The Grivola

Seen from the main road along the valley, between Aosta and Villeneuve, the Grivola looks like a child’s drawing: a clean, white, perfectly regular point. It reaches 3,969 metres, just short of 4,000. It is the second-highest summit of the Gran Paradiso massif. It rises between the Cogne valley, to the east, and the Valsavarenche, to the west, and its summit is the highest point in the municipality of Aymavilles.

Many names for a single mountain

Old documents give it several names: Pic de Cogne, Grivolet, Bec de Grivola, Aiguille de Grivola. The origin of the present name is uncertain. One theory links it to a patois word, griva, meaning thrush. Others have suggested grivoline, a pretty young girl, or a root referring to loose stones. None of these explanations is certain.

Hanging glaciers around the Grivola

The summit is ringed by glaciers. To the north, the Nomenon glacier descends towards the side valley of the same name. To the east, the Trajo glacier faces the Cogne valley. Around the main summit stand smaller peaks: the Pointe Blanche and Pointe Noire de la Grivola, and the Grivoletta. These glaciers have shrunk a great deal over the past few decades, and some have broken up into separate patches.

The first ascent, in 1859

On 23 August 1859 John Ormsby and R. Bruce climbed towards the summit with three guides: Zacharie Cachat and Jean Tairraz from Chamonix, and Ambroise Dayné, a gamekeeper from the Valsavarenche. More recent research suggests that Dayné touched the top first, the others stopping a few metres short. The Grivola was thus climbed a year before Gran Paradiso, even though the latter is higher.

In the Gran Paradiso National Park

The whole mountain lies within the Gran Paradiso National Park. Ibex and chamois live on its slopes and can often be spotted from the paths of the Cogne valley. Park wardens keep watch over these slopes from their observation posts in the side valleys.

A climb for seasoned mountaineers

No easy route leads to the Grivola. There are two normal routes, one from Cogne and the other from the Valsavarenche, with fixed bivouac huts high up, such as the Balzola and Gratton bivouacs. They climb by ridges of often loose rock, then by slopes of snow or ice depending on the season. The ascent takes two long days. Rockfall is a real danger in summer.

Seeing it from Cogne and the Saint-Ours meadow

The village of Cogne offers another fine viewpoint. From the great meadow of Saint-Ours, you see it standing out to the west, above the larch forests. In winter, when the valley is in shadow, its point stays lit by the sun for a long time.

Getting there

Cogne tourist office
Rue Bourgeois, 33
11012 Cogne (AO)
+39 0165 74040 · lovevda.it

The finest viewpoint is still the main road between Aosta and Villeneuve, followed by the Saint-Ours meadow in Cogne. The paths of the Cogne valley give other angles on its peak, with no particular difficulty. The summit is only for experienced mountaineers: loose rock, ice and rockfall mean you should go with a mountain guide.