Punta Sulè (in Piedmontese Ponta Solé) is a 3,384 m a.s.l.mountain of the Graian Alps, located in Italy.
Geography
The mountain is the highest elevation of the ridge between the terminal dales of the Stura di Viù valley, Peraciaval (North) and Malciaussia (South). Going NW the Sulè pass divides Punta Sulè from Testa Sulà (3,073 m a.s.l.), while going East the Colletto della Lera (3,320 m a.s.l.) separates it from Monte Lera.
Administratively the mountain belongs to the Usseglio municipality (comune).
On the summit a cairn bears a small Jesus Christ statue; on another nearby cairn is located a lightning rod. In clear days it offers a good view of many important mountains of Western Alps including Argentera group, Viso, Dauphiné Alps, Bianco, Gran Paradiso and Rosa.
SOIUSA classification
According to the SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain can be classified in the following way: main part = Western Alps major sector = North Western Alps section = Graian Alps subsection = South-Eastern Graian Alps supergroup = Catena Arnas-Ciamarella group = Gruppo Autaret-Ovarda subgroup = Cresta Autaret-Lera-Arnas code = I/B-7.I-B.4.a
History
The first recorded ascent to Punta Sulè was carried out by Filippo Vallino on August 16, 1880.
Access to the summit
The usual route to Punta Sulè starts from lago di Malciaussia and, after Pian Sulè, reaches the summit following the SW ridge of the mountain. While long (around 1,600 metres of vertical drop) this route does not require alpinistic skills but just scrambling. In the Italian scale of hiking difficulty is rated EE (Escursionisti Esperti, namely suitable for expert hikers). Traverse from Punta Sulè to Monte Lera is considered an alpinistic route, evaluated of PD grade.
References
Maps
Istituto Geografico Militare (IGM) official maps of Italy, 1:25.000 and 1:100.000 scale, on-line version Istituto Geografico Centrale (IGC) - Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:50.000 n. 2 Valli di Lanzo e Moncenisio Istituto Geografico Centrale - Carta dei sentieri e dei rifugi scala 1:25.000 n.110 Alte Valli di Lanzo (Rocciamelone - Uja di Ciamarella - Le Levanne)