Punta del Tuf, from Valnontey

Introduction

A long and tiring itinerary, but rewarded by splendid high mountain environments and, especially in the upper part of the itinerary, animal sightings: we are in the middle of the Gran Paradiso National Park and encounters with its guests are frequent. For the past few years, the middle section of the old path to the Sella refuge has been closed due to the danger of landslides, and a section of the route that is usually taken in the ski mountaineering season has been well maintained as an uphill variant.

Description

Leaving the car in the square in Valnontey, cross the bridge over the stream of the same name and follow the wide mule track that runs alongside the Giardino Alpino "Paradisia" (Paradisia Alpine Garden), entering a larch forest shortly afterwards. After about 300 metres of difference in altitude, i.e. at the point where the mule track approaches the Grand Lauson stream, there is a sign on the right preventing you from proceeding along the old path; you then descend a few metres to the left to cross a small bridge and thus reach the opposite bank. The ascent now becomes a little steeper and climbs, without many hairpin bends, over stretches of terrain graded with small logs alternating with stretches with outcropping stones to reach the Pacheu pastureland (2222 m). We pass among the old huts and, after about ten minutes, the path bends slightly to the right, then descends a few metres to reach another small bridge that takes us, climbing up a couple of hairpin bends, back onto the old track that at first halfway up the slope and then with increasingly narrower hairpin bends takes us to the altitude of the Grand Lauson alpine pasture (2506 m) located on the opposite side of the valley. The slope now becomes gentler and in a few minutes we come in sight of the old royal hunting lodge, now used as a park ranger's hut, from where, a little further on, we can see the Vittorio Sella hut. Near the hut, follow the path (signposts) that climbs at a moderate slope diagonally across the grassy slopes to reach the head of the valley and thus gain a plateau. Continuing on the false plain, you cross the stream that descends from the Rossa valley and, climbing for about ten minutes on undulating grassy terrain, you reach a crossroads at an altitude of 2,844 m, from which you must take the path to the left and then, after crossing a stream and going along a wide diagonal and a subsequent hairpin bend, you reach a vast hollow with a sandy bottom, perhaps followed with a watchful eye by some of the inhabitants of the area. Cross it to the west, continuing to climb at first on gently sloping ground in the centre of the basin, then the trail moves to the right on a steep scree slope. The path rises with many twists and turns, approaching the base of the rocky crags of the Becca di Vermianaz (3406 m), below which it crosses a steep, landslide slope in narrow serpentines until it reaches a small wall from where the Lauson pass is clearly visible: the "EE" section begins from the beginning of the ascent to the wall. From this point, walk along the little path, in some places very narrow and a little exposed, skirting the rock face with ledges supported by small iron girders and a short section equipped with a rope, and you will reach the bottom of the short and steep, but still clearly marked, gully of scree that culminates with Col Lauson 3296 m. From the little pillar of the col, head westwards on the track, made up of loam and a few unstable stones, which avoids a sharp rocky outcrop to the right; having reached a small saddle, the shaky track continues to turn over slightly more unstable and exposed terrain to the right of the ridge line and soon reaches the little man on the summit, consisting of a short rocky ridge. The panorama remains a little closed to the north due to the close and imposing presence of the Grivola, but for the remaining horizon the spectacle is assured from the Matterhorn to Rosa, to the Grand Sertz and from the summit there is above all an unusual view of the northern slopes of Gran Paradiso and Herbetetet. The return is made by following the ascent route.