Presanella 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 ...
in the
Adamello-Presanella
The Adamello-Presanella Alps Alpine group is a mountain range in the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group of the Eastern Alps. It is located in northern Italy, in the provinces of Trentino and Brescia. The name stems from its highest peaks: Ada ...
range of the Italian
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
of 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 re ...
. Presanella has an elevation of 3,558 meters and is located in the Adamello Brenta National Park within the
Trentino
Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...
province of Italy.
Climbing history
Presanella may have first been climbed by surveyors in 1854. Eduard Pechmann's 186
Notizen zur Höhen- und Profilkartehas Presanella's height with two digits precision (1878.26
Viennese Klaster or 3,562.1 m), which in this list indicated that a measurement was taken from the summit during the trigonometric survey, which for Presanella was done in 1854. This possible ascent is otherwise unrecorded.
[Karl Schulz, ''Die Adamello Gruppe'' i]
Die Erschliessung der Ostalpen, Volume 2
Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein, 1894, pp. 234-237.
In 1862, the Viennese jurist
:de:Anton von Ruthner and the guides Kuenz from
Martell and Delpero from
Vermiglio
Vermiglio (local dialect: ''Verméi'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northwest of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,884 and an area o ...
ascended the 3043 m Passo di Cercen to the West of Presanella. They attempted the western summit (Cima di Vermiglio, 3458 m), then considered the highest by the people from Vermiglio, but failed to reach the summit, partly because Delpero did not have glacier experience.
[ The first well-recorded ascent was two years later by ]François Devouassoud
François Devouassoud (September 1831 – 1905) was a French mountain guide who made many first ascents in the Alps, notably as guide to Douglas William Freshfield, who claimed that Devouassoud "was the first Alpine guide to carry his ice-axe to t ...
accompanied by Delpero and guiding the English gentlemen R. Melville Beachcroft, James Douglas Walker, and Douglas William Freshfield. Like Ruthner, the party approached Presanella from Vermiglio from the North to the Passo di Cercen and then crossed to the 3375 m pass now known as “Sella di Freshfield” and via the upper part of the Vedretta di Nardis over the west slope to the summit.[ Douglas William Freshfield]
Across country from Thonon to Trent: rambles and scrambles in Switzerland and Tyrol
Spottiswoode, 1865, chapter ''Ascent of the Presanella'', pp. 93-102. Only three weeks later, on 17 September 1864, the Austrian explorer Julius Payer
Julius Johannes Ludovicus Ritter von Payer (2 September 1841, – 29 August 1915), ennobled Ritter von Payer in 1876, was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army, mountaineer, arctic explorer, cartographer, painter, and professor at the Ther ...
and his guide Girolamo Botteri stood on the summit, finding there to their surprise and disappointment a cairn built by Freshfield's party. Payer, Botteri and a second guide (either one Bertoldi or Giovanni Caturani, who gave up before the summit) had approached the mountain from the opposite side, starting in the Rocchetta valley, and climbing the Southeast ridge in a storm.[
The first people to ascend Presanella over the steep North side were Johann “Kederbacher” Grill and Bonifacio Nicolussi guiding Bruno Wagner and Edward Kratky. On 4 August 1881, over a period of 13 hours, they climbed over the Presanella glacier to the Bocca di Presanella and ascended the Northeast ridge.][ The first ascent over the 550 m North face was by the Aostan climbers Emilio Brocherel, Ugo Croux and P. Arici in 1906.Classic climbs in Presanella]
/ref>
See also
*List of mountains of the Alps
This page tabulates only the most prominent mountains of the Alps, selected for having a topographic prominence of ''at least'' , and all of them exceeding in height. Although the list contains 537 summits, some significant alpine mountains ar ...
*List of Alpine peaks by prominence
This is a list of the mountains of the Alps, ordered by their topographic prominence. For a list by height, see the list of mountains of the Alps. By descending to 1,500 m of prominence, this list includes all the Ultras of the Alps. Some famous p ...
References
External links
"Cima Presanella, Italy" on Peakbagger
{{Ultras of Europe
Mountains of Trentino
Mountains of the Alps
Alpine three-thousanders