1.One journey, twelve peaks
1.2 Why is it called “Spaghetti Tour”?
2.Preparing for the Spaghetti Tour: everything you need to know
2.1 The importance of acclimatization: an embrace with the mountain before the summit
2.2 Recommended training
2.3 Necessary equipment
3.The itinerary day by day
3.1 Day 1 – The first 4000: Western Breithorn
3.2 Day 2 – Castore and the descent towards the Quintino Sella refuge
3.3 Day 3 – Lyskamm Nose and Vincent Pyramid
3.4 Day 4 – The supreme peak: Capanna Margherita
3.5 Day 5 – The long descent and the grand finale
4.Health at high altitude
4.1 Altitude sickness: what to expect?
4.2 Tracking and safety
4.3 Temperatures: what to expect?
5.News from the world: the Spaghetti Tour
6.Are you ready for the adventure?
1.1 A journey and twelve peaks
Getting on a 4000 is an emotion you won’t forget. But imagine conquering twelve in a single trip.
This is The Spaghetti Tour.
Five days suspended between heaven and earth, boundless glaciers and refuges perched above the clouds. The Spaghetti Tour it’s not just a crossing: it’s a journey into the heart wild of Monte Rosa.
An adventure that begins where the beaten paths end, where the mountain shows itself for what it is: majestic, silent, true. It is a path that leads you to rediscover your limits, step by step. And crossing the border between Italy and Switzerland, feeling the fatigue transform into adrenaline.
When your legs start to feel the weight of the day, the time comes to stop, look up and let yourself be overwhelmed by the beauty. The high altitude refuges welcome you like oases among the peaks, the legendary one among all Margherita Hut, the highest in Europe, suspended at 4554 meters between earth and sky.
And one thing is certain: you will never be alone.
Our UIAGM alpine guide they are always by your side: they will guide you safely, they will tell you about the mountains and, in moments of difficulty, they will also be able to make you smile.
1.2 Why is it called the “Spaghetti Tour”?
A curious name, born almost as a joke among Swiss and German mountaineers. Accustomed to the sobriety of high altitude refuges, they were kidnapped by warm Italian welcome, where after hours between glaciers and ridges, they always found a plate of steaming pasta waiting for them.
A gesture that makes you smile, simple, almost ironic: a plate of spaghetti served at 3500 meters. This is how the Spaghetti Tour was born, today one of the most fascinating crossings in the Alps.
But it’s not just about food. It is the soul of Italian hospitality, the one that makes you feel at home even at high altitude. After a day spent braving the wind and snow, a hot polenta, a steaming soup or a mountain stew are much more than a meal: they are comfort, energy, sharing.
And inside the refuge, there is something even more precious: the sincere smile of managers. What, at high altitude, really makes the difference.
Tackling such an intense challenge deserves comfort at the end of the day. Especially at high altitude!
2. How to prepare for the Spaghetti Tour
2.1 Who can face it?
The Spaghetti Tour is designed for hikers trained and mountaineers with a minimum of experience at high altitude. You don’t need to be an expert climber, but you need a good level of physical resistance and the ability to walk for 6-8 hours a day on snowy terrain e glaciers.
2.2 The importance of acclimatization: the secret to feeling good at altitude
Climbing above 4000 meters is an incredible experience, but your body needs time to adapt. Pass at least one night at altitude before the tour helps to prevent altitude sickness.
2.3 Recommended workout:
- Trekking with at least 1000-1500 meters of altitude difference
- Excursions above 3000 meters to acclimatise you
- Running, cycling or hiking to improve stamina and breath
- Sleep at least one night at altitude before the tour. Discover more from here: Acclimatise On Monte Rosa
The busiest day? The climb from Rifugio Quintino Sella to Capanna Margherita: 1300 meters of altitude difference at high altitude.
If you can do 1600 meters at lower altitudes with a good pace, you are ready for this adventure!
