The summit of Piramide Vincent (4215m) on Aug 5, 2023, at 11:30. Photo by Aki Kärkkäinen.
I've been wanting to climb Piramide Vincent in the Monterosa massif in the Italian Alps for years. Today it finally happened, exactly 204 years after the first ascent (Aug 5, 1819) by Johann Nikolaus Vincent and his companions 🙂.
The conditions were perfect: cold weather, clear blue sky, and almost no wind at the top. This is my long-awaited fourth four-thousander in the Alps, after Punta Giordani (4046m), Punta Gnifetti (Signalkuppe, 4554m), and Castore (4223m). The plan was to also climb Balmenhorn/Cristo delle Vette (4167m) on our way down, but sadly we missed it. Next time!
Thank you mountain guide Gabriele Carrara from The Gressoney Alpine Guide Society for your leadership in guiding me and another client Holger Rudolf safely around crevasses to this wonderful place! It was truly a memorable day in the mountains.
Summit video from the top of Piramide Vincent (4215m) on Aug 5, 2023, at 11:30. The video is a bit shaky at times, due to a missing bolt in my hacky pole selfie stick solution 🙂. But I'm sure it'll give you an idea of how awesome it was. Video by Aki Kärkkäinen. (Subscribe to my YouTube channel.)
Coming down from Piramide Vincent on Aug 5, 2023. Peaks from left to right: Corno Nero (4322m), Ludwigshohe (4342m), and Parrotspitze (4436m). Photo by Aki Kärkkäinen.
This experience will stay with me for a long time, as a source of energy, happiness and grit. At the same time, it fills me with great pain and frustration to see the glaciers retreating (among many other things), due to the climate change we all are responsible for 😞.
We really did have everything, didn't we?