Ayas Guide Refuge, from the Frachey car park

Introduction

High mountain route for experienced hikers only. The recently built refuge is located on a spire surrounded by glaciers and is the starting point for the ascent to Castore and Polluce. When crossing the large Verra glacier, although there are no visible crevasses, caution dictates that you should proceed bound.

Description

Turn back about thirty paces along the asphalt road and take the lane that starts beside a canopy between the two bridges and heads northwards through a group of houses; after passing a nice rascard under renovation, you arrive at the bridge over the Verra stream where you will find the sign for the regional footpaths. Following the signs for the path (7), start along the paved mule track that rises steeply beside the stream and crosses it shortly afterwards on a wooden bridge. After an initial section bordered by a few low stone walls, another section follows where the original route is lost among numerous tracks that climb haphazardly until it joins the old mule track again, which climbs lazily and with wide hairpin bends in the shade of larches until it reaches the fork below the village of Fiery.
The trail continues along the right-hand path, crossing a clearing where the slender shape of the Don Bosco alpine house stands out on the right, a five-storey-high stone building that is a reminder of a tourism industry that has now disappeared. Returning to the forest, follow the path that climbs with a few steep bends and occasionally splits to rejoin a little further on; where the pavement is missing and the slope becomes steeper, the tenacious roots of the larch trees hold the path while the branches offer shelter from the hot summer sun. Soon the slope decreases and the path heads to the right, almost level, in the direction of the stream that can be heard rushing at the bottom of the gorge. One crosses the remains of a charcoal pile: a circular, level stretch of land where charcoal burners piled up wood and after covering it with earth, they would burn it slowly to obtain charcoal. Immediately afterwards, we cross a stream used for irrigation and join the dirt road that leads slightly downhill to Pian di Verra. One follows the track across the beautiful grassy plateau surrounded by the last coniferous forests until reaching the bridge over the Verra stream. Above the larch trees, the moraine and the splendid glaciers descending from the Breithorn, Castor and Pollux stand out imposingly.
Just past the bridge, take the path (7), which starts to the left and cuts the numerous hairpin bends of the dirt road to Pian di Verra Superiore. Walking in the shade of the larch trees, one ascends the barren slope until, having emerged from the forest and near the stream that can be heard rushing on the right, one reaches the dirt road that one follows towards the interior of the valley. After a short, slightly downhill stretch that leads close to the crystal-clear water, you start climbing again, cross a small plateau and, after a slight bend, reach the signpost that marks the start of the path to the [[Rifugio Mezzalama]]. You leave the dirt road for the steep path that climbs the side of the moraine in narrow bends until you reach a rock wall smoothed by the glaciers and the section from which you can distinguish the hut of the Guide della Val d'Ayas in the distance; shortly after, the slope decreases, you cross a flat meadow dotted with a few boulders and you arrive at the junction with the path that climbs from Pian di Verra Superiore. Keeping to the left, follow the marked path, which climbs the side of the moraine with a moderate and regular gradient until you come in sight of the Mezzalama hut, recognisable by its characteristic red shutters, and which is a further hour's walk away.
As soon as you reach the top of the grassy slope, the wide valley carved out by the glacier appears in all its grandeur. It is barren and bare, with meltwater flowing on the bottom, forming a singular contrast with the outer slope now colonised by high mountain prairie on which it is not uncommon to see herds of ibex grazing. Continuing along the ridge, we can observe on the left the dark-coloured glacial tongue, which has been in constant retreat for some years now, and after a short downhill stretch, we start climbing again until we reach the second hump where we catch our breath, about half an hour from the hut, and gaining altitude we can see the whitish waters of a glacial lake appearing on the right, in the distance. Arriving at the edge of the vegetation, where the green of the grass gives way to the grey of the stones, after a last bend the hut appears, which is reached in a few minutes.
From the Mezzalama hut, take a few steps to the left until you reach the helicopter landing strip, where the path to the Guide della Val d'Ayas hut begins. After an initial section among the mounded rocks and boulders abandoned by the glacier during its retreat, the path gradually narrows to an uncertain track, while the yellow markers become more frequent and lead to the red rocks where a small step is overcome with a little agility. Reaching the edge of the large Verra glacier, cross it on a level stretch with no obvious crevasses, heading towards the rocky tower that holds the hut. On exiting the glacier, it is advisable not to stop under the beautiful seracs on the left that could drain off, but to head decisively towards the steep snowfield, mixed with scree, on the right. Go up it, going round the rock face until the slope diminishes and you begin to catch a glimpse of the hut's tin roofs. Continuing on the left, you again meet the yellow markings that lead to the base of the short south-eastern spur, from here continue along the small path equipped with fixed ropes in the more delicate sections, which in late summer is normally cleared of snow, until you reach the hut's main entrance in a few minutes.
The return journey follows the same route as the outward journey.