Rifugio Barmasse, from Valmartin

Introduction

Description

From the car park, proceed towards the village of Valmartin, where you will find the signposts and the start of the path.iYou cross the pretty village until you come to the signposts: turn right and take the mule track that initially wedges between the last of the villages. After a few minutes' walk, you come to the turnoff for Maen, which is obviously to be disregarded. You enter the forest and soon reach a second fork: continue by turning left, following the signs for Cignana. Take a long traverse to the left, which affords interesting views of the little Maen lake below. One crosses a new strip of larch and reaches Promoron (1812m), where there is a building, part of the Maen power station.
One continues uphill, passing the penstocks on a footbridge, and with a diagonal turn to the left one reaches Falegnon (1914m). One passes the small hamlet and enters the gorge of the Torrent de Cignana to bypass the south-eastern flank of Mont Pancherot. After a small clearing in front of the dam, climb rapidly up the right-hand (orographic left) flank to reach the turnoff for the Perucca-Vuillermoz hut.
Keep to the left until you join the dirt track that leads to the barracks of the dam keeper's hut, below the large concrete barrier. Pass over a small bridge and head to the orographic right of the stream where you will come across some ruins and, a little further on, the Barmasse hut (2175 m, 2h00').