Punta Giordani
4,046 m
Italy
Also known as Pointe Giordani, Пунта-Джордани, +1Also known as
Pointe Giordani · Пунта-Джордани · Giordanispétz
- Elevation
- 4,046 m
- Prominence
- 5 m
- Difficulty
- 4/10
- Alpine hike
- Best Season
- Jun–Jul
- Routes
- 2
Routes
2Sources differ: PD- (Camptocamp)
The lowest 4,000 m summit of Monte Rosa and one of the shortest in the Alps: about 780 m up the Indren Glacier from the Punta Indren cable car, finishing with a few metres of easy but exposed rock to the summit Madonna. Usually done in a day from the first lift; the main hazards are crevasses and stonefall from the Vincent Pyramid.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 3.0 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +869 m
- −92 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 4,055 m
- Time Up
- 3h 28m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 25m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From Staffal (Gressoney) or Alagna, lifts via Passo dei Salati reach Punta Indren (3,275 m). Walk a short way north-west over slabs and debris onto the Indren Glacier, past the top of the old Roccette ski lift near the Bors saddle (about 3,530 m), and follow the usually well-trodden track north. Higher up the glacier steepens (up to about 40°); pass the large serac band in the middle of the glacier on its right and keep well right on the upper slopes to stay out of stonefall from the south face of the Vincent Pyramid. A last steep slope leads to the flat snow saddle between the Vincent Pyramid and Punta Giordani, just below the final rocks. Take crampons off if dry and climb about 5 m of easy but exposed rock to the summit with its bronze Madonna, about 3 hours from Indren. The east side drops some 700 m into the Valsesia. Descend the same way (about 2 hours), keeping left of the big serac band. The glacier is south-facing and loses its snow cover early: in a snowy June the crevasses are well bridged, but by August there are open crevasses and icy sections around 3,700–3,800 m. In July 2010 an unroped climber fell about 15 m into a crevasse at about 3,500 m on this route, so rope up. Fit parties go up and down between the first and last lifts; others sleep at the Rifugio Città di Mantova (3,498 m) or the Capanna Gnifetti (3,647 m), or combine the summit with the Vincent Pyramid, whose south-east ridge (about UIAA III) continues from the saddle.
Start
Punta Indren3,269 m
- Staffal–Gabiet–Passo dei Salati gondolas and Passo dei Salati–Punta Indren cable car (summer 2026: Staffal lifts 30 May – 23 August, Indren until 13 September; first lift around 08:00, last descent from Indren 16:45)
- Train to Pont-Saint-Martin and bus up the Gressoney valley to Staffal; or train to Varallo and bus to Alagna Valsesia. Lifts via Passo dei Salati to Punta Indren.
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Punta Indren → Punta Giordani | 3.0 | 869 | 92 | 3h 28m |
Waypoints
- Lift: Punta Indren3,269 m
Top station of the Passo dei Salati – Punta Indren cable car
- Feature: Ghiacciaio d'Indren3,434 m
Track passes the top of the old Roccette ski lift near the Bors saddle
- Summit: Punta Giordani4,046 m
Key Passages
- Serac band in the middle of the Indren Glacier (pass on the right going up)
- Upper slopes up to about 40°, often icy in late summer
- Final 5 m of easy, exposed summit rocks
Equipment
0/9 packedDownloads
Route confidence 85%Overview
The lowest 4,000 m summit of Monte Rosa, a rocky shoulder on the south-east ridge of the Vincent Pyramid above Gressoney and Alagna. A cable car to 3,275 m leaves about 780 m of glacier, so it is one of the most accessible 4,000 m tops in the Alps and a common first 4,000er or acclimatisation climb.
Punta Giordani (4,046 m) sits on the watershed between the upper Lys valley (Aosta Valley) and the Valsesia (Piedmont), at the southern end of the chain of Monte Rosa summits. With only about 5 m of prominence it is really the eastern shoulder of the Vincent Pyramid, but it is listed among the UIAA 4,000 m summits. Its two sides are very different: to the west and south-west a gentle, south-facing glacier; to the east a 700 m rock wall dropping into the Valsesia, with long views over the Po plain.
