The Giants way: Alta Via 1 of the Aosta Valley

In our everyday life we are always looking for full, attractive, and engaging experiences. Walking in the mountains is one of these: we wake up early in the morning to reach a destination, walk in nature, admire the view and come back before the sunset. When this is not enough, living in the heart of the mountains for several consecutive days then, becomes our goal, our inspiration.

An Alta Via is a path that amplifies our way of experiencing the mountains: joys, efforts, satisfactions and fears are all amplified emotions.

The Alta Via represents a journey immersed into the mountains, where for several consecutive days the passes and forks become the new references in a continuous succession of valleys and panoramas.

For this summer we had decided to take the Alta Via 1 of the Aosta Valley, in search of wild and lonely landscapes. So, we started from Gressoney Saint-Jean, in the Val di Gressoney at the foot of Monte Rosa and arrived after 7 days of trekking in front of Mont Blanc in Courmayeur.

A crossing and a trek of 120 kilometers and 9500 meters of uphill altitude difference, which left many vivid images and emotions in our eyes and hearts.

The Alta Via 1 of the Aosta Valley is also called "The Giants way", and in fact crosses the ridges and valleys at the foot of some of the highest peaks in Europe, such as Monte Rosa (4,634 m.), the Matterhorn (4,478 m.) and Mont Blanc (4,810 m.). The Alta Via develops on a high-altitude path that often touches the 2700 meters of altitude of the various hills that meet along the route, up to the 2,925 meters of the Col de Malatrà, which gives us the best and most direct view of Mont Blanc.

The path is dotted with high mountain lakes, splendid bodies of water surrounded by incredible sceneries between gray stony ground and green basins. Right here, above 2500 meters above sea level, we place our tent every evening with the solitary company of some marmots and some ibex.

Along the Alta Via 1 of the Aosta Valley we found a wild and at times really harsh mountain environment, made up of long climbs and descents. We crossed numerous valleys and admire incomparable views towards the giants, which we admired in the evening outside our tent while they were colored red with the last rays of the setting sun.

An incredible itinerary, of which the images of the views at sunset on the lake side towards the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa will remain etched in our eyes, as well as the clear evenings and nights in tents, the night of violent storm that has led to take refuge in a bivouac, to end up with starry skies crossed by numerous shooting stars, with the desire and the wish to spend infinite moments like these, traveling, walking in the mountains.

For further information and details about this path, visit the Focus On Trip website: focusontrips.com/europa/alta-via-1-valle-d-aosta-guida-consigli/