Bivouac Bruno Molino

The place

Sleeping capacity: 20. Mattress places: 20. - Always open - Comfortable refuge (there were 20 of us, including 1 non-Italian, guess who?) - Very good insulation - 1 large table - 2 benches - 1 broom - 2 snow shovels - If all 20 mattresses are taken, a few spots on the floor (see photos). The rocky summit, Uia di Mondrone 2964m, which towers 700m above the refuge, is magnificent and impressive! Italy - Lanzo - Valle di Ala - Balme - GTA - Trail 233 towards Passo Ometto. If at Alpe Pian Bosco you miss the left turn, as I did, you'll end up at Plan Pra; from there you can reach the refuge without difficulty via alpine pastures heading NW, rejoining the trail after crossing the ridge you're heading towards — off-trail but not difficult (given decent visibility, otherwise forget it), and it actually works better than the grassy, not very well marked path of the "normal" route — take your pick!!! Italy - Lanzo - Valle Grande - Pialpetta - GTA - then before Plan Pra, various paths head west towards the Col Ometto, passing the refuge. Italy - From the Refuge Gastaldi (1 day from [->568]), you can reach this refuge in a good day's walk: descend to Pian della Mussa, Refuge Città di Cirié, climb to the Alpe della Ciamarella, take the sublime balcony path towards the Lac del Ru (climbing up to greet the Punta Rossa di Sea 2908m along the way), then Lago Mercurin (a magnificent blue lake in its mineral setting); from there a path (cairns), hard to find in the frequent local fog, leads to Alpe le Piane, where you rejoin the classic path climbing from Balme. If you can't find the path that cuts below the summit of the Uia di Mondrone, you can descend to Balme via 2 paths: - The incredible "labirinto verticale" of Balme, which winds along chamois ledges on the enormous cliff towering 900m above Balme!, plus a long, fairly vertical cabled section — I know of no comparable path, "solo per escursionisti esperti" (experienced hikers only), as written on the sign at the bottom, no sign at the top! Careful!!! To be avoided in rain or poor visibility, as the path marked with red dots is sometimes not very visible, and it's strictly forbidden to get lost on a path like this... and the descent is much more exposed than the climb...) - A path (marked) further west that can be taken before descending the gully that plunges down to the Lago Mercurin. If you go back down to Balme to climb back up to the refuge afterwards, it'll be a long day... CAI Lanzo