Monte Legnone / Pizzo Alto

This is a route that is quite difficult and very long, this route is rarely used and that makes it quite a bit more challenging due to the fact that a lot of times there is no obvious trail or the trail is more difficult. I can still recommend this route though if you’re up for a challenge and are an experienced mountain hiker looking for a night out with one of the most beautiful spots for your tent that you can find.

Starting off from Premana you follow the road downhill and take a right onto concrete/stone path, this concrete very quickly ends though and you continue on a regular hiking trail. You pass through many small villages in the first part of this route and all of them have a water source which is very useful. You don’t gain much elevation in the beginning. At the second village you pass through you have to take right inbetween the buildings where the path is not very visible anymore, walk through the field towards the forest on the opposite side where the path will be more clear again, following the forest path you arrive at a river crossing. When I was there there was a lot of water flowing through this river which didnt make it very easy to cross, make sure to unbuckle your bag and take your arms out of your hiking poles loops. In case you fall you won’t be dragged down by your backpack.

After this river crossing the path is not very clear again, I went left for a little bit towards some big boulders where I then took a right straight up the hill in the forest where I regained some kind of path. You continue on this path through the woods and pass a few more small villages where there are water sources to drink from.

You leave the last little village (and your last normal water source) and go almost straight up the hill from here, at this point you also start to get above the treeline and enter the alpine meadows. Passing a monument you enter on to the military road where you take it left going down. There will be a farm on your left at the end and this is where you go straight in the U-turn onto less traveled paths again. When I was here there was a large group of mountain goats exactly on the trail, I walked very slowly through them as they let me pass. From this path onwards the trail is still relatively easy to follow until you get to the following sign.

Take a right up here as you can still see a trail vaguely, I want to remind you that this is where your skills should come in and you should kind of let the idea go that there will be a trail to follow. Try to stick as closely to the GPX as you can as you make your own route. Shortly after this sign there is a rocky section which you go down using some chains. After this rocky section I wasnt sure of where to go initially, you basically have to make your way down towards the water, you’ll see a large zigzagging pattern in the mountain. Try to make your way down over to the zigzags/water, you then go straight up the hill without really following a path again. Stick as closely to the GPX as you can again and make your way up, following one of the small rock slides. I also encountered some (wild?) horses here, they were very curious and interested in me as I tried to make my way around them. In the end I petted one of them.

When you make the left turn at the top you’ll kind of see a trail again, follow this for as long as possible untill you traverse up towards the ridge.

Now you’re on the normal route leading up to the Monte Legnone, the path from here is really easy to follow again and you get to the steep section with the chains and ropes going up towards the summit. Once you’re on the summit take a break and enjoy the beautiful views you hopefully get if the weather permits!

Now the last but difficult part starts, the alta via it’s only 2.5km but as I was pretty tired and the terrain is relatively challenging with exposure on both sides it took me 2 hours. The alta via is a ridgeline connecting the other peaks, at times you are quite exposed. Therefore I would only recommend this route if you’re experienced and not afraid of heights. The drop off to both sides can be quite steep at parts. The most challenging parts have chains which help you navigate the terrain. You gradually go down where you then reach a flatter part, for a little bit. Here you have to go off the ridge for a short time. It is tempting here to go straight but you have to go left following the alta via and the gpx where you then return onto the ridge and climb up on the big rock to continue your route.

You then later have to do your last climb over the Cima di Moncale. From here on you’ll get your first view of the lake where there is a beautiful spot to camp. Continue on the alta via untill you reach the lake!

Here at the lake I setup my tent next to the house, which is a privately owned house, so be mindful about that. You can wash yourself in the lake and if you have a water filter or can boil the water you can fill it up here!

After having had a good nights rest I continued the next day towards the Pizzo Alto. You follow the right side of the lake upwards and quickly enter a steep section which has a lot of chains to help you get up the rocky wall. After having climbed this rocky wall you get to the higher situated lake where you now go left and go up following the left side.

Now a relatively flat part follows (it’s going up and down but on average staying at the same elevation) which follows the ridge. Soon you’ll get a good view of the Pizzo Alto, it looks very triangular and steep. Once you get next to it you take a left straight up the mountain where you quickly get to the top following a scrambly route. Here on the top of the mountain I got beautiful views of the surrounding area which I didn’t get the day before so that was really enjoyable. There’s also a summit cross at the top.

Following the same trail down you can then choose to go back towards the lake and take the normal route down, which I didn’t do, or follow the ridgeline going south. This included some more scrambling and the trail wasn’t walked at all again. It was basically finding your route yourself the whole time. Following this ridgeline for about an hour you get to the lower part of it where you go left down the face through the grass where again you have to find your own route, there are a few markers here and there scattered around at times. You then enter the forest and I had to go through some overgrown path untill you get to a road. You cross this road and there’s a path going down the hill towards a few houses where there is also a water point. From here on it’s pretty smooth sailing as you finally get onto a trail that is easy to follow and well marked! From the houses it’s still 600m down but it’s great that the path is finally easier to hike.

You then get back into Premana where you arrive back at your car!