2022 Tor des Geants Italy

Tuesday 30th August:  Weather: 12°C to 21°C: Cool morning, rain at lunchtime, warm afternoon

Day 14 Neil La Gruba to Alpenzu:  19.0k: 7.15am to 5pm: 9hrs 45 mins: 2 x 30 min stops 

Ascent/Descent: Ascent 1,660m, Descent 1,468m, Total up and down 3,128m 

Accommodation: Rifugio Alpenzu above Gressoney St Jean

Day 14 and highlight was climbing to Col Lazoney at 2,400 metres then descending to a delightful farm at Ober Loo in the Loo Valley where we had tea, cheese and cake with the farmer Simon (Pronounced See-mon).  Lunch was down in the valley at Steina in the rain before walking through the ski resorts of Gressony St Jean then climbing 400 metres to Rifugio Alpenzu.  One of our longest walks at 19k, and though the total Ascent and Descent was 3,128metres, the down was mostly a gradual gradient through a high valley with goats, sheep and sheep dogs (Patou).

Last night was so quiet and the bed so comfy, we both slept in til the alarm went off at 5.45am. We had arranged for an early breakfast at 6.30am.  It makes such a difference to get going early on a long day.  We shower, pack and go UP to breakfast which is in this amazing sunroom at the to of the building where we had diner last night. Breakfast is a wonderful buffet of muesli, yoghurt, fresh fruit, cheese, ham, bread, tarts, cakes, croissants, butter - have I left anything out? We eat too much because it’s there and nice.  

It’s 7.20am when we leave La Gruba at Neil, and immediately we start an ascent to Col Lazoney.   It’s hard to get moving after a big breakfast but it’s a cool 12°C  morning which makes it a bit easier.  It takes us just 2hrs to climb the 800 metres to Col Lazoney, the last bit was quite steep but manageable. The reason it’s so nice to climb a col is to see what’s on the other side, and today we are totally surprised to see no steep descent on the other side, but a high desolate valley called the Loo Valley.   It’s a stroll in the park until we see the sheep dogs standing guard over a small flock of sheep - their babies, and have to make detours to avoid them.  We’ve tangled with sheep dogs before and had to run down hill to avoid them. They’ve been known to bite.  

We make good time down the valley and decide to keep on moving rather than have morning tea with sheep dogs. The valley is desolate, and after 3 and a half hours of walking at 11am, we’re looking for a place to stop for coffee.  We spy a farm house at Ober Loo, and worry about the dogs there when th farmer comes out to assure us they are ok.  We start to chat, he speaks reasonable English and end up having warm tea, cake and his home made cheese at the tables set out for the occasional visitors.  We were the only ones today. Simon (Pronounced See-Mon) is happy to chat.  He doesn’t get too many visitors, and he lives there on his own caring for the cattle during the summer months.  It’s 11.30 when we leave - or should I say get away.  But it was definitely a highlight of the day. 

For the next 2 hours it’s a stroll down through a desolate valley before we enter the pine forests and the track turns into a steep descent beside a gorge in the Loo Valley, crossing a bridge with a beautiful waterfall.  It starts spitting to rain, and we walk faster down through the forest, emerging in the valley at the village of Steina.  We’re looking for some shelter as the misty rain rolls in and eventually at 1.30pm we find a seat outside a deserted ski lodge under a balcony.  Lunch.  Mostly left over cheeses, stale bread with a cup of hot hot coffee.  

We get geared up with rain jacket, pack cover and poncho and set off for Gressoney St Jean about 3k up the road.  But teh rain stops and we have to strip off within 30 minutes of lunch.  The misty rain rolls away and the sun shines as we walk into the pretty village of Gressoney St Jean, a very touristy ski lodge village. We lose the AV1 track and walk along the  footpath until we pick it up again and about 3k out of Gressoney St Jean, and up the Valley we can see the Snow capped cloud shrouded  Monte Rosa.  The signs to Alpenzu appear.  50 minutes and 400 metres up hill.   We arrive at the Rifugio Alpenzu at 5pm, a long day but not as tiring as yesterday because the downs and ups were not as steep.

We have a room next door to the one where we stayed 8 years ago and quickly have a hot shower and do a bit of washing to hang on a makeshift line outside where there’s a bit of breeze.  At 6pm we’re down in the warm dining room with me blogging and Ian watching some old tennis match on his phone. It starts to rain heavily outside but we hope it’s just tonight and not tomorrow. 

Dinner is really nice. Macaroni with cheese, onion and ham strips followed by steak and chips - yes 1mm slices of steak with spicy home made chips, and the usual jam tarts, which we save for morning tea.  A bit more blogging and tennis while in the warm dining room then off to bed.