Corno Gries / Grieshorn

Information

Date:	19 July 2022
Maximum height:	2967 m
Difference in height:	990 m
Length:	11.5 km
Kilometers effort:	24.7 kmef
Duration:	6 hours and 30 minutes

Huts reached:

Capanna Corno Gries

Lakes reached:

Laghetto del Corno

Difficulties (Automatic translation in english)

	From Alpe di Cruina to Lago del Corno (with some T2+ passages).
	From Lago del Corno up to the altitude of 2560 metres.
	From the altitude of 2560 metres to the Forchetta del Piccolo Corno Gries (at an altitude of 2802 metres).
	From the Forchetta del Piccolo Corno Gries to the top of the Corno Gries (with some passages T3+).

Comment (Automatic translation in english)

The Corno Gries, also called Grieshorn, is a mountain straddling Val Formazza and Val Bedretto. To reach it, I decide to start from the latter and more precisely from Alpe di Cruina where there is a large car park with a free offer.
I start walking along the path that goes up to the Capanna Corno Gries hut and then continue on to the Laghetto del Corno (no name on the national map). At that point I leave the path and start to climb towards the Corno Glacier. Towards an altitude of 2560 metres, I encounter a rocky drop that can be passed to the right where there is a gully full of debris. Inside this one occasionally encounters a few small stone cairns placed to indicate the route to follow. Past this point I turn right and climb up to an altitude of 2680 metres where there is another rocky drop. Just to the left of a large rock (see last photo before the glacier) I find a small gully that allows me to cross it without too much difficulty.
I then reach the remains of a small glacier that was once connected to the Corno Glacier but which now has its years counted. Thanks to the shallow slope and the presence of a lot of debris, I easily ascend it without crampons to the summit. In this way I arrive at the vent listed at 2802 metres, which Brenna calls Forchetta del Piccolo Corno Gries. At this point, the route passes on the Italian side of the ridge, where I find a slight track that climbs among the scree. Towards an altitude of 2860 metres I reach a scree gully which, once ascended, leads to a kind of plateau. I then turn left and head towards the west ridge of the Corno Gries, which I follow, without great difficulty, to the summit.
Unfortunately the day was quite cloudy, but fortunately from the summit I was still able to admire much of the panorama. There was also a nice view of the Punta di Valrossa, the peak next to the Corno Gries, which is about the same height and which I already have on my list of mountains to do.
After the lunch break, I start to descend, but this time I try to follow the south ridge for about a hundred metres, after which I turn right and descend again to the plateau I met in the morning. At that point, following the same route as the outward journey, I descend back to the glacier and continue on to the Laghetto del Corno. Following the path, I then return to the Corno Gries hut and after a final descent, I arrive back at the starting point.

Water (Automatic translation in english)

During the entire trip, the only fountain I found was about 400 metres after Alpe di Cruina (2'675'546.9, 1'147'362.9). After that there is nothing left except the water from the small lake and the streams that descend from the Corno Glacier, which are, however, full of sand.