Climbing Monte Viso (MonViso) 3841m

I climbed MonViso on my birthday 28 sep 2018 which turned out to be a spectacular warm autumn day with exceptional clear skies. I did the normal (sud) route which is indeed just a scramble albeit a long exposed one and subject to objective dangers such as rockfall.
The SE ridge is shorter and more attractive in many ways. However it involves some grade 3 climbing and good rope work is required.
We parked in Plan de Rey in Crissolo which is the end of the narrow road in the Valley del Po.
There is a charge of 10 Euros a day for parking here and there seems to be no way to avoid the parking attendants! The place is popular because the source of the river Po is just above the parking place.

It took us two and half hours of steady walking to reach the Refugio Quintino Sella which is a good base from which to climb the mountain. It is a CAI hut with standard bunks and half board manned by very friendly and knowledgable staff. There is plenty of water and a spectacular view. We slept very well despite the relatively high altitude of just above 2600m.

We left at 6.30 am which is a little late for our climb. At the beginning there are some steep and strenuous Via Ferrata style chains to negotiate before the Colle Sagnette where we could see our route for the first time. It looked loose and imposing. From the Col there is an annoying steep descent and then a long slog over boulder fields and loose moraine before the actual south face climb is reached. Luckily there are yellow paint markers all the way and so route finding was never a problem. There are many false trails but I recommend sticking to the yellow paint since some of these trails lead off to other routes. Not far up the south face there is a bivouac (Bivacco Andreotti) which is supposed to be used only in emergencies. Just pass this we encountered a relatively steep snowfield which in the early mornings is still frozen and my climbing partner who did not have crampons found quite tricky. I recommend taking crampons whatever the time of year just in case! There is also a considerable rock fall danger in this area so definitely wear a helmet. A bit further on the climbing becomes better and more enjoyable, sometimes on quite good rock. Monte Viso is however generally very loose and great care has to be taken not to knock rocks down. The yellow paint markers are however very well placed. The route winds it way laboriously in and out of gullies and up ridges until finally joining the SE flank for the summit ridge. A final 50 metres up and we were at the substantial summit cross and one of the most far reaching views in Europe. The total climb took us about 6 hours from the hut which is slow. The view was worth every minute though. It was so clear we could see all the way from the dolomites across the Swiss and French alps and around to the Maritime alps and the beginning of Tuscany. The Zermatt range (special to me) was particularly clear and I could pick out the Matterhorn and even the Klein Matterhorn from which I had for so many years gazed out at Monte Viso itself. What a birthday!!