GTA Zwischbergen – Laghetto – Andolla – Almagell

Very beautiful, with a magnificent peninsula. An ideal place to camp, but we only stay for a picnic as we still have a long way to go to the Alpe di Laghetto. Throughout the ascent, we admired the light and the colors of autumn: the blueberry bushes turning red, the grasses in yellow, ochre and brown … and the blue sky!

After we have eaten our fill, we continue on our way until we see another lake on our right at 2208 m above sea level. There, just before the lake, we turn right and take the direction to Passo di Oriaccia. There are no signposts, the path seems to be less frequented, but is nevertheless marked by red and white markings on the stones. After a short climb, we are in Italy! : ) We are at 2325 m. From there, we take a path down the fairly steep grassy slope to Lago di Oriaccia (2123 m) and then continue at a leisurely pace, almost along the slope, to the mountain hut Rifugio Alpe di Laghetto (2039 m), where we arrive at around 4 pm. The welcome is very warm. Aperitif, food, génépi, overnight stay – everything is good and nice. We are the only hikers, the hut closes for the season two days later. We are pampered by this friendly team of men who have worked together to transform this former stable into a real small, welcoming and practical rifugio.

Sabine

Day 2: Rifugio Laghetto to Rifugio Andolla

The Andolla hut is a hotel, the Laghetto is a “rifugio”, said Giorgio, our hut warden at the Laghetto. He wasn’t entirely wrong with this statement. But first things first. On the second day of our hike on the GTA (slightly modified by our hiking guide Dominc), a bright blue sky awaited us. Full of anticipation, we ran outside from our cozy and “snug” hut. We were met by a stiff, cold breeze, which some would describe as a storm. We returned to the hut and put on our warm clothes straight away. After a typical Italian breakfast, we set off at 09.00 am. Four passes and border hopping were on the agenda.

We reached the first pass called “di Campo” a short time later. The Valle di Bognanco lay at our feet on both sides of the pass. Without much of a descent, we continued along a high-level path in the direction of Passo Straciugo. We passed the ruined huts of Alpe Campo and its picturesque lakes. Sabine took a short detour into the cold water of one of these three lakes – not entirely voluntarily but somehow nonetheless. A strong gust of wind has caught our hiking guide’s coin and blown it in a high arc into the lake. What now? Should we disfigure this beautiful, untouched landscape with a not-so-fresh cap or do we want to do something about our throwaway society? Sabine had already proved the day before that footbathing is one of her hobbies.

A few minutes later, the soaked and dripping coin was hanging from Dominic’s rucksack. We left the Passo Straciugo behind us and the next basin spread out in front of us. The Alpe Straciugo was on the edge of this basin and a little way back we recognized our next destination – the Passo di Pontimia. The crossing into the Zwischbergental (without border control or barrier) turned out to be steeper than expected. We were then rewarded with a view of the Alpe Pontimia with the Potimiaseewjini, the snow-covered Weissmies and the Portjengrat or Pizzo d’Andolla in the background. We took our lunch break in the ruins of Alpe Pontimia. This was protected from Wolfen by an extensive, two-meter-high fence. The sheep were still on the alp and had to be guarded day and night.

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Our last pass for the day (Passo d’Andolla) was on the program after an extended rest. One last steep climb and we were back in Italy. To my astonishment, the Valle di Antrona lay ahead of us. Not that we got lost, but the course of these Italian valleys was never quite clear to me. Shortly before we had the Zwischbergen Pass in our field of vision and now we were looking down into the Valle Antrona, at the end of which the Ofental and Antrona passes led into Switzerland. Aren’t there also the Mondelli and Monte Moro passes? Right!!! They lead from Switzerland to Valle Anzasca. I have now broadened my horizons considerably when it comes to geography.

And now to the Andolla hut. Whereas yesterday we were the only guests at Refugio Laghetto, we were now surrounded by tourists, hikers, mountain hikers and dropouts. Calling the Andollahütte a hotel is a bit bold. Compared to the Laghetto, however, it is “huge”. We were also well catered for here. A good beer with the aperitif and a bottle of red wine with dinner were a must. Excited about tomorrow’s crowning moment on the Sonnig Pass, we went to bed.

Samuel

Day 3: Rifugio Andolla – Sonnigpass – Saas-Almagell

After a restless night in the fully occupied dormitory of the Rifugio Andolla, a hotel in comparison to the atmospheric hut of the night before, we first went out onto the terrace to marvel at the mountains bathed in gold in the morning. After breakfast, we bravely ascended, encountered ibex, chamois and marmots, marveled at the impressive alpine landscape and discovered the first frozen patches in the streams we had to cross.

The red bivouac towered like a lighthouse in the distance, where the climbing over rock and scree had already begun. The Via Ferrata del Lago was both fun and exhausting (despite Anita’s reservations and inexperience in climbing, she managed it thanks to encouragement) because the Italians give you plenty of freedom to find your own way.

Once we arrived on the Sonnigpass, we uncorked the red wine and enjoyed Valais bread and dried meat, a surprise from Sabine – after Italy, we were once again close to home.

The descent to Saas-Almagell confronted us with all sorts of things: ice, pebble-covered rock, scree, a very impressive landscape shaped by the glacier. We could already see the Almageller Alp from afar, but it took a while before we could taste the delicious fruit cake there. Strong winds on the ridge almost made us take off, but in the end we preferred to make the flight on safe ground.

Now we were almost home, the walk down to Saas Almagell seemed like walking through a park after the roughness of nature in the Alps. The well-deserved conclusion to our alternating GTA hike was a drink at the Hotel Kristall-Saphir, where civilization definitely caught up with us again.

Anita