the week-end it can be full. There is no toilet and just is an outside tap for washing.

Refugio Garibaldi

Dog at Refugio Garibaldi, at sunset.

Trail close to Refugio Garibaldi, last part to the West Ridge of Corno Grande (above), Route 3.`.

The trail from Refugio Garibaldi  leads up steeply to the start of the crestal West route in only one hour. In June with many snow fields,

Corno Grande West Ridge and the Northern normal route (trail going up in the snow).

Corno Grande West Ridge and the Northern normal route, detail.

the normal route which starts 0.5 h further is only suitable when using crampons and a pickle, and the crestal ridge is better but don't underestimate this as it is in part a 3rd and even a 4th degree rock climb with breath-taking views down a 600 m cliff.

Corno Grande West Ridge, normal route far left. Normal trail to Refugio Franchetti vaguely visible (white line) going slowly up.

Corno Grande West Ridge.

Corno Grande, cross at the top.

We did the West ridge in cloudy and stormy weather at a temperature of 8 Celsius which took 1 hour and 15 minutes up and 1 hour back. There is a visitors book that showed that at least 30 people reach the top on Sunday but only 3 or 4 a day during the week. We didn't meet anybody on this Monday between 9 AM and 1 PM.

On the way back, about half way, while taking a picture on the North side, I dropped my camera bag. It quickly picked up speed on the 45 degree rock face, landed on a snow field and disappeared. It is a small black-grey square box shaped bag with a bit of green. If you find it inform info@vanzeeland.com.

From Corno Grande to Refugio Franchetti

The continuation to Refugio Franchetti through the Passe del Cannone is not simple. It leads along a narrow and steep trail, fortunately well-marked, but in part obscured by large snow fields that can be very steep and tricky to cross [1].

Once we encountered a 2 m high vertical snow ridge above a ledge we had to go down. I went down first using a ski pole for safety pushing it deep into the snow like using a pickle, but killing the lower steps by sliding down the last half meter. Rudolfo followed but he lost his balance and 100 kg rolled on the ledge where I was ready to stop him but not after he shouted for help while still trying to keep his balance on the snow ridge.

At the Passe del Cannone there is a 15 m high Via Ferrata, a metal cable, on a 4th degree rock wall for safety but not very difficult.

Via ferrata at Passe del Cannono.

The last part to the Refugio Franchetti you should follow the red and white marks towards the saddle with Corno Piccolo else you end up on the Eastern scree slope like us,  some 400 m high, that is fun to slide down but kills your boots.

Corno Piccolo and Refugio Franchetti.

Refugio Franchetti.

Refugio Franchetti is fairly large, has good food and even an outside shower if you are prepared to use the cold water hose on the squat toilet. It is only opened from June to mid September as heavy snow on the trail up prevents longer opening hours. We still had to cross a few snow fileds crovering the trail going down.

From Refugio Franchetti to Prati di Tivo

It is one hour down a good trail to the top of the ski lift of  Prati di Tivo. Now you have a choice, to follow the ridge down to a parking lot at the end of an access road, use the marked short cut past half way down the ridge to the village, or just go down the ski slope which is the shortest , see picture below.

Initially we planned to go to Casale San Nicolo but we couldn't find the trail at the ski lift (on the picture of Refugio Franchetti above) going down yesterday, obscured by  thick clouds filling the valley. We may have seen a tiny trail disappearing very steeply down into the clouds, a typical dashed line on the map, so not easy. It is suppose to start at the open air church devoted to the Holy Mary and goes down 1200 m.

Corno Piccolo and the ski slope (left) towards Refugio Franchetti.

We followed the ridge almost down to the forest and used a marked short cut through the forest to Prati di Tivo, but the route is often obscured, and you have the feeling you walk in an endless forest. You end up at the ski lift, 10 minutes above the village. It took us about 1.5 h in total to get down from the ski lift high up, and we arrived at 7 PM. Next time I would take the shorter ski slope which has a nice clear view down.

Day 3, from Prati di Tivo to Pizzo Cefalone (2635 m) and Campo Imperatore

Yesterday we decided to do the Eastern loop back to Campo Imperatore from Prati di Tivo saving a descent of 800 m to Casala San Nicola. In the morning we changed our mind again to explore the Western area that looked more interesting as it has several mountains of over 2500 m. Interesting routes are loops to the West, with summits of Pizzo Intermesoli or Corvo Grande, follow ridge routes like nr. 1B or valley routes like nr. 2 and 14 which can also be used to go back to Campo Imperatore. We chose the easy nr. 2 route with a side trip to  Pizzo Cefalone.

The walk South starts in a forested area and changes to a barren land above 1600 m with impressive rock faces on either side. It is warm today, 18o degrees Celsius. The trail is very gentle following the valley and it is only 2 hours to Capanne, the main junction in the big bowl of Alpine meadows. The high route through Corne Grande (nr. 3) would have been 5 hours.

