A busy week in two of the three Valli di Lanzo in Piemont: Val Grande and Val d’Ala. Lesser known Italian Alps.
After arriving in Val Grande we stayed for two nights at excellent Ca’d’Ambra in Bonzo and made a warm-up trip on the so-called sentiero balcone on the left slopes of the valley (so these exposed to the south) from Pialpetta to the church of Rivotti to the alp Gias dei Signori, and from there back via steep forests over Groscavallo and along the river to Pialpetta.
Next day we went for three days for a longer walk in an extraordinarily warm weather. (1) After the morning capuccino in Albergo Savoia in Forno di Alpi Graie we climbed along the wide Vallone di Sea staying at Bivacco Gias Nuovo in the company of numerous cows. (2) From there we went back down to Alpe di Sea and made an exhausting climb along the freshly marked, but massively overgrown trail to the high Passo dell’Ometto and stayed in Bivacco Molino on the other side of the pass already over Val d’Ala. This time in a company of a friendly capricorn. (3) From Bivacco Molino a wild traverse led us to Alpe Pian del Lago from where we continued on the GTA trail to Lago Vasuero and up to Colle di Trione. From there a steep trail led us down to Laghi di Trione where we entered the overheated air of the lower parts of Val Grande. Partly refreshed thanks to the source of Fontana Clementina nearby Alpe Trione, we enterded shadowy but still too warm forests on a trail which brought us finally to the fine dinner with litres and litres of water in Albergo Pialpetta.
The same evening we moved to Val d’Ala, staying there in an apartment belonging to BnB Uja in Mondrone, a well earned luxury. After a day of rest, we made two short and lazy walks in Val d’Ala, one along the the Stura river directly from Mondrone, and one above Pian della Mussa above Rifugio Città di Cirié to the surroundings of Alpe di Rossa and Alpe di Ciamarella in the upper part of the valley.
The friendly help of Matthias Mandler (piemontwandern.de) answering our detailed questions on Vali di Lanzo is greatly appreciated.
OpenTopoMaps centered on the two northern Valli di Lanzo.
Here comes the photo gallery from our trip, as almost always, many too many photos:
Gallery (249 images)
