Monte Rosa Massif Mountaineering
Climb of Castor at 4228 meters

Trip

Ascent to Castor 4226 mt

One of the twin names coming from the classic mythology symbolizing friendship: Castor&Pollux are two beautiful twin peaks bounded by their eternal closeness. The climb to the Castor peak will allow you to enjoy some of the most beautiful landscapes in the Alps, between Italy and Switzerland.
The climb do not present any special technical difficulties and the small ridges to be crossed along the route are funny and the summit will reward you with a great the panorama: you will admire the whole Breithorn group, the Matterhorn, the Gran Combin, the Mont Blanc chain, the Gran Paradiso and the nearest Western and Eastern Lyskamm as well as the main peaks of Monte Rosa with Punta Dufour and Nordend, Punta Gnifetti, Punta Parrot and Pyramide Vincent: in short, an incomparable show that will reward all your efforts! To the north, the panorama opens on the Swiss mountains of Valais, while on the south you can see Monviso (Piedmont).

Castor (4,226 mt) and Pollux (4084) together form the Twin Massif. They can be reached either from the west side or from the southeast side, starting respectively from Cervinia or Gressoney.
 

Program

The Program for climbing Castor

Day 1 Gressoney - Colle di Bettaforca (2727 mt) - Rifugio Quintino Sella (3585 mt)

Vertical drop and length: + 850 metres and about 3 to 4 hours of climbing.

Meeting with the mountain guide at 9:00 am in Staffal, Gressoney. After a short material check, you will take the cable car to reach the Colle di Bettaforca. It will then take you about three hours walk to reach Rifugio Quintino Sella, where you will dine and sleep.

Day 2 Rifugio Quintino Sella - Castor (4226 mt) - Gressoney

Vertical drop and length of time: +640 m; -1500 m and about 2.5 hours uphill; 4/5 hours downhill

After a good breakfast, you will begin your climb up the Felik Glacier, heading north towards Punta Perazzi, reaching therefore Felik Pass. After that, the climb to the top of Punta Felik begins and from there on you will follow the route going up and down on a funny ridge ,to finally get to the top of Castor. The descent will be along the same ascent route.
You will get back at Rifugio Quintino Sella around lunch time: you can rest for a moment and have a pasta and then start your descent to Bettaforca Pass, where you will take the cable car again to go back to Staffal, Gressoney.

Materiel

Mountaineering Technical Equipment

• Hiking Goretex shoes suitable to crampons
• crampons
• walking poles
• iceaxe
• helmet.

How to dress for Mountaineering

First layer on the skin:

• (merino wool) thermal/breathable long sleeve
• (merino wool) long thermal/breathable underwear
• woolen warm socks

Second layer:

• warm technical sweater
• waterproof & windproof hiking pants

Third layer:

• thin but warm down jacket

Last layer:

• waterproof & windproof Goretex jacket

Important Additionals:

• sleeping sheet for the hut
• warm winter hat
• buff/head-neckband
• warm winter gloves
• headlamp
• suncream (protection factor 50+)
• sunglasses
• camera

If you have any doubts or simply need clarification on what gear to take for your climb, you can take a look at our Blog page "What gear for mountaineering?"

N.B. Consider a change for when you are back to the hut (you can leave some stuff at the hut).

IMPORTANT: if a person is not properly equipped and dressed, the mountain guide may decide not to allow him/her to take part in the climb. We ask you to read carefully the equipment list provided in the programme PDF and to call us if you have any doubts.

Level

Level needed for climbing Castor

Well-trained mountaineers of an average level, in search of new perspectives. You will need to have a good level of fitness, good sense of balance and the ability to walk on rough terrain. 
It is necessary to have a resistance to about 5/8 hours of walking a day and a good acclimatization to the high altitude as you will be staying at above 3500 mt. It would be advisable for you to properly train and to climb a 4000 peak at least once before leaving for this Tour.
 

Useful Info

Useful information to prepare your mountain trip:

Meeting on the first day

Meeting with the mountain guide in Staffal (Gressoney) at the departure of the Gabiet cable car at 9:00 a.m. 

End of the trip

The programme ends on the second day between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm in Staffal (Gressoney).

Organisation:

The week before your departure, you will receive a reminder by email with all the information concerning the meeting and the guide in charge of your group.

Esprit Montagne / Esprit des Guides SA takes care of the hut reservation, you do not need to think about it.

Guiding

French and English speaking local UIAGM mountain guide from our team.

How to reach Aosta Valley

• Via Chamonix Mont Blanc – you can reach Chamonix by train from the main French airports or from Geneva airport – then you can reach Courmayeur – Aosta Valley through the Mont Blanc Tunnel (there are buses connections from Chamonix to Aosta Valley, but if you would like to be free to move it is advisable to rent a car).
• Via Geneva or Martigny – you can easily reach Martigny by train from Geneva airport - then you reach Aosta city center via the tunnel of Grand Saint Bernard (there are buses connections from Martigny to Aosta Valley, but if you would like to be free to move it is advisable to rent a car).
• Via Milan/Turin airport – rent a car directly to reach Aosta via the highway
  • Rent a car directly to reach Aosta via the motorway;
  • By train: https://www.trenitalia.com/trenitalia-france.html
• Or via Bourg Saint Maurice (73700, France) - Col du Petit Saint Bernard - you can reach Bourg Saint Maurice by train from the main French airports. Once in Bourg Saint Maurice you will need to rent a car to reach the Aosta Valley via the Col du Petit Saint Bernard (2 hours drive). It's a slightly longer trip but you can save the toll at the Mont Blanc Tunnel.

Public transports Aosta Valley

• Bus trasport from Chamonix to Courmayeur: https://aosta.arriva.it/line/courmayeur-chamonix/
• Bus trasport from Courmayeur to Aosta : https://aosta.arriva.it/en/line/aosta-courmayeur-2/
• Bus transport from Milan to Aosta: https://aosta.arriva.it/en/aosta-milano/
• Bus transport whithin the Aosta Region: https://aosta.arriva.it/en/timetables-and-routes/

Bus to the Gressoney Valley

The departure point of the bus for the Gressoney Valley is at the train station in the village of Pont Saint Martin.
For the bus timetable: https://www.vitagroup.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/estivo-gressoney-2022.pdf

If you are coming only for the climb, we can organize you a taxi to pick you up or the mountain guide can come to pick you up on the road nearby Aosta (organization upon booking).

Accommodation in Staffal:

For those who wish to sleep in Staffal in the evening before returning to the Guide we recommend the Walsertal Residence, a very nice and cozy hotel, two minutes from the cable car departure.

Sports shops for specific equipment rental:

You can rent equipment at Ermanno Sport in Staffal, directly at the departure of the cable car: remember to contact the shop in advance to book your equipment.
 

Car sharing

When you register online, you can choose whether or not you wish to take part in the car-sharing scheme to get to the starting point of your course. Once you have made your booking, you can log back into your Esprit Montagne account to access a section dedicated to carpooling. Here you will find the contacts of the other participants who are interested in car-sharing, so that you can contact them directly.