The normal route climbs the Indren Glacier from the Punta Indren cable car and is graded F (PD- on Camptocamp), with a few metres of easy rock to the summit statue. It is short enough to climb between the first and last lifts, which makes it popular for training and acclimatisation before Monte Rosa's higher peaks, and with ski-tourers in spring. The more interesting alternative is the Cresta del Soldato, a sunny rock ridge of about AD- that leads straight to the summit from the Bors Glacier.
Do not underestimate it: the glacier is crevassed, loses its snow early in summer and is exposed to stonefall from the Vincent Pyramid in its upper part, and the altitude is a real factor for anyone coming straight up from the valley.
Climbing Notes
You need basic glacier skills (roped travel, crampons, ice axe, crevasse rescue) and the fitness for about 800 m of ascent at 3,300–4,000 m. Coming straight from the valley the altitude is the main difficulty; a night at the Rifugio Città di Mantova or the Capanna Gnifetti beforehand helps and lets you start early on firm snow. The typical day is: first lift from Staffal or Alagna (around 08:00 at Passo dei Salati), 3 hours up, 2 hours down, and back before the last cable car from Indren (16:45 in summer 2026). Rope up even when the track is good.
Conditions are best in June and early July while the glacier is snow-covered; by August there are icy sections and open crevasses around 3,700–3,800 m. Inexperienced climbers should go with a guide (Monte Rosa guides offices in Gressoney and Alagna); the summit is often combined with the Vincent Pyramid or used as the first day of a longer Monte Rosa programme.
History
Pietro Giordani and a small group of fellow villagers climbed it on 23 July 1801, making it the first 4,000 m summit of the Monte Rosa massif to be reached; Camptocamp notes that this ascent is not documented in detail. The next recorded ascents came in 1872 and 1876 by the south side and south-east ridge with the guide Giuseppe Guglielmina, and the south-west flank was first climbed on 10 August 1877 by a party including Guglielmina, who continued to the Vincent Pyramid. William Martin Conway climbed the lower south-east ridge in August 1884 with an Italian soldier, which gave the Cresta del Soldato its name.
Season
Best Jun–Jul- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Good
- May: Good
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Good
- September: Possible
- October: Not advisable
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; huts closed apart from winter rooms
- Feb
- Winter conditions
- Mar
- Ski touring from late March
- Apr
- Ski-touring season
- May
- Ski touring; summer lifts and huts open around the end of May
- Jun
- Glacier still well snow-covered; best on foot
- Jul
- Main season; crevasses open up later in the month
- Aug
- Icy sections and open crevasses; Staffal lifts close late August
- Sep
- Indren cable car runs until mid-September; glacier often bare
- Oct
- Lifts and huts closed
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Rifugio Città di Mantova: online via rifugiomantova.it, +39 351 459 4158 or info@rifugiomantova.it. Capanna Gnifetti: via rifugimonterosa.it, +39 348 1415490 or info@rifugimonterosa.it.
- Fees
- Lift ticket from Staffal or Alagna to Punta Indren
- Hut fees (half board) if staying at the Rifugio Città di Mantova or Capanna Gnifetti
- Getting There
Gressoney-La-Trinité (Staffal), Aosta Valley; Alagna Valsesia, Piedmont
Milan Malpensa (MXP) or Turin (TRN)
- Train to Pont-Saint-Martin, then bus up the Gressoney valley to Staffal
- Car: A5 Turin–Aosta motorway, exit Pont-Saint-Martin, then the regional road up the Lys valley to Staffal (lift station)
- From Piedmont: A26 to Romagnano Sesia, road via Varallo to Alagna Valsesia; train to Varallo then bus to Alagna
- Lifts from Staffal via Gabiet, or from Alagna, to Passo dei Salati, then the cable car to Punta Indren (3,275 m)
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Altitude
- Exposure
- Weather
Huts & Shelters
2- 3,498 m
Rifugio Città di MantovaRefugeStaffed
Summer 2026: 30 May – 13 September
- 3,647 m
Capanna GnifettiRefugeStaffed
176 beds · Summer, dates tied to the lift season; 4-place unstaffed winter room