Monday 25th August: Sunny and Overcast - 12°C all day
Albergo del Ponte to Rifugio Alpenzu: 13.4k: 9.30am to 3.30pm: 6hrs ( Including 1hr lunch)
Bye Bye Albergo del Ponte
Highlight of the day was finding my glasses again having lost them for almost 2 hours. That story later. The real highlight was the valley of Gressoney, a beautiful valley between high mountains with the Italian villages of Gressony la Trinite and Gressony St Jean laying deep on the floor. And also the beautiful Grand Sentier Walser (GSW) along the countour above this valley at the end of which is the delightful Rifugio Alpenzu where we stayed for the night. The GSW is a designated walking track in northern Italy that follows the path of the Walsers, a Germanic/Italian group who inhabited this area several hundred years ago. It's a variant of the Tour de Monte Rosa in the southern section, that is much prettier because it avoids the barren ski fields of the BettaForca.
The Alps are just so spectacular
Lake Gabiet is a picture
Down to Gressoney there's some up
Following the disused railway line
Vertical train line is unbelievable
Too good to not take a photo
Gressony la Trinite in valley below
Lunch near church built 1637
The only Alimentari in town
Pretty flowers beside river
Alpenzu Grande. Difficulty E is not for Easy. Italian for bloody hard!
Someone likes Marmots
Gressony St Jean from the GSW
Hikers at Rifugio Alpenzu
Rifugio Alpenzu, home for tonight
We sleep in because we can. It's a 10k day and even if Hillary get's it 50% wrong it should only be 15k. Breakfast is a beautiful spread of fruit, yoghurt, meats and croissants. But we're not hungry. We stuffed ourselves last night on Bambi and Polenta. It's a bit sunny and a bit overcast as we leave Albergo del Ponte and walk the 500 metres over to Lake Gabiet, via Refuge Gabiet where Fran's group stayed the night. We won't see them again as they are continuing to cut across directly to the Theodule Hut without doing teh GSW.
Lake Gabiet is a dam, and we need to walk high above the lake as the track on the map appears to be under water. We're intending to take Track number 4 down to Gressoney la Trinite, but Track 5 looks a more well worn route and seems to follow an old railway line so we decide to take track 5. It's all good as we follow this level trainline cut into the mountainside but after 1k it comes to an abrupt halt and then takes a vertical dive. Clearly the train line was used to build the dam wall and this 45° train line down into the valley was ether a cog line, or hauled by machinery or mules. But it's so steep we can't stand on it let alone walk on it. But Track 5 does wind it's way backwards and forwards across this line and under teh chair lift from the valley delivering lots of walkers to the top. Little do they know it's far easier to walk up and catch the chair lift down.
It takes two and a half hours to do the steep descent into the valley. We arrive right on the dot of midday and hear the old Trinite Church bells chime 12. We're wondering if the shop in town closes for midday siesta as there's no other shops for the next 3 days. But we're in luck. There's an Alimenari (small grocery store) with a line of people spilling out the door. It's the only shop in town and doing a roaring trade. We join the queue and by mortadella, fiontina cheese (no idea what it is but looks good), green leaves, some apple strudel, butter, tomatoes, nectarine and a hunk of nutty bread that weighs at least a kilo - anything but Italian crusty bread that crumbles to nothing. There's even tables and chairs outside, so we have a leisurely picnic lunch. We're half way to Alpenzu so we should get there well before 4pm even with a long lunch which we haven't had on any day yet.
We leave stuffed. Big mistake. There's still a 300 metre uphill to climb to get to the GSW trail. Slowly slowly is good. It's good to see so many day trippers on the trail that follows a contour high above the valley. We come across a cluster of stone houses where families still live. These houses were inhabited by the Walsers who terraced much of the high country to grow vegetables and milk cows. The path goes right down a small alleyway between the houses.
The track is a bit confusing and we're not sure if we should be following Track 7, Track W, Track 10a, but we don't see a GSW route. After 10 minutes of more climbing and realising we're on the wrong track, we turn around and realise we've missed a turn. No drama. We've got heaps of time. Soon after, the Refuge Alpenzu appears on a grassy knoll overlooking Gressony St Jean in the valley below. There's many walkers sitting at the tables outside in the sun.
Our room is a two person room with our own shower and toilet. I wasn't sure what we'd get but this is good. After showering, washing and going downstair to blog, I realise my computer glasses that I normally keep tucked in the pocket of my long sleeved shirt, are missing. Tearing the room apart reveals nothing. Visualising our steps over the last hour, I'm thinking that they must have fallen out when we got out the maps to recheck our position, after realising we were on the wrong track. It's only 1.5k back and it's still only 4.30pm. I assure Ian I'll be ok and head off with just trekking poles and a jumper. I can actually run quickly without a pack. It makes me realise how important weight is. But there's nothing I can chuck out as our rain gear and warm weather gear takes up most of the weight.
It takes me 20 minutes to get back to the point where we dragged out the map to check our position. There's nothing on the track and there's nothing at that turn around point. Nothing. They're my best computer glasses. I have another pair but they're not as good. Ok, where else did I stop. Then I remember I stopped at the ladies toilet (Behind the big tree near a little rock near a muddy patch) and sure enough there they were. Popped out of my pocket as I hurriedly stripped off my back pack in case walkers appeared on the track. It only takes me 15 minutes to dash back to Alpenzu and Ian is waiting with a beer. As I said, a highlight in a small way.
The restaurant has a fireplace. It's cold outside. There's only a few people staying here tonight. I suspect that being late August, we shouldn't have any trouble booking accommodation from now on. Dinner starts at 7pm and we're kindly asked what we would like. No pasta thanks. So a plate of cold meats arrives, followed by Italian sausages with grilled eggplant and zucchini - really really nice. Then a slab of chocolate mousse. Too bad if it's got wheat in it, I'm eating it. There's two Danes sitting at the table next to us. It's amazing how the Scandinavians speak such good English. They've also followed the book Tour de Monte rosa by Hillary Sharp and they too were caught out with distances. We made a pact to write to Cicerone and/or Hillary and set them straight on the distances around the Monte Rosa!
It's so cold we're in bed at 8.30pm.