Mount Todano, The Lace

Description

The most recommended times to make this ascent are certainly those at the opposite end of the hiking season, both because of the low altitude and because of the views, which in spring and autumn are rendered suggestive by the colours offered by nature. And it is precisely the views as far as the eye can see that are the special feature of this excursion: they include the peaks surrounding Verbano and the bordering Valgrande National Park, but also the splendid passerelle of the 4000-metre peaks ranging from Monte Rosa, with its Himalayan eastern slope, all the way to the Lagginhorn; and then the Swiss pre-Alps as far as the Lecco mountains with the Grignetta. The ascent does not involve any difficulty and develops along a long ridge that straddles the wild territory of the park, touching on the summit of Pizzo and Pizzo Pernice with a couple of digressions of a few minutes; in addition to these two other peaks, the trail also passes by the winter quarters of the Pian Cavallone refuge, which is very spartan, but remains far from the main building, which can be reached in a few minutes from the small chapel below the summit of Monte Todano. Description From the little chapel, take the road that branches off to the left of a clearly visible panel of the Valgrande National Park paths. Leaving a road closed off by a bar to the right, you enter the sparse wood along a half-hill path, meeting a path coming from the left after a short distance (1192 m). The route continues on the dirt track which gradually becomes a path and, without an excessive gradient, cuts across the flanks of Testa di Cremisello and Pizzo Pernice, passing a small chapel and, after a short stretch, the Tavòo spring; from this, walking in increasingly open terrain, the first suggestive views of the peaks surrounding Lake Maggiore can be seen. Temporarily re-entering the forest, you pass by the "I Crusitt" chapel (1392 m), after which you almost immediately come to a fork in the road (1401 m) where you continue straight on, following the sign for "Pian Cavallone"; just a few more metres and you reach a pass on the wide panoramic ridge (1412 m) from where, on the left, the magnificent panorama opens up, embracing the Monte Rosa group as far as the Fletschhorn, passing the numerous 4000 m peaks of the Saas Fee valley. From the pass, continue to the right, walking slightly uphill on the comfortable ridge, arriving at the base of a grassy panettone that, more laboriously, is climbed again, arriving at the spartan winter hut of the Pian Cavallone refuge (1557 m). From here, you can climb the final part of the slope and reach the cross above, or you can continue to the right along the path that, having passed the nearby ruins, passes halfway up the low peak and heads towards a small chapel that is clearly visible on the ridge. When you reach it (1554 m), leave the path that descends to the left and continue, still on the wide ridge, heading for the large cross at its summit, which is reached after a short, slightly steeper climb. From the summit of Todano, to get a closer view of Lake Maggiore, you can, in a quarter of an hour, also reach the nearby summit of Pizzo, which juts out like a pulpit above Verbania and the lake basin; from the summit of Todano, in fact, just follow the ridge to the right again and with a few ups and downs you will reach the panoramic summit cairn, whose altitude (1648 m) is a little lower. Returning to the Todano cross, take the ridge again downhill and, having reached the little chapel, turn left onto the path that in a few minutes leads to the historic Pian Cavallone refuge (1532 m). Returning again to the little chapel, follow the itinerary of the ascent up to the pass at an altitude of 1412 m. Instead of descending to the left, continue straight on, climbing the short grassy ridge that leads to Pizzo Pernice (1511 m), from where you can enjoy a wide and suggestive panorama of the wild valleys of the Valgrande National Park. Returning to the pass, all that remains now is to follow the outward route back to the Fina Chapel.