The Grigna is a mountain massif in the

province of Lecco The Province of Lecco ( it, provincia di Lecco; Lecchese: ) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecco. As of 2017, the province had a population of 337,211 on a surface of divided into 85 ''comuni'' (m ...

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, with an elevation of . It is part of the

Bergamo Alps The Bergamasque Alps or Bergamo Alps (Italian: ''Alpi Orobie'', sometimes translated into English as Orobic Alps) are a mountain range in the Italian Alps. They are located in northern Lombardy and named after the city Bergamo, south of the mou ...

, and it has two peaks, Grignone or Grigna settentrionale, the higher, and the lower Grignetta or Grigna meridionale (2,177 m).

Geography and climbing routes

To the southwest, the Grigna massif descends precipitously toward an arm of

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

known as 'Ramo di Lecco' (The Branch of Lecco). To the east, the mountain rises gently through fields and forested land into

Valsassina 250px, The Valsassina plateau. Valsassina is a valley in the Alps of Lombardy, northern Italy, within the province of Lecco. It is included between the Grigne range from West, and the Bergamo Prealps which, in a half-circle stretching from North ...

. The northern side of the mountain, which is known for its many caves and crevices, leads to Passo del Cainallo and the town of

Esino Lario Esino Lario (; Lecchese: ; locally ) is a municipality ('' comune'') of the Province of Lecco in the Italian region of Lombardy. It is about north of Milan, northwest of Lecco, and about from the eastern shore of Lake Como. The area arou ...

. The easiest route to the Grignone peak is from the southeast starting at the town of

Ballabio Ballabio ( Valassinese lmo, Balàbi) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about north of Lecco in the Valsassina. Historically, it has been a center for pr ...

. Farther up the valley is Pasturo, another traditional trailhead for the ascent. The mountain's relative isolation affords it panoramic views of Alps toward the north and on clear days, the

Milan cathedral Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...

can be seen to the southwest. The Rifugio Brioschi (a mountain hut with food and accommodations) sits on the Grignone peak and is open most of the year. There are other shelters lower down on the massif, including Rifugio Bietti, Rifugio Arnaldo Bogani, Rifugio Pialeral, and Rifugio Rosalba. Every year in September, Grigna hosts a Skyrunning event known as the "Trofeo Scaccabarozzi", which starts and finishes in Pasturo. The route passes over Grigna Meridionale and Grigna Settrionale and covers a distance of 43 km. Sergio “Gigi” Sala from

Casatenovo Casatenovo ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region of Lombardy, about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco. , it had a population of about 12,700. Casatenovo borders the followin ...

was the first person to reach the summit using only his hands and without any protections in 1988.

References

External links

Official website of the Grigna Regional Park
Mountains of Lombardy Mountains of the Alps {{Lombardy-geo-stub