Cresta Carisey

The Cresta Carisey to Monte Mars (2600 m) is an alpine ridge in the Alpi Biellesi that should be on the to-do list of anybody who enjoys rocky alpine routes. The ridge offers easy climbing passages in a superb alpine environment, though it is not suitable for alpinists alle prime armi. The route requires good fitness to sustain an activity of around 10 hours, familiarity with exposed sections, and the ability to handle unforeseen events in an isolated alpine environment. 

We were a team of three: Chus, Nora, and me. This has pros and cons when roping up for an alpine ridge. The advantage is that the climber in the middle can be fully secured on horizontally exposed passages. The drawback is that the time needed increases significantly, since rope management while progressing in conserva becomes trickier and the climbing sections must be done three times instead of two.

There are two possible starting points: Fontainemoire (Gressoney Valley) or Oropa (Biella). We chose Fontainemoire because of the shorter approach (about one hour less). The approach is already a demanding hike on its own. It took us 2 hours to reach the Colle Sella, covering 800 m of elevation gain with our heavy backpacks full of climbing gear and water.

The main section of the ridge runs from Colle Sella to the top of Il Dado. The climbing is never too difficult, with most sections around grade III and only Il Dado reaching grade IV.  The trickiest part is downclimbing two descent sections, both of which can alternatively be rappelled. The atmosphere is always amazing, progressing between the Gressoney Valley on the left and the Biellese Alps on the right, with the Monte Rosa ahead. Orientation is quite straightforward—“just follow the ridge”—which is helped by the relatively high number of bolts for an alpine route.

After 4 hours, we reached the top of Il Dado and thought the difficulties were over. What a mistake! If you want to continue to Monte Mars, there is still about one hour of horizontally exposed passages before reaching the Colle Gaudin, where we unroped. That was quite a technically fun section, but we didn’t enjoy it that much because we were followed by a threatening storm that didn’t allow us to take a break. From Colle Gaudin, there are still another 30 minutes of walking to the top of Monte Mars.

Again, we could barely enjoy the summit. We were still worried about the storms gathering around us and tired after 7 hours without a proper rest. Things didn’t improve when we started the descent: the first part is a steep petraia where we encountered patches of snow (luckily, crampons weren’t needed). Our luck only improved once we reached Pian du Juc, where we found a group of friends spending the weekend in a small alpeggio. After seeing our faces and noting the late hour, they offered us plenty of food and drinks. We declined the beer and wine, but we nearly emptied a 2-litre bottle of Fanta. After Pian du Juc, a proper sentiero appeared, so fueled by the sugar of the fanta and lifted spirits, we made it back to the car just one hour before sunset. 

• Grade: AD- (maximum climbing grade IV-)
• Climbing equipment: 50-m rope, 6 quickdraws, 2-3 slings, a set of cams (optional), approach shoes
• Total duration: 9h 30min (5 hours roped)