Vincent Pyramid - A Well Deserved 4000

It's August, we're back from a week in Ceuse, we sneak into an Italian campsite on the way back to have a hot shower after all the cold ones we've done on foot on the immense cliff.

We have climbed enough and the need for larger spaces to fill our lungs and empty our minds leads us towards Monte Rosa.

We are neither acclimatized nor very fit, the only aerobic activity of the last period has been the approaches to the cliff however the Monte Rosa is right on the road between Ceuse and the Dolomites, so we change the shoes with the high mountain boots and loaded with backpacks we buy the cable car tickets.

The first run from Gressoney takes us up very quickly to Punta Indren at over 3000 metres above sea level, from there we look around a bit, we don't have a precise destination yet, I know the area and I know that in a day you can do several excursions on the glacier.

For now our only goal is to reach the Mantova refuge where we can drink a nice coffee, then we'll see what to do.

With a clearer mind and caffeine in circulation, we set off towards the Lys pass, an obligatory passage for the numerous peaks that embrace the glacier.

As I imagined, there are lots of roped parties, we queue up calmly and start enjoying the view.

The trail is safe, the crevasses are still well covered and the visibility is excellent. In this context I prefer to keep Francesca tied close to me so that from time to time we can exchange a few words and above all I can read the satisfaction that, at every step, her eyes cannot hold back.

Once we reach the hill the wind blows very strong and reaching the Vincent Pyramid seems the most sensible thing to do. There is a blinding sun that forces us to put on sun cream, we can see the summit which as always in snowy environments seems a few steps away, we pay attention to the numerous crevasses, we stop to catch our breath and drink little but often to avoid feeling the altitude as much as possible.

Since it is August there are many people who decide to tackle these magnificent peaks, I think of the emotion that each of them will feel when reaching the summit, the same feeling that I feel every time I reach the top, the mountain has the ability to make us forget the effort and transform it into joy with its beauty and mystery.

Francesca feels the altitude and also a bit of tiredness, after all we have been on the move for ten days between one climb and another. She is about to give up, but I convince her at every turn to reach the next one! Turn after turn the desire to reach the top of the Pyramid takes away all her doubts, "I want to reach the summit" she tells me with the little breath she has left.

I know very well what you are feeling, I know well the sensation of adrenaline that pervades the body when the goal is near, suddenly the mind frees itself of the superfluous and lets the body vent by providing the last energies needed for the summit.

We emerge on the summit cap and a more than comical scene begins: Francesca tells me that she wants to go down because she is tired, in the meantime she sits down saying that the climb is too long for her and that I was wrong to suggest Monte Rosa. I laugh and, receiving a good scolding, I continue to laugh, we are at the top and she hasn't even noticed!

At one point she points out two people who, rightly, are taking some pictures and asks me what they are doing, I tell her that they are at the top and are celebrating. Suddenly she stands up and says to me: "I want to go there too!". Laughing I accompany her.

And here we are at 4215 mt! Seeing Francesca's euphoria in her first 4000 makes me understand how happy and satisfied it makes me to be there at her side while she realizes her desires, which in reality are also mine.

Just enough time for a few photos and we quickly get ready to go down, the wind is becoming unbearable.

We take the cable car and arrive in Gressoney, next destination... Caneva World!

The climb to the Vincent Pyramid is a 4000 meter simple and accessible to all, there are no technical difficulties but being in a glacial environment and at high altitude you need to be well trained and pay a lot of attention by tying yourself up in a roped party at the beginning of the glacier and never untying yourself until the end of the excursion.