Monte Disgrazia 3678m – with a mountain guide
Its original name “Pizzo Glorioso” (The Glorious Peak) emphasized the mountain’s majestic look and effort required to ascend it — and the most cherished peak for the people of Valmalenco.
First climbed in 1862 by English adventurers whose trip report was published in the first editions of the English Alpine Journal.
If you are looking for a technical and aesthetic climb this is the mountain you are looking for.
If you don’t think you are quite ready, we can do a less demanding climb to prepare you for this big adventure. Alternatively, you can add an intro day to improve your mountaineering skills.
Normal Route
The ascent of Disgrazia via the normal route (Level 3) — the easiest one on the mountain — is a classic and highly priced alpine adventure. This climb takes place on scenic exposed ridge and requires endurance and basic mountaineering experience. The approach for this route is from the south.
The summit of Disgrazia offers breathtaking 360-degree views over the entire Bernina group, the surrounding Valtellina valleys, and far beyond, making the challenging ascent incredibly worthwhile.
Day 0
You arrive to Valmalenco Valley and we will meet you in the afternoon or early evening to make sure you have all that you need. Optionally, we can arrange for your pick-up from an airport or a train station.
Night: You can stay in on of the hotels or B&Bs in the valley.
Day 1
We head out in late morning and drive to Predarossa in Valmasino (1941m) and start hiking. With easy two hours hike we get to the cozy rifugio Ponti that offers typical local cusine.
Night: Rifugio Ponti (2559m)
Day 2
With headlamps on we leave the hut in the early morning. We will cross a small glacier with the first light, and reach a high pass — the “Sella di Pioda” — where the more technical terrain begins. From here on we are mostly climbing on an exposed ridge with stunning panoramas all around. Following the scenic ridge will bring us to the summit of majestic Disgrazia. The descent back to Rifugio Ponti follows the same route. Evviva!!! You earned your lunch!
Corda Molla Route
The ascent of the Corda Molla route (Level 4) following the north ridge is a five star climb and a true classic. It is renowned for its wild, high-mountain environment and excellent mixed terrain.
The name Corda Molla literally means “loose rope” and it refers to its long snowy section on the ridge. This climb is more challenging than the normal route and it’s frequented by fewer climbers. Corda Molla is the standard ascent route from the Valmalenco side. It can be combined with the ascent to Punta Kennedy on the first day, a nearby peak before the bivouac.
Day 0
You arrive to Valmalenco valley and we will meet you in the afternoon or early evening to make sure you have all that you need. Optionally, we can arrange for your pick-up from an airport or a train station.
Night: You can stay in on of the hotels or B&B in the valley.
Day 1
We head out in early morning and drive to the village of Chiareggio in the upper Valmalenco (1612m) and start hiking. With an easy two-hour hike we get to the Ventina glacier. From there, we start to climb more steeply before crossing the upper glacier to the Oggioni bivouac where we will be sleeping.
Night: Oggioni Bivouac (3151m)
Day 2
It’s summit time. The majority of the day we will spend climbing on rock and snow along the aerial Corda Molla. The final push to the top winds through the rocky north face of Disgrazia offers fun close to vertical climbing. By now, we have climbed over 500 vertical meters and we can finally touch the summit rock.
For the descent, we will have two options, along the normal route to Rifugio Ponti or back down to Valmalenco following a series of rappels and then descent down the Ventina glacier.
Ideas to extend this adventure
Add One More Day
Spend a day going through the nuts and bolts basis of mountaneering to get ready for the ascent
Climb one More Peak
On the third day, we can ascend Monte Pioda 3,943m through the west crest of Pizzo Cassandra 3,226m that offers fantastic views to another part of Valmalenco. After the climb we go back to the hut, then hikes down to the car and we come back to Valmalenco.
What’s Included
As per itinerary above.
Not Included
As per itinerary above.
FAQs and Practical Tips
We categorize all our activities — from easy hiking to challenging climbing or ski touring — and assign them a level of difficulty, so you can easily compare them.
Access the difficulty scale by clicking this icon beside the word “Level” at top of the page for each adventure/trip:
You can tailor most of our adventures; for example, making them longer or shorter, or more or less challenging.
We recommend that you get in touch with us and we choose the best options together.
Ideas for customization can be found either at the bottom of each trip description, or can be viewed by clicking this icon beside the words “Tailor this adventure” at top of the page for each adventure/trip.
To ensure you can fully immerse yourself in the beauty of the Alps, we strongly recommend that all guests carry comprehensive travel insurance. For our adventures, please ensure your policy covers outdoor sports and mountain rescue for altitudes up to 5,000m.
We are updating our specialized gear lists and we will publish them for each adventure soon.
In any case, we will email you a gear packing list after you book your trip.
We strongly advise you to let us know about any allergies, food or others, that may pose a health risk for you during your trip. This affects your own safety as well as of the whole group.
As for dietary preferences, please let us know as well ahead of time as we have to arrange for alternatives with the hut custodians.
Details on our payment, cancellation and refund policies for 2026 are being updated and will be published soon.