Colle della Vecchia, from Piedicavallo

Description

Parking the car at the Lovere park in Piedicavallo, climb up the tarmac road until it crosses the main street of the village, where you turn left. After a short while, the path marked begins to climb at a slight gradient into the forest. You will soon reach the small hamlet of Rosei, cross it completely and start to climb again. As soon as you leave the forest in the background of the valley, the panorama is dominated by the characteristic V-shaped incision of the Colle della Vecchia. You progressively gain height with a series of hairpin bends, always on the coveted and well-marked mule track, built in the 19th century by Senator Federico Rosazza to unite the Cervo valley with the Lys valley, across the colle della Vecchia. This leads to the rifugio della Vecchia, where the path turns sharply to the left, passes the edge of the Vecchia and Orso rock carvings, and then arrives at the Lago della Vecchia lake (1858 m). At the lake, the path turns right and at a fairly steep gradient points, with a series of switchbacks, to the pass. At the pass, there are beautiful views of the valley covered during the ascent and of the Lys valley. From the pass, it is possible to descend for about ten minutes into the Aosta valley to reach other rock engravings testifying to the meeting of the two valleys. Pictures of the rock engravings at this link: http://www.inalto.org/photo/marcello_rossi/incisioni_rupestri_al_colle_della_vecchia 

Colle e lago della Vecchia

• Departure: Piedicavallo - 1037 m
• Arrival: Colle della Vecchia - 2187 m
• Signpost: E50