Valtellina Week Hike 3: Val Cedec at the Foot of Gran Zebrù and Rifugio Pizzini

Overview ~ Notes ~ Flora ~ Photos

 

 

Top left: Walking toward Rifugio Branca, view south with Pizzo Tresero.

Top right: Tracks for Gran Zebrù - Rifugio Pizzini and Rifugio Branca Loop Hike - we went clockwise.
Bottom left: Walking north toward Rifugio Pizzini with Cevedale on the right.

Bottom right: [Ranunculaceae] Pulsatilla alpina.

Overview

Length: 15 km
Duration: 6.75 hours (with lunch at Rifugio Pizzini)
Elevation gain: 657 m
Location: Italy, Lombardy, Valtellina, Santa Caterina

Notes

A pleasant day with views galore. Don’t take the dirt road up to Rifugio Pizzini from the Forni parking lot! Take the panoramic trail 528, which takes you higher than the road and gives you much nicer views, and you get to check out some WWI ruins.

From Pizzini, you can go over the pass to Rifugio Alpini and on to Val Zebrù. So, like on Hike 2, today we are doing a piece of the il giro del confinale, the mountain range dominating this area of Valtellina.

We completed this hike with a loop by Rifugio Branca and then taking the lower glacier trail (for Forni). On our Hike 1 of this series, we took the upper glacier trail.

Flora

[Caryophyllaceae] Silene acaulis


[Gentianaceae] Gentiana sp.


[Ranunculaceae] Pulsatilla alpina


[Rosaceae] Geum reptans


[Rosaceae] Geum rivale

Photos

  

Left: View of Monte Cevedale from Rifugio Pizzini.
Center: Water management near Malga dei Forni.
Right: Heading to Rifugio Pizzini with Cima Gran Zebrù in distance.

  

Left: Walking south from Rifugio Forni toward Rifugio Branca.
Center: View toward Forni Glacier.
Right:View of Monte Cevedale from Rifugio Pizzini.

   

Left: Starting out on the panoramic trail 528 for Rifugio Pizzinipanormaic trail 528 for Rifugio Pizzini.
Center left: Rovine Caserma along the panoramic trail - Le Casermette dei Forni.

Center right: Example of signage.
Right: Gran Zebrù - Rifugio Pizzini and Rifugio Branca Loop Hike.

  

Left: Approaching Rifugio Pizzini from the south.
Center: Rifugio Pizzini - tagliere.
Right: Rifugio Pizzini -  pizzoccheri. See the post The Many Faces of Pizzoccheri.

Valtellina Week Hike 2: Val Zebrù to Rifugio Campo – Loop Hike

Overview ~ Notes ~ Flora ~ Photos

 
 

Top left: Trail 526 above Val Zebrù - view west.
Top right: Val Zebrù Hike tracks - we did the hike clockwise.

Bottom left: Four ibex crossing the trail 526.

Bottom right: [Asparagaceae] Paradisea liliastrum.

Overview

Length: 20 km
Duration: 7.25 hours (including long lunch at Rifugio Campo)
Elevation gain: 900 m
Location: Italy, Lombardy, Valtellina, Valfurva

Notes

In this post, we are on hike 2 of our Valtellina hiking week. For this hike we parked in the Parcheggio di Niblogo (imbocco Val Zebrù), above San Nicolò, in Valfurva. Be sure to pay for parking! From there, the trail starts off as a dirt road and you are walking northeast.

You just keep walking and walking, crossing back and forth over the river. We talked about the geology of the valley and how that affects the plants and animals here in the post Street Sign Language Lesson LIII – A Week in Valtellina.

After a few hours, you’ll reach Rifugio Campo – Val Zebrù. This is where we ate.

Rifugio Quinto Alpini beckons, another few hours away and with a significant climb. It would have been lovely to get to that rifugio but it would have been too much to return to the car, and we would have needed to spend the night. A common several-day hike is in fact to circumnavigate Monte Confinale (Il giro del confinale) going through Niblogo, Rifugio Alpini, to Rifugio Forni and back – a loop. In our hike today, we are doing a piece of the several-day hike.

Instead of fixating on Rifugio Alpini, we turned uphill from Rifugio Campo after lunch and made a loop back to Niblogo following trail 526. We didn’t see a soul except a group of majestic ibex (stambecchi). It was a steep climb up from Rifugio Campo but then it flattened out with a few tricky spots. 

Flora

 
[Asparagaceae] Paradisea liliastrum



[Caryophyllaceae] Saponaria sp.



[Ericaceae] Moneses uniflora



[Eurphorbiaceae] Euphorbia cyparissarias



[Gentianaceae] Gentiana sp.



[Lamiaceae] Ajuga pyramidalis


 
[Orobanchaceae] Pedicularis verticillata



[Plantaginaceae] Plantago media



[Ranunculaceae] Clematis alpina



[Rosaceae] Dryas octopetala



[Thymelaeaceae] Daphne sp.

Photos

  

Left and center: Barns in Val Zebrù.
Right: Climbing south up and out from Rifugio Campo to reach trail 526.


  

Left: Looking at the north side of the Val Zebrù - where avalanches are common.

Center: Looking down valley in Val Zebrù.

Right: A meadow in Val Zebrù.


  

Left: Bresaola.

Right: Tagliatelle with venison ragù.

  

Left: South side of Val Zebrù - trail 526.

Center: Trail 526 above Val Zebrù.
Right: The start of the trail into Val Zebrù.

  

Left: Vew from the west flanks of Monte Confinale toward Bormio.

Center: View from Niblogo parking lot over Valfurva.

Right: View toward Niblogo with Bormio in distance.