GTA Stage 21: Campello Monti - Rimella | Lake Maggiore, Lake Orta, Lake Mergozzo and Ossola Valleys

Highlights and tour details

Leaving Campello Monti you head west on a paved mule track that cuts through the meadows on the slope. Less than half a kilometre from the start we find the fork with the Z99 GTA route to Bocchetta dell'Usciolo. After a bend you cross the stream on a small concrete bridge. Just before the bridge, the Z17 route to Capezzone peak and Rifugio Abele Traglio starts on the right. After the bridge the path climbs up through hay meadows and in a short time a remarkable panoramic view opens up: Campello, the old nickel mines, the Strona valley, the tip of the Usciolo, Monte Ventolaro and the Mazza dell'Inferno. The stoniest area begins at the end of the meadows and under a crag there is the Alpe del Vecchio (1465 m). Leave the junction of the Z15A on the left for Alpe Penninetto and head towards the meadows of Alpe Scarpia (1698 m) with a stretch of hairpin bends on a steep stony slope. From Alpe Scarpia onwards the terrain has all the characteristics of alpine pastures and the ascent to the Bocchetta is quite easy and pleasant. A few dozen metres from the Bocchetta, there is a path to Mount Capio on the penultimate hairpin bend. