Area:
Orobie Alps, Italy
Unusually
humid as we arrived in the upper Valseriana after flying into Bergamo - the
tail-end of a notable heatwave across Europe. After a sleepless night in a
mountain lodge in Fiumenero (very hot, constant church bells) and a good
breakfast of local cheese and meat, we set off from Valbondione at the head of
the valley, already quite late. The path is thickly wooded, offering shelter
from the sun, and gently climbs the side of the valley above Grumetti. The
Serio waterfalls that plunge down from the hanging valley here are among the
highest in Europe and gave a superb backdrop to the route, which becomes steep
as it approaches the headwall and emerges from the woods. At the lip of the
valley, we emerged into the upper hanging valley (huge) containing the turquoise,
stunning Lago Barbellino, and Rifugio Curo: our home for the night. We checked
in, had a drink and a breather, and considered our options. It was really quite
late, almost midday. Above towered Pizzo Recastello, an unavoidable objective
from Curo and a superbly defined, distinctive peak. But we were too late, and
the question arose: should we go for it now, or just do a reccie and save it
for tomorrow? Clouds were gathering, but they seemed benign for the moment, so
we took the track above the lake and then set off for the side valley of Val
Cerviera, yet another hanging valley poised at yet another higher level. The
path was steep initally but led to the wild Cerviera proper. Nobody around,
with the dank and dripping black walls of the Recastello looming above to the
left, and the greener, gentler peaks of Monte Verme and Cimone to the right.
The normal route starts much higher, after a tricky river crossing (all in
spate with huge volumes of meltwater), and branches off from the main GR route
in the upper cwm. Huge amounts of snow were lying here, the upper cwm (below
Pizzo Tre Confini) a solid white, impressive bowl. We moved left (east) towards
Recastello - finally acknowledging that 'reccie' was transforming into
'ascent'. It became snowy and indistinct immediately, traversing left and
contouring upwards to gain some open scree (this open valley is, I think, the
Cornello Rosso). We donned kahtoolas and crampons here, and made our way to a
steeper, more extensive snowfield which led up to an obvious rock headwall
below what we presumed was the summit of Recastello. I had always been
concerned about snow volume, after an unusually cold May, and this transpired -
although it was very soft and deep in this weather. There was no trench, and
the onward route was unclear (nobody around, although we did see one couple
lower down). So route-finding was the order of the day: we moved up the snow
and trended right towards the rocky headwall. A steep gully headed right,
obviously too steep for the grade, so we left the snow to gain sloping loose
shelves on the right. This looked untravelled, but with all the snow the onward
route wasn't clear, so I embarked on an epic reccie up the open gully to
the right. This led to a tiny col with snow patch. Mist was descending, but I
had the scent of a summit, so ploughed upwards on ever-steepening rock. It was
loose, but feasible, and very satisfying, weaving around to pick the best line
up what proved to be a tapering pinnacle. The mist blocked views as I rose,
although I did eventually see the summit cross of Recastello on the left across
a big void! Too late now, so I continued upwards to the tiny summit of what
later proved to be the double pinnacled peak of Corno Neri (the Black Horns, a
perfect description and a real bonus in the sense that this is a peak I
strongly suspect is very rarely climbed). I descended down the complex route:
steep, tenuous, weaving and slightly harrowing, to the snow patch, then the
easier gully back to Steve, who wasn't very happy. However, the reccie at least
unlocked the mystery of the onward route to Recastello. We minimised height
loss, donned hardware, and traversed left across the steep upper snowfield to
gain the headwall on the opposite side, finally back on route. I dumped my sack,
and took the left-hand couloir direct. This headed up, fairly loose, to another
headwall, after which a tighter gully curves left, very atmospheric, with a
series of chains. This gives around 100ft of steep scrambling to an easier
section which leads to a small col just below a sub-peak. Huge amounts of cloud
were billowing up from the Pizzo Coca side, and I was concerned about a storm
coming in, so scampered up the enjoyable ridge to the top: not as exposed as I
had expected, but good mild scrambling throughout. I signed the summit book in
atmospheric conditions - huge banks of cloud and mist but also intermittent
views straight down to the Curo hut, seemingly directly below. I descended to
the col to find Steve just arriving, very angry with me (rightly so) for going
ahead. He left for the summit, while I sat at the col fretting about the
weather which was beginning to look distinctly hostile. After he returned, we
dropped down the gully using the chains, then donned ice tools for the descent
of the main snow field. After this, the descent went easily, following our own
footprints, back to the junction with the GR route up the Cerviera. After a
snack and rest, a distant thunderclap sent us off down the valley under
glowering skies. The storm, when it arrived, was actually fairly mild - and we
were back in the Curo hut by then. Refuelled in classic Bergamasco fashion:
truffle risotto, beef stew and polenta.
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