Pizzo Cefalone at 2533 m looked like an interesting side trip. The only safe access is using the ridge trail from the pass La Portella, 45 minutes up from Capanna. You can also do a loop through the Passe dei Grilli, route 1V, but do not expect to reach Pizzo Cefalone from this ridge although you could always try it,  as the trail is not maintained and very tricky by loose slippery gravel. Similarly, a bigger loop using the Cresta della Malecoste seems impossible, already suggested by the name of the ridge.

Route from Capanne (1957 m) to the pass at La portella (2260 m, top) with snow fields on Northern slopes persisting in June.

The ridge trail starting at the pass of La Portella is narrow and in places runs high above near vertical rock faces where you have to pay attention, holding on to rocks, a true dashed line on the map.

Ridge route from la Portella to Pizzo Cefalone.

It is a very popular route being so close to Campo Imperatore. The last 100 m the trail zigzags steeply up the mountain with one easy rock climb.

From Pizzo Cefalone at 2533 m,  you have a panoramic view at Monte Corvo C2623 m), Pizzo Intermesoli (2635 m) and Corno  Grande (2915 m).

Back to Campo Imperatore is only 1 h.

Day 4, Corno Grande Direct Route and Monte Aquila ridge walk

After doing Corno Grande and Pizzo Cefalone we got overambitious, we would try the Corno Grande direct route, 'for walkers with climbing experience only', the Lonely  Planet said.

From Campo Imperatore it is only one hour along a gentle trail (nr. 4) to the foot of the 600 m higher mountain. Following the marked trail, the first few hundred meter is mostly steep scree and some solid rocks. Many walkers go up but they all stop at the sign to the Bivaco Bafile. The trail going to the right somehow leads to the orange bivouac sitting high up on a rock ledge along very steep rock faces, very impressive how to get there, for climbers only.

Corno Grande direct route

The continuation of the Direct route looks fine if it wasn't for the steep snow fields obscuring the trail. The map indicates a dashed route for the first 100 -130 m but dotted for the last 170 - 200 m and this does look like a 4th degree rock climb.

We were hesitating and two Italian men were coming up with impressive tight and colourful outfits armed with full gear including  ice axes. We questioned the first one coming up who was clearly overweight and looked more like a coloured seal at close distance. Ah, ni crampons, he said, ni possible! We believed him.

Monte Aquila ridge walk

The alternative today is an Eastern loop along the ridges starting at Monte Aquila to the saddle of Vado di Corno. This is a very easy, well-marked grassy ridge walk where you have nice views at the East-West ridge and the broad Alpine valley below with the tarmac access road, the over 1000 m high NE face of Corno Grande and the villages deep down North of the Grand Sasso massif.

After 1 hour there is the saddle of Vado di Corno with a 4 wheel drive trail to the main valley road. This is the only easy departure point of the ridge to the South.  Beyond Vado di Corvo, the crestal route is easy until you reach Monte Brancastello at 2385 m, about 2 hours, but behind this mountain the trail has heavy duty Via Ferratas and the dotted lines on the map  indicates this is for mountaineers with proper equipment only. The full crestal route starting at the Vado di Corvo is a 8-11 hour trip, for experienced climbers only.

The old trails in the valley and marked on the map are mostly invisible and after following the tarmac route we took the ski run way coming down from Campo Imperatore, the nr. 10 route.

 

Broad valley East of Campo Imperatore with access road.

Day 5, Pizzo Intermesoli

See link: [Pizzo Intermesoli]

Day 6, walk out along the nr. 10 trail, to Fileto and Paganica

With the funivia being closed, the Western direct route to l'Aquila is a bit long. The Eastern route along the nr. 10 trail, to Fileto and Paganica is shorter and more gentle going down. It take you across Alpine meadows and close to Fileto, across scenic hills with forests.

Main ridge of the Grand Sasso, view from the East.

Lazy walk-out from Camp Imperatore to Fileto and Paganica

Fileto is about 4-5 hours from Campo Imperatore and ideal for a lunch stop. Paganica is another 2 hours following the old lower gravel road and not the crestal trail as marked on the  map.

The clouds were building up over the Gran Sasso ranges during this warm day with temperatures in Fileto of 32 degrees Celsius. Thunder could be heard in the distance and the clouds seem to expand to the South. Rain started already in Fileto but somehow kept its location, we  were constantly walking just ahead of the heavy showers.

In Paganica we seem to have outrun the bad weather. This is a large suburb of l’Auila. We caught the city bus back  to the Hotel Amiternum. In the bus we met a German particle physicist working in the underground lab in Assergi, see Pizzo Intermesoli.

 

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