Friday, October 10, 2008

3d Wedding Invitations

High Road Valmalenco

(val)

July 27 - It 'Sunday, the weather sucks as weather, but tomorrow should change. We do all the Valtellina attentive to signs of time limit (50/70km/h) between warehouses, and sad fabbrichette houses in the valley and there goes more ... At Sondrio, turn left and we stuck in Valmalenco, up to the Church. We take the new cable car, huge, walk-in door 160 people ... looks like a square. The refuge Palu, on Lake and along the path of the high street, this year is being renovated so we will place the shelter Motta (private 2180mslm) to 15/20 minutes after the cable car . Time is infamous, drizzling. We arrived an hour of tea without having lunch: a nice refuge, Paola, tempts us with the pizzoccheri very delicious, we eat special dishes in stone, then we go into our bedroom, 2 lounges, a Latvian, bathroom with shower and towels. The refuge has been completely renovated two years ago, by a simple stone building with a few true hotel beds but a huge dining room (restaurant especially for skiers in winter). We are the only guests and chatting with the family dinner next to us, the father of Paola will show you old photos hanging on and tells us about his father, the first manager of the shelter when she was a little cabin. The two girls Paola already want to serve at the table, the promise of the fourth generation of refugees, then bring out a PC and try to connect to the Internet all the tangled wires. Monelle and wide awake, very pretty. I try to involve bep making the rounds that we will see in the next few days, but is not interested, saying that both the guide and I do I know where to go ...

July 28 - There is a wonderful and sun really begins trek along the Alta Via della Valmalenco, marked with a yellow triangle on which is inscribed the number of days of travel (we we started today, but in reality this would be the fifth day of the trek). At the beginning, unfortunately, we walk on gravel and slopes around us each ridge has its own ski lift ... was a few years that are missing from these places and I seem to have really gone too far. The lake is very nice but from Palu. Pause photos Alpe Campolungo where a woodchuck poses as a diva. After a while, 'begins the wood and improves the landscape, the highway becomes a path up to the big pasture Campascio (1844mslm) under the shelters and Mitta Musella. From there began an endless ascent, first through the woods for up to two shelters, then the path called the seven sighs, because it exceeds seven moraine up to, rising with steep zig-zag, the refuge Carate (2636mslm). am fond of this little rustic hut of the CAI, I would like to stop here rather than go for the huge Shack Marinelli, with 210 beds, but prefer to arrive bep glacial environment that awaits us beyond the nozzle of scissors, a few meters above the Carate. So here we stopped only to eat, beautifully, and managers have a chat with ... will be for next time. And here finally appear, if a little 'veiled by clouds, glaciers and peaks. the nozzle gets pounded some snowfield and go down to the pond and the brook at the foot of the glacier to Casper, then starts to climb steeply again zig-zag to the Shack Marinelli (CAI 2813mslm). A few guests, quiet atmosphere, very friendly owners, great view. Bep started to become interested in places, especially in the Bernina and Capanna and Marco Rosa, 1.25.000 and buy a map of the area. Violent rain towards evening, I left out the boots but some pious soul brings them back inside me. We have a nice room for 2, with green sheets.

July 29 - Morning beautiful. We follow the advice of refugees and depart after 9, so that it reaches the sun on the section of the glacier that we have to cross. Today we have to a short trail but "dot" that is, to experts and we are incredibly alone (we will be all day). We descend along the path from which we climbed, but soon after it leaves uncomfortable continuing on large stones, in part, to the left along the moraine of the glacier. This trait seems to me very long, eventually you get to the glacier, we face associated with crampons.

With light and quiet climb we arrive at the nozzle Caspoggio (2983mslm). It's all downhill from here, first with a short section of fixed rope, then between snowfields and back-breaking rocks in search of the yellow triangle (now has inscribed the number 6) to show us the right path, then through meadows, we arrive at the shelter Bignami (CAI 2400mslm). Along the way we are struck by the beauty of the glacier Fellaria, to our left, with huge blocks of ice ready to fall between roars and thuds and with a very high waterfall and other children who download large lake in the Alpe Gera. Upon entering the shelter the smell of garlic convinces us that it is time pizzoccheri, dine at the table next to our mother and child, very beautiful and photogenic, but come back down soon after. Afternoon of leisure, photos and small explorations in the vicinity. the evening chatting with the only other two guests of the shelter and with the young managers. Bep play chess on a chessboard with Mauro old boy Milanese the season is here. We have a closet just for us by three, with sheets of red and views of the glacier Fellaria.

July 30 - Another sunny day. We go down to the lake by Bignami Alpe Gera, going around clockwise and passing on the many bridges that cross the rivers thaw, then go back to the pasture of Gembro, where we have pictures of the huts, then we go up and down along the lake, passing under some roads and facilities under a frighteningly large rock overhanging the lake, and then we fit with a steep climb in the Valley Poschiavina, long valley that in Switzerland, and welcomes us with a beautiful green pasture incredible. Trail (yellow triangle with number 7) back across the valley and the river rocks that lead up to the pace Canciano (2464mslm), marked by the boundary stone. Along this path, looking back, reviewing the major glaciers around the Bernina, and that pace is reflected in the first of many lakes that meet. I started to count but I lost count almost immediately ... Continues for a bit 'and then the climb to the pass of Campagneda (2626mslm) changes downstream and you start to come down in the beautiful mountain lakes now reflects the mountain accident. Campagneda the Plan (about 2250mslm) continue in part, through meadows and pastures, under the Pizzo step, up to the magnificent Alpe Prabello, a village of huts and streams, where there is also the refuge Cristina (private 2287mslm). Here too few guests (us, a German couple and a strange and lonely) as in the Upper Street, it really is incredible that an area so beautiful is so little joke. We have a whole room available just for us and give us a fantastic shower tokens 2. After dinner we deal with that tomorrow will be the lone Pizzo Ladder, we are tempted to join, but unlike what I had found on the internet (easy glacier) describes him as something long and complicated because of retreating glaciers, unstable boulders and climbing steps, also the weather seems uncertain, so we give up.

July 31 - It 's the day of return, little by little, the clouds thin out a little' later than the other morning, and leaves the usual wonderful day. With backpacks ready we linger to take pictures of the huts of the village and that is how he discovered the bep family farm Negrini: she's milking the goats, and while we wait for it to end and that We sell a little 'cheese tells us about his former life of Alpe Lugano transferred Prabello for love. They have two sons and a lot of animals: cows, goats, pigs, a donkey, a sheep, a cat, two dogs who have just two puppies, canaries, fish ... We assist at certain stages of cheese, b and p is a billion photos of everything and, upon leaving, now finally in love with the place, he says: "Next year we come back." So , we start the last stretch, initially at high altitude on the trail "yellow triangle with 8", then came to Alpe Acquanegra turn right and go down to the asphalt and more ... until someone takes us up, in our case a bus packed with children (We're standing in the corridor) that settles there after daring turns of the cable car to the parking lot of the church where we left our cottage-van.

photos are here: http://www.geis.altervista.org/08-07-Valmalenco/