From Capanna Cristallina to All'Acqua | Mountain hiking | Swiss Alpine Club SAC
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From Capanna Cristallina to All'Acqua Poncione Val Piana 2660 m

  • Difficulty
    T4
  • Ascent
    1:30 h, 300 m
  • Descent
    2:15 h, 1260 m

Pathless – but not really a big deal

Val Bedretto and Val Bavona meet on the ridge Cristallina–Passo San Giacomo. There is a wide selection of alpine hiking targets. Presented here is one of the easiest summits of the region, which, thanks to the possibility to spend the night at Capanna Cristallina and the descent to the road across Nufenenpass, is accessible even for hikers with an average stamina. The tour is perfect. When there is still snow in the shady faces, the descent turns into a pleasurable sliding experience.

Route description

Capanna Cristallina – Passo della Cima di Lago
From Capanna Cristallina (ca. 2575 m) on a faint path traverse south-westward to a small valley without gaining much height. Follow the path up to Passo della Cima di Lago (2697 m).
Passo della Cima di Lago – P. 2589
From Passo della Cima di Lago hike down through a vast depression to Ghiacciaio di Valleggia, a mostly flat, snow-covered ice field without any risk of slipping. Traverse the glacier westward to reach the saddle at P. 2589 through another scree slope.
Ascent to the summit of Poncione Val Piana
From the saddle at P. 2589 Poncione Val Piana can be climbed on the steep and rubbly south face or, making an arc to the left, following the more rocky south ridge. On both variants the slippery rubble requires some caution. Go back to the saddle on the same route.
P. 2589 – All'Acqua
From the saddle descend west to a depression and bypass a distinct crest at about 2530 m to reach the next natural terrain unit. Wherever you like go down Val Cavagnolo past P. 2361. Several trails and faint paths help to bypass the alder bushes at about 1950 m. As they are not very dense, you can also descend anywhere. After crossing the marked mountain trail, you come across the unmarked trail coming from Stabbiascio further down (at about 1860 m). Following this trail, traverse to the left and zigzag down to the alp dwelling of Formazzora. From there continue on the small road crossing the Ticino to All’Acqua (1614 m).

Additional information

Departure point
End point

All'Acqua (1614 m)

Kleiner Weiler mit mehreren Bauten, darunter ein beliebtes Gasthaus mit Terrasse ( www.allacqua-valbedretto.ch ) – sowie eine Kapelle mit einer Tafel, die an ein tragisches Unglück erinnert: in der Nacht vom 15. auf den 16. Februar 1962 kamen beim Bau eines Stollens zwischen All'Acqua und Robiei 14 Personen ums Leben.

Difficulty / Material

The last 80 metres to Poncione Val Piana are fairly precarious, as the summit structure is made of slippery rubble. On the other hand, the flat Ghiacciaio di Valleggia offers no problems to speak of, as it has no crevasses where our route goes. There is no path between Passo della Cima di Lago and the lower Val Cavagnolo, but with good visibility the orientation is pretty easy. Taking hiking poles is recommended, whether there is snow or not.

Waypoints

Passo della Cima di Lago (2697 m)

In winter an often used passage on ski tours, in summer, however, a quiet place

Author

Marco Volken

Marco Volken is a freelance photographer and alpine journalist. He has co-authored numerous books on the Alpine region, including illustrated books, non-fiction books, hut guides, hiking and club guides, ski touring and climbing guidebooks.

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