2.4 Necessary equipment
The high altitude leaves no room for improvisation. Having the right equipment makes the difference between an incredible experience and a grueling climb. Here’s everything you need:
Clothing:
- Breathable base layer (short and long sleeves)
- Thermal fleece
- Lightweight down jacket
- Windproof waterproof shell
- Technical mountaineering trousers
- Warm gloves and spare light gloves
- Warm beanie + Neck Buff
- Sunglasses (protection category 3 or 4)
- Ski goggles for low visibility conditions
Technical Equipment:
- Mountaineering boots with rigid sole
- Branches at 10 or 12 points
- Ice ax with steel blade
- Hull
- Harness light and adjustable
- Telescopic sticks
- 30/40 liter backpack
Basic accessories:
- Headlamp with spare batteries
- 1 liter thermos
- Sun cream SPF 50+
- Energy snacks
- Sheet bag for the shelter (mandatory)
We will provide most of the material! Write to us to find out more.
3. The itinerary day by day
Day 1 – The first 4000: Western Breithorn
- Starting point: Cervinia, Plateau Rosa
- Overnight stay: Refuge Guide d’Ayas (3400 m)
The adventure begins from Cervinia. A deep breath, the backpack on the shoulder, a last look at the valley floor before climbing to high altitude. The lifts lead up to the Plateau Rosa, where the first challenge is faced: the Breithorn Occidentale (4165m). A perfect testing ground to take your breath away and become familiar with the glacier.
The climb is gradual, but the last steps are felt. Then the summit, and the spectacle that repays every effort, one of the most incredible panoramas of the Alps opens up before your eyes: the Matterhorn and the peaks of Switzerland. The mountain in all its splendor.
The descent takes you up to Rifugio Guide d’Ayas, nestled at 3400 meters between ice and rocks. This refuge, located on the Lambronecca crest, a stone’s throw from the Verra Glacier, is a point of reference for mountaineers.
Built in the 1980s by the Val d’Ayas Guide Society, it is the highest in the valley and the starting point for some of the most beautiful climbs of Monte Rosa.
Inside the mountain you can live without filters: outside the glacier, inside, the warmth of the wood and the scent of the kitchen create that atmosphere that only a high altitude refuge can offer.
A steaming dinner, a glass of wine and a toast to the first summit conquered: the journey has just begun.
Day 2 – Castore and the descent towards the Quintino Sella refuge
- Departure: Rifugio Guide d’Ayas
- Overnight stay: Quintino Sella refuge (3585 m)
A hot breakfast, a last look at the peaks and off we go again. You go up to Passo di Verra, then head straight to Castor (4228 m). The air becomes thinner, the pace slows down, the crampons bite the ice.
Between glaciers and crevasses, you climb up to the summit ridge, a thread of snow suspended between Italy and Switzerland. The view is postcard-like. From the summit, the world seems to stop.
After a long descent through the Felik Glacier, you reach the Quintino Sella refuge (3585 m), the refuge for the night.
A historic place, built in 1907 and rebuilt several times to withstand the mountain, is today a crossroads of stories, encounters and adventures.
Here, among the wooden walls worn by time, you can breathe the art of the mountains and mountaineering. Dinner is a moment of sharing, of past stories and enthusiasm for tomorrow: you enter the heart of Monte Rosa.
Day 3 – Lyskamm Nose and Vincent Pyramid
- Departure: Quintino Sella refuge
- Overnight stay: Gnifetti refuge (3647 m)
This is the most technical and fascinating day. You climb the Lyskamm nose (4272 m). Steep, vertical, challenging. But the effort will be rewarded by you panoramas that extend up to Mont Blanc and the Swiss peaks.
After the glacier of Light, we aim for Piramide Vincent, this peak with its 4215 meters, it is a perfect stage to prepare for the most challenging climb of the following day. We proceed tied up in a roped party, due to the presence of crevasses along the entire route. It is not a simple hiking trail but a real mountaineering climb at high altitude.
The descent leads to Gnifetti refuge, a high altitude house perched at 3647 meters, with more than a century of history. This refuge has welcomed many generations of climbers heading towards the highest peaks of the massif.
Here, time slows down. A hot dinner, the chats and smiles that intertwine at the wooden tables. Tomorrow, we’ll go up to the sky.
Day 4 – Up to the sky: Capanna Margherita
- Departure: Gnifetti refuge
- Overnight stay: Capanna Margherita refuge
The big day has arrived. The alarm goes off before dawn, it’s still dark outside.
We leave the lights of the refuge and go up the glacier, step by step. Il Balmenhorn, with the statue of Christ of the Peaks, is the first stage. Then the Ludwigshöhe, higher and higher, closer and closer to the goal.
And here it is: Punta Gnifetti (4554 m), where it rises Margherita Hut, the highest refuge in Europe. The sunset here is something surreal. Everything seems suspended between earth and sky.
From here, your gaze is lost among the clouds and the highest peaks of the Alps. You are on the roof of Monte Rosa.
This refuge inaugurated in 1893 in the presence of Queen Margherita of Savoy, was transported to the summit piece by piece, on the back of a mule and then on the shoulders of the mountaineers.
Today it is also one of the highest scientific observatories in the world, where studies are carried out on the adaptation of the human body to altitude.
Capanna Margherita also holds another guinness: inside there is a small library available to mountaineers, which can be considered the highest in Europe. Literally, a library in the clouds.
Here, the reward will be a dinner at 4554 meters, surrounded by the most impressive peaks of the Alps. And a nice toast to this feat!
Day 5 – The long descent and the grand finale
- Departure: Margherita Hut
- I arrive: Gressoney, return to Cervinia
The last day begins with a show that alone is worth the entire tour: dawn from Margherita Hut. The sky is tinged with pink and gold, the shadows of the peaks stretch over the ocean of ice below, and all around is silence.
After this natural spectacle, we continue the journey towards Zumsteinspitze, the third highest peak of Monte Rosa.
From here, the gaze is lost on the Dufour, the highest peak of all.
The long descent towards Gressoney it is a journey through time: villages made of wood and stone, the ancient heart of the Walser culture which preserves its traditions and the Titsch language intact, still spoken today by some inhabitants.
Who, the Queen Margherita of Savoy found his summer residence, enchanted by the beauty of these mountains he built the Savoy Castle, with its fairy-tale towers, dominates the valley and tells of an era when the nobility came here to breathe the pure air of the Alps.
Gressoney is the final farewell to Monte Rosa, a perfect place to end this journey and look back over the journey made in the previous days. Now let the adrenaline transform into pure gratitude for the experience.
Once in the valley, a taxi will take you back to Cervinia, closing the circle of this extraordinary adventure.
4. Health at high altitude
4.1 Altitude sickness: what to expect?
High altitude can test the body. Headache, fatigue, nausea They are common symptoms of altitude sickness, but they can be prevented with good acclimatization. Drink lots of water, proceed calmly and listen to your body they are the keys to living this experience to the fullest.
We have explored this topic further here: Mountain Sickness
4.2 Temperatures: what to expect?
In broad daylight, the sun can be so hot that it makes walking in a t-shirt pleasant. But at dawn or in case of wind, temperatures can drop to -7°C. Dressing in layers is essential to adapt to climate changes without weighing down the backpack.
5. News from the world: Spaghetti Tour
18 summits in less than 8 hours: the Spaghetti Tour record
The Spaghetti Tour is one of the most incredible experiences for mountaineers, but also a challenging ground for extreme performance. In 2023, Andy Steindl he established the new record by completing the tour in 7 hours, 45 minutes and 44 seconds, beating the previous record of Benjamin Védrines (2021).
An undertaking at the limit of the human, completed without stopping in the refuges that give the tour its name.
6. Are you ready for the adventure?
If you want to start experiencing the mountains, the real mountains, come up with us and our local UIAGM certified mountain guides by discovering the program from here: The Spaghetti Tour
