Punta Giordani, from Indren

Access

Take the Turin-Aosta motorway and exit at the Pont St. Martin tollgate, from where you follow the signs for Gressoney and the Lys valley. Once up the valley, go past the towns of Gressoney St. Jean and La Trinité, continuing along the road as far as the hamlet of Staffal, where there is a convenient car park near the ski lifts. You then take the lifts up to the section that leads directly to the Indren glacier.

Introduction

A climb of a purely mountaineering nature, even if carried out with snowshoes, which with the help of the ski lifts that take us up to an altitude of 3290 m can also be done in a day. The itinerary is simple and straightforward, and is already apparent at the exit of the cable car when you see the large glacier chute in front of you, which you have to cross to reach the small peak located to the right of the Vincent Pyramid. During the ascent, no particular technical difficulties are encountered except for the need to be careful during the progression on the glacier in crossing any few crevasses hidden by snow bridges, which in the spring period is very likely. From the summit, the panorama is spectacular from east to west and embraces both the Po valley and the peaks of the Valle d'Aosta, from Gran Paradiso to Mont Blanc; to the north, on the other hand, one finds oneself in the presence of the imposing southern slopes of the other 4000-metre peaks of the Rosa group.

Description

From the exit of the cable car, set foot on the Indren glacier, heading towards some low outcropping rocks located at the height of a first low prominence of the snow slide; leaving them to the left, continue the ascent, preferably remaining on the right (orographic left) side of the glacier and with a few zig-zags, ascend at a suitable distance from a large looming serac. Now the slope increases noticeably and, having reached the upper part of the serac, you move with a somewhat exposed traverse towards a low rocky point on the ridge where there is also a wooden platform for a helicopter landing. From this point, the summit is now close by and, continuing to make hairpin bends, one reaches the summit where the little rocks of the peak are found; leaving the snowshoes at the base of these, one completes a few metres of easy climbing and thus reaches the little metal madonnina located on the summit.