Col d'Olen, from Staffal

Introduction

The Col d'Olen is located along the Tour du Monte Rosa and connects the Gressoney valley with Valsesia, from the Aosta Valley side it is reached in an area heavily disfigured by ski lifts and dirt roads. However, the view of the Monte Rosa group and the many peaks that surround the ascent valley remains of the highest order. The proposed excursion does not aim directly at Col d'Olen, but first leads to the Salati pass, from where, descending on the Piedmontese side and passing by the Città di Vigevano huts and what remains of the Guglielmina hut, you reach Col d'Olen. The height difference can be reduced, to the point of being practically eliminated, by using the ski lifts that start from Staffal and in a first section take you to the Gabiet lake. From the lake, a second cable car takes you directly to the Passo dei Salati.

Description

At the large car park to the right of the bar/restaurant/minimarket, a signpost invites you to take path no. 7a/7b/TMR. Climb the steps and turn right, the path begins to move past houses and passes a small chapel. Beyond this, you come to a road where you turn left and shortly afterwards return to the path, which, with a series of bends and a fairly steep incline, leads you to gain height until you come out onto a dirt track again. Turn right and follow it until you come to a ruined mountain pasture, where you cross the course of the Mos stream over a wooden bridge. We now continue on a path through the forest until we reach the foot of the rocky wall that bars the valley, which we easily ascend with a series of moderate gradients. We thus arrive in sight of the arrival station of the Gabiet cable car, which we leave to our right, and invited by the signs, we proceed straight ahead until we set foot on a dirt road where we turn left in the direction of the Hotel del Ponte. Following the road which passes to the right of the hotel, we start to climb in the direction of the Salati pass, parallel to the route of the gondola lift, we ignore a deviation to our left and arrive at the crossroads with a very steep section of the ski slope (which leaves to our right). We ignore the piste and continue on the dirt track, arriving at the Salti pass. When you reach the pass, descend on the Piedmontese side until you reach the small lake and take the road that branches off to the right of the lake, and in 5 minutes you reach the buildings of the Città di Vigevano and Guglielmina refuges. Pass the remains of the latter and take the obvious path that leads to the Olen pass. For the descent on the Valle d'Aosta side, take the TMR that begins to descend with a few bends, arriving shortly at the ski slope, which you follow until you come out on the dirt road along which you return to Gabiet.