[Removed user]

6 January 2020 at 19:38:03 #824815

The route between Capanna del Forno and Capanna da L’albigna seems a good route. But I cannot read anywhere if it’s a hiking route in summer, or if ropes and harnesses are needed. Can anyone else?

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[Snowman]

7 January 2020 at 8:11:34 #927511

Hi Andy_neal, and welcome to MySwissAlps,

The area you are inquiring about, off the beaten track, is one of the (many!) most beautiful areas in Switzerland, what a great idea to consider hiking there!

I am Swiss, with considerable experience in hiking. I have however not done the route you are inquiring about.

We don’t know much about yourself, so let me start with the basics:

You hike alone? – Don’t! You are not an experienced hiker? – Go elsewhere! You are with children? – Don’t! Also, consider the hike only in Summer, by good weather, have with you rain gear anyway.

There is a 3D map of the route here. On the Swiss topo map 1:25000, most of the route is in a dotted line, meaning “signposted route”. In other words, it is not a “track”, you will walk on a scree. A text description of the hike is given here. It says the itinerary is clearly marked in blue and white painting (high alpine), the difficulty is T4, the scree might be slippery, and you should turn around, not cross, the glacier near Forno. And, yes, it says you should tie children with a rope.

We are of course talking of the route through Pass dal Casnil Sud, not the longer one through Passo del Cantone, which I suggest you should not consider at all. Even via Casnil, it will be a long day.

Your are not asking about maps, etc so I assume you have what you need. As for a rope and harnesses, not knowing you better I suggest you have them if you want to do that. It should certainly be a great experience!

Snowman

[Snowman]

7 January 2020 at 8:24:05 #927512

Difficulty T4 as defined by the Swiss Alpine Club: #4 on a 1-6 scale where 1 is the easiest. T4 means scree, uncovered glaciers, small permanent snowfields. Stiff trekking boots required, as well as mountaineering experience and a good sense of orientation. Withdrawal by bad weather may be problematic.

[Removed user]

7 January 2020 at 11:58:11 #927513

Hello Andy neal,

Nice to hear you0’re planning to come to Switzerland.

I also don’t know anything from personal experience about that area, but the official Swiss Alpine Club page should provide valuable input, too. See below:
– http://www.sac-cas.ch/en/huts-and-tours/sac-route-portal/2147000100/mountain_hiking/

Best,
Steph

[Slowpoke]

7 January 2020 at 16:34:33 #927514

Hi Andy-

Advice from Snowman is certainly good…he is one of the experienced Alpine Hikers on this forum.

Although he was uncertain about your need for maps, and provided good detail about difficulty, I was unable to load the 3-D map that he linked to. So, perhaps, this map may prove useful:

map.geo.admin.ch/?topic=swisstopo&lang=en&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo.pixelkarte-farbe&catalogNodes=1392,1538,1396,1430,1436&layers=ch.swisstopo.swisstlm3d-wanderwege&E=2771316.25&N=1133810.63&zoom=7

The route is “blue” ( an “Alpine Route”) which generally can mean various degrees of difficult hiking which require special equipment, and certainly would include the more precise “T4” description comprises.

Here is a generalized description of the trail signage conventions on that map:

http://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/wanderland/more-wl/hiking-trail-network-and-signalization.html

from :

http://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/wanderland/wanderland.html

The SAC information is surely the most precise.

Slowpoke