Congratulations to all last weeks groups who ascended Gran Paradiso 4061m in Italy. This classic summit features on our Alpine Intro course, as is a great first 4000m peak. We like this peak for several reasons; the quality of the mountain refugios (the Vittorio Emanuele and Chabod), the fact that the peak is in a national park unspoiled by cable cars, and that this is a real summit as you climb it from the valley floor at 2000m all the way up to the summit. You can check out photos of ascending Gran Paradiso at; http://picasaweb.google.fr/IcicleUK/GranParadiso, and the course itinerary at; http://www.icicle-mountaineering.ltd.uk/alpine%2Bintroduction%2Bcourse.htm