Mountain climbing

Capanna Margherita in 5 days

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Haste is almost always disappointing, take time to reach your goal by enjoying the journey
Take the time to get to your destination, enjoying the journey. Reaching the Capanna Margherita is a timeless experience. Climbing on foot from Gressoney, following your own rhythm and the one of the mountain, guarantees the right acclimatization and a balanced ascension, which will lead you to the top with love for yourself. The nights in the refuge, the green meadows of Alpenzu, the Gabiet lake and the Stolemberg moraine will teach you how to fully enjoy your experience over 4000 mt. Indelible moments that will show you that adventure is never in the destination but in the journey.

Program

Day 1
Meeting in Gressoney Saint Jean at 2.00 pm with the guide. Control of the equipment and distribution of technical materials. Climb independently to reach Alpenzu refuge. A day of relax, to start the journey avoiding trauma for the body, and an evening in a hut, with an atmosphere of the past, where words are a pleasure and silence too (from 1380 to 1788 m).
Climbing time: 1h 30m

Day 2
Meeting with the guide in the refuge where we will begin our trek on the spectacular WALSER WEG which leads to Gressoney La Trinité. We will then proceed in the Netcho valley, a panoramic route between the alpine pasture of Spilmanberg and Nethflue climbing up to where the grass becomes moss and the lichens give way to rocks. We will gradually acclimatize to the altitude up to the Gabiet refuge (from 1800 to 2800 m). Overnight stay and dinner in the refuge
Climbing time: around 5 h

Day 3
Ascent to Capanna Gnifetti, the historical point of contact of all the climbs on the south side of Monte Rosa, through the Stolemberg pass along beaten trails by climbers from past centuries. (From 2800 to 3600 m). At the pass Passo Salati we’ll meet someone from the agency who will provide the necessary alpine climbing equipment and take the trekking equipment back down to the valley, to allow the ascent to the highest peaks to be lightweight and organized

Day 4
Ascent to Capanna Margherita where daylight hours are unreal and the evenings magical. We will take the time to enjoy our surroundings during the ascent, to discover the peaks in view and dine in the highest refuge in Europe while watching the shadows rise from the valley. (From 3600 to 4500 m)

Day 5
Return to the valley passing by the Mantova refuge, the modern seat of the Gressoney guides. For those who want, it will be possible to use the lifts, otherwise you can walk to return to Gressoney

Necessary equipment

For the first part of this hike you’ll need standard trekking equppement, comfortable boots/trainers are suggested, we’ll meet you is Salati’s pass on the third day to change the backpack into high-mountaineering one.

In the second backpack you should have
– 5 layers of clothing for the upper body (thermal shirt, light fleece, heavy fleece, down jacket, anorak.)
– two set of gloves (soft and ski ones)
– sunglasses (with 3 or 4 protection)
– heavy trousers (windproof)
– underpants
– gaiters
– rigid, ankle height, waterproof boots.
– two pair of ski socks
– headlamp
– hat that covers your ears
– bag sheet for the hut
– sun screen & lip balm
– poles
– ice axe (if are used to it)
– helmet is recommended but not compulsory
– 1lt water bottle/thermos
– harness & crampons

Price

Private hike:
1 alpinist € 2050,00
2 alpinists € 1210,00 pp
3 alpinists € 930,00 pp
4 alpinists €790,00 pp
5 alpinists € 720,00 pp

Group hike:
750 € pp

LIST OF AVAILABLE DATES FOR GROUP HIKES

Anyone participating in a collective group agrees that a roped climb is a non-homogeneous group of people (max 5) who depend on each other and therefore it is necessary to adapt to the rhythm of the weakest and to all go back, in case one of the participants feels unwell

The price includes:

UIAGM mountain guide 4 days, half board for trekking from dinner on the first, transfer of high mountain equipment to Indren, technical equipment (harness and any equipment needed if available)

Other details

The climb to Margherita is for all the people who have a good level of training and know how to handle walks of 4/5h straight. You will reach the top in two steps, on the first day you’ll walk up the first part of the glacier, reaching the first hut in 1/1.5h. The difference in height between Gnifetti and Margherita, covered on the second day, is of 900m; that means that in order to reach the summit you’ll need to walk on a speed of 200/250m per hour in elevation.
The trip does not involve any particular technical difficulties but the path is entirely on high mountain, this tour is indeed a hike along the glacier where we will use a roped party, because the way crosses lareas with crevasses and the fall of somebody can easily be stopped by the weight of the others.
You will not find exposed points or edges to overcome; there are just two easy vie ferrate, one to reach Gnifetti hut and one to reach Cristo delle Vette peak.
Remember that acclimatization is the key to success! If you have lack of time the best choice is surely the two days trip, but we recommend you to sleep in Alagna or Gressoney the day before departure.

On this mountain trip, each guide is allowed to accompany maximum 5 climbers.