The Monviso, King of Stone

The normal path to the summit was flown for the first time by William Mathews, Frederick Jacomb, Jean Baptiste and Michel Croz Croz August 30 1861, very late compared to other big mountains. What is striking is that the initial total attempt of climbing which is known to date back as soon as 1834, while the Mont Blanc and the other great peaks in the Alps had been climbed or attempted since the previous century. The fundamental explanation for this is due to the tremendous respect that inspires in the hearts of the old and the local people feared that, in the collective of the top Monviso, high on their heads, came only in legends and stories of each image conquest of the peak was absent from their world.

Against the Monviso were cast known names in history, literature and science since ancient times when it was thought, mistakenly but honestly, it was the highest of all peaks known: Virgil, Pliny, Ptolemy, Boccaccio, Dante Alighieri and Leonardo da Vinci they spoke in their writings and it is thanks to them that today we know that about 2000 years ago the King Stone was immersed in the forests, the environment quite different from what we see today.

This mountain is a fundamental turning point in the history of not only Italian but also English and European, is from the return of Mathews after the first ascent to the summit which was the first British mountaineering club with the intention to gather under one as all the mountaineers and rock climbers with exploratory intent and scientific legacy of the Enlightenment period. It was two years later, when returning from the famous first ascent of Italian Monviso, 12 August 1863 by Quintino Sella and some friends, like the English model, who came up the idea of creating a circle similar to the alpine founded by Mathews, the CAI., Italian alpine club, which was founded precisely on 23 October 1863 by an act of incorporation signed in Castello del Valentino Turin by Quintino Sella with 36 other pioneers.

Landscape and Landscape
The peak of Monviso is entirely in Italian territory, as almost all the rest of the group, while the northern ridge of the group from Punta Gastaldi the Hill of Traversette are on the border with France. The group is surrounded by valleys following: Po valley, valley Varaita and, from the French side, the valley of the Guil.
The peaks that surround it, more than 500 meters lower on the various ridges that branch off from Monviso, they are incredibly enriching environment offering an impressive and certainly more severe in these rugged, rocky landscapes. North-west branches off the chain certainly more impressive running until Monte Granero, placed on the ridge dividing the Val Pellice, crossing peaks such as the prestigious Visolotto 3348 m, 3214 m Punta Gastaldi, Punta Roma 3070 m, the Punta udine 3022 m, 3095 m Punta Venezia, the Hill of Traversette and below Buco di VisoFirst example of the Alpine tunnel desired by the Duke of Saluzzo in the distant 1400.

From South-East side it changes a rugged ridge that touches the Punte Sella 3443 m, 3237 m Barracco, Brisbane 3109 m, 3154 m Michelis bifurcations lower towards Punta Trento 2970 me la Punta Dante 3166 m.
Towards the southwest, however, we find the imposing face of Vallant 3781 m, companion, a short distance of the highest Punta Trieste 3841 m, the 3443 Corsica Punte me Caprera 3.387me Rocce the Face of 3176 m. Other findings of note in ' area are the 3019 Face Mozzo me the White Sea 2721 m.

Itineraries alpinistic
The Monviso consists of several points which have risen globally every difficulty climbing to the rank of PD "normal" using the south side of our giant arriving in grades D and TD on spurs that rise and difficult side dall'aspro N .
The third way to reduce these difficulties is the beautiful and fascinating Cresta And anyway where the overall development, exposure, and share the harsh rocky environment characterize a route that is very demanding in terms of stamina and concentration. On this way of climbing the steps not superaro the fourth place position in just two points near the tower and Saint Robert, globally, the route may have an estimated degree of difficulty climbing III, considering the high exposure of certain passages.