Douglas Freshfield gives this description from the summit of the Presanella, which he ascended for the first time (September 17, 1864):[2] The central mass of Adamello ... is a huge block, large enough to supply materials for half-a-dozen fine mountains.

The expedition took off on September 8 and mistakenly climbed two secondary peaks of the Adamello massif, the Dosson di Genova, 3419 m, and the Corno Bianco (White Horn), 3434 m, before facing the true summit.

The same route chosen by Payer, and Caturani is considered today as one of the easiest (although since then a lot has changed in the shape of glaciers), starting from the Val Genova, on the Trentino side, and crossing Pian di Neve (Snow Plain) to the peaks.

The first repetition, always in summer, was completed, following a similar path, by a British party, including the Londoner Douglas Freshfield and the famous Francis Fox Tuckett, with François Devouassoud, another Swiss guide, and a porter.

This is still one of the most travelled ways to the top from the Trentino side, and apart from the need to use glacier equipment and pay attention to the objective pitfalls that ice implies, it is a long and arduous walk, technically elementary.