Text and images by Raffaele Mercuriali
When people talk about less-travelled routes in the high mountains, they often think of remote faces or expeditions on the other side of the world. In reality, true adventure and the deepest sense of isolation can be found just a few kilometres from the busiest routes in the Alps. It is a matter of choice, perspective and style.
To explain what I mean to those discovering the mountains today, I like to tell the story of a two-day climb in the heart of the Monte Rosa massif: the South Ridge of the Lyskamm Nose. It is an elegant, logical line that sees very few ascents each year and unfolds in a magnificent setting, completely removed from the crowds heading towards the Margherita Hut or Castor.
The authenticity of the experience began with the very first step: we chose not to use the lifts, setting out directly on foot from Staffal, in Gressoney. As you make your way up the broad, solitary Lys Valley and follow the shore of its lake, the change of pace is immediate. Without the “filter” of the cable car, body and mind gradually adapt to the wilderness. The terrain changes and becomes more demanding: you cross the Lys Glacier and begin climbing a rocky ridge with Grade IV passages, where complete concentration is essential.
The destination on the first day is a small gem suspended above the void: the Massimo Comotti Bivouac. Reaching it, preparing for the night in such an isolated place and looking down at the distant lights of civilisation reveals the purest meaning of being tied to the same rope. In places like these, you are not simply a visitor to the mountains; you become an integral part of them.
The second day was an airy journey over mixed terrain, rock and ice towards the 4,272-metre summit of the Lyskamm Nose. On such a varied ascent, technical equipment makes a real difference. I completed the entire route wearing AKU Croda boots, semi-crampon-compatible footwear that proved ideal: precise and stable on the Grade IV rock passages, warm and secure on hard ice and exposed ridges, yet light and comfortable enough for the long approach and descent on foot.
From the summit, we descended along the lower Lyskamm traverse towards the Quintino Sella Hut, before completing the long walk back to Staffal. Two intense days, an unforgettable bivouac and no lifts at all.
This is what I mean by less-travelled routes. It is not about seeking extreme difficulty for its own sake, but about preserving the purity of the experience. Learning to approach the high mountains from the valley, embracing the silence and choosing less obvious lines offers a unique opportunity to rediscover a more intimate, personal and perhaps more authentic form of mountaineering. An approach built on awareness, respect and the beauty of leaving the first tracks where the wind has erased all the others.
