Cecchini Bivouac

Access

From Milan to Montespluga along State Road 36. Some parking areas are available. In winter, after heavy snowfall, the road may be closed shortly after the junction for Madesimo.

Introduction

Classic excursion, mainly ski mountaineering, but also very suitable for snowshoes. You reach a bivouac (already visible at the car park) that has been in place since 1979, but was replaced in the summer of 2009: it currently has the appearance of a small wooden chalet. The Val Loga, which is traversed in its entirety, is a luminous amphitheatre of minor peaks - Cime di Val Loga - between Pizzo Ferrè and Pizzo Tambò: the two slopes that dominate the route, with their steepness (in addition to the abundant snowfall in this area), make the excursion practicable with reasonable snow-holding.

Description

From the 1908 m car park, follow the main village road according to the signposts and you will soon reach a small bridge over the more or less snow-covered Loga stream; cross it and proceed for a long time (about 2 km) on a false-flat path along the valley floor. Following the often well-trodden path, climb up some rather steep rounded ridges on the left, alternating with hollows. Beware of the slopes and rocky jumps dominating from the left, which discharge a lot: you are already travelling through settled avalanche cones, but a few small avalanches are always probable. From the last basin (about 2600 m), the bivouac becomes visible again and, with a last ascent on the terminal rounded ridge, the Bocchetta del Ferrè 2721 m is reached. The Cecchini bivouac is on the right 50 metres further up. Return along the outward route.
NOTE: the long, flat initial section can also be walked on the northern side of the stream, with the same characteristics; the conventional route is reached at the first ramp.