The Grande Aiguille Rousse is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...

of the

Graian Alps The Graian Alps (french: Alpes grées ; it, Alpi Graie ) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. Etymology The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli'' Celtic tribe, which dwelled in the area surrounding the Mont Cenis pass and t ...

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, situated between the

Maurienne Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. ...

and Tarentaise valleys near the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

border. Reaching an altitude of , it exceeds its junior to the west, the Petite Aiguille Rousse, by just . Not far from

Levanna The Levanne (singular: Levanna) is a group of mountains of Savoie, France and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy. It lies in the Graian Alps , it, Alpi Graie , photo = , photo_caption = , country_type = Cou ...

, the Grande Aiguille Rousse overlooks

Serrù Lake Serrù Lake is a lake in the Province of Turin, Piedmont, 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 ...

and the

Gran Paradiso National Park Gran Paradiso National Park (Italian: ''Parco nazionale del Gran Paradiso''; ), is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in the ...

in Italy.

Geography

At the crossroads of the Maurienne and Tarentaise valleys, not far from the

Col de l'Iseran Col de l'Iseran (el. ) is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. A part of the Graian Alps, it is in the department of Savoie, near the border with Italy, and is crossed by the D902 roadway. The pass is part of the Route ...

, the Grande Aiguille Rousse lies in the region where the waters that flow through these great alpine valleys diverge. It is part of a series of mountains that define the frontier between Savoie and the Italian regions of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

, including such peaks as the

Pointe de Ronce Pointe de Ronce is a mountain of Savoie, France. It lies in the Mont Cenis range. It has an elevation of above sea level. Features It is located near the Mont Cenis Pass and overlooks the village of Lanslebourg in Haute-Maurienne. A wide circus, ...

, the

Bessanèse Bessanèse (''Uia di Bessanese'' in Italian) (3,594 m), is a mountain of the Graian Alps on the France and Italy border. Features Most famous on its Italian side, the mountain lies at the head of the Valli di Lanzo, around 30 km north of Turi ...

, the Levanna, and the . The Grande Aiguille Rousse is shared by the

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

Val-d'Isère Val-d'Isère (, literally ''Valley of Isère'') is a commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region) in southeastern France. It lies from the border with Italy. It is on the border of the Vanoise Nationa ...

and

Bonneval-sur-Arc Bonneval-sur-Arc (, literally ''Bonneval on Arc''; frp, Bônavâl-sus-Arc) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Climate Bonneval-sur-Arc features an alpine climate due to its high ...

Ascent

The most common route for hiking up the mountain is from Val-d'Isère via the Prariond Refuge, or alternatively from

via the Carro Refuge or the Col du Montet mountain pass. To reach the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

from Italy, it is customary to begin at the , take the Col de la Lose pass at , cross the border to the Sources de l'Isère Glacier at , and finally arrive at the summit.

Refuges

The mountain refuges which can be used as a starting point for the ascent or simply for a visit to the mountain are the following: * Prariond Refuge - * - * Carro Refuge -

References

{{Reflist Mountains of Savoie Mountains of the Alps Alpine three-thousanders France–Italy border