Clear nozzle
Edited by:
Marco Bonati
Access
The southern approach, accessible from the hamlet of San Bartolomeo in Sorico, is the only documented access to the col and offers varied terrain: woodland of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), beech (Fagus sylvatica) and oak in the lower section, forest tracks at mid-altitude, then open pasture in the final stretch near the high-voltage pylon line. The route is waymarked with paint and wooden signs; the sections along forest tracks present no orientation difficulties. Signage specifically indicates the col from the junction near Alpe Pescedo. In winter, snow can make the final stretch slippery; in summer, the route presents no technical difficulties.
Summer access routes
» from San Bartolomeo, Sorico (1,204m) – E – 1h20' – Climb through the pine forest behind San Bartolomeo church, follow the forest track to the Alpe Pescedo pastures (1,559m), follow the path towards the high-voltage pylon and reach the col.
Introduction
The Bocchetta di Chiaro is a ridge col separating the Lake Como side from the Valchiavenna valley floor, at 1,666m in the Southern Lepontine Alps, within the municipality of Sorico, in the province of Como. The col opens in the ridge section between the Sasso Canale to the north-west and Monte Berlinghera to the east, two summits that frame the uppermost sector above the western Alto Lario. By virtue of its position, the col acts as the natural pivot between the ridges descending towards the Alpe Pescedo and Alpe di Mezzo pastures on one side, and the slopes overlooking the Valchiavenna on the other. Access follows the first stage of the Alta Via del Lario, the high-altitude route that traverses the pre-Alpine ridge of the Como area, starting from the church of San Bartolomeo in Sorico. From the col, both Monte Berlinghera (1,930m), the main summit of the sector, and the ridges of the Sasso Canale can be reached within a reasonable time, making the bocchetta the central junction of a network of routes used across the entire pre-Alpine arc of the Lario.
Description
The Bocchetta di Chiaro opens at 1,666m at a point along the pre-Alpine Como ridge where the crest drops markedly between the Sasso Canale (principal summit at approximately 2,411m) and Monte Berlinghera (1,930m). The substrate is crystalline in character, consistent with the Southern Lepontine Alps setting, with rocky outcrops visible along the flanks of the Berlinghera while the slope rising from Sorico is largely grassy and pastoral in the final section, with a cover of larch (Larix decidua) and silver fir (Abies alba) in the wooded zone immediately below the col. The high-voltage power line crossing the ridge at this point provides a useful visual reference for orientation from the lower pastures. From the col, the view opens northward over the Valchiavenna and the Pian di Spagna, westward towards Monte Legnone, and southward across the Lake Como basin as far as the divide between the two branches of the Lario.
Historical records of use at the col are limited: the crossing is not documented as a significant commercial or military route, unlike other passes along the Como pre-Alpine arc. Its importance is principally linked to transhumant herding practices that used the Alpe Pescedo and Alpe di Mezzo grazings on the southern slope. The long dry-stone wall known as the Termenone, which runs along the ridges above the pastures separating the private grazing areas of Alpe di Mezzo from the communal grazings of Montemezzo, bears witness to the historical land-use organisation of this sector of the Lario pre-Alps. On the eastern slopes of Monte Berlinghera, during the final phase of the Second World War, the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade 'Luigi Clerici' operated in the dense woodland and natural cover of the massif; in the night of 5 April 1945, the Berlinghera alpeggio served as the drop zone for a British airborne supply delivery intended for local partisan formations.
Reachable summits
From the col, Monte Berlinghera (1,930m) can be reached in approximately 30' by following the path that rises to the right along the west ridge, passing through a short section of woodland with sustained gradient, and emerging at the summit shoulder where an iron cross stands. The summit gives views eastward over Lago di Mezzola, northward over the Valchiavenna, and southward over Lake Como. The remains of a votive chapel erected in 1969 by the Sorico alpine troops group are visible on the summit.
» Monte Berlinghera (1,930m) – EE – 30' from the col –
Traverses
» Alta Via del Lario – stage 1: San Bartolomeo (Sorico) → Alpe Gigiai
Refuges and bivouacs
No refuge or bivouac is located in the immediate vicinity of the col. The nearest refreshment points are in the hamlets of Bugiallo and Sorico, downhill along the access road.
Information
Altitude: 1,666m
Mountain group: Southern Lepontine Alps
Alpine chain: Lepontine Alps (SOIUSA)
Type: bocchetta (ridge col)
Protected area: none
Municipality: Sorico (CO)
Valley/valleys: southern aspect: Alto Lario (Lake Como); northern aspect: Valchiavenna
Trekking: Alta Via del Lario – stage 1
Recommended period: May – October
Aspect of slopes: south-western slope (San Bartolomeo): predominantly south-facing, sunny; northern slope: shaded, oriented towards the Valchiavenna
Residual snow: possible until May
Fixed ropes or cables: no
Structures at the col: wooden swing (panoramic installation)
Hiking difficulty: E
Average access elevation gain: 462mD+