The Testa di Comagna (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: Tête de Comagne) is a 2,106 metres high peak on the Italian side of the

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...

Geography

The mountain is located on the

water divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

between the main

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

and the Val d'Ayas, one of its tributary valleys. The long stretch of the water divide linking towards NW the Testa di Comagna with monte Zerbion touches its lowest point with Col de Joux (1.640 m). In the opposite direction the water divide continues with the saddle of ''Col Tzecore'' (1.607 m}) and then rises up to the ''Mont d'Arbaz'' (1.651 m). Close to the summit of the Testa di Comagna stands a

summit cross A summit cross is a Christian cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or other weatherproof case. The practice originated in the Ge ...

, sustained by a

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

basement. The mountain, thanks to its central position in the Aosta Valley and its isolation from higher mountains, offers a very wide panorama including many of the main summits of the area such as Monte Emilius, Mont Néry,

monte Bianco Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount Elb ...

and

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

SOIUSA classification

According to

SOIUSA Alps by SOIUSA. SOIUSA (an acronym for - English: ''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps-ISMSA'') is a classification system of the Alps from the geographic and toponomastic point of view. It was designed by Sergio Maraz ...

(''International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps'') the mountain can be classified in the following way: * main part =

Western Alps The Western Alps are the western part of the Alps, Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzer ...

* major sector = North Western Alps * section =

* subsection = Monte Rosa Alps * supergroup =Contrafforti valdostani del Monte Rosa * group = Costiera Tournalin-Zerbion *

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...

= I/B-9.III-B.4

Access to the summit

Summer

The mountain does not have special alpinistic interest but is a popular

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

destination because its easy access and the very interesting panorama which offers on the Aosta Valley mountains. In order to reach the summit a good starting point is the col de Joux, but one can also start from Sommarèse or from Plésod. On the contrary reaching the summit by

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

requires good skills.

Winter

The Testa di Comagna is also a classical destination for

Ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment ...

, considered of medium difficulty. and hiking with

snow shoes Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

. Winter routes follow more or less the same itineraries used for summertime access to the summit.

Maps

* Military Geographic Institute (IGM) official maps of Italy, 1:25.000 and 1:100.000 scale
on-line version
* Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 5 ''Cervino e Monte Rosa'',

Istituto Geografico Centrale The Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC, in English ‘’Central Geographic Institute’’) is a privately owned Italian company based in Turin (Piedmont), known for its guide books and hiking maps mainly concerning the Western Alps and their cont ...

- Torino

References

{{reflist Two-thousanders of Italy Mountains of Aosta Valley Pennine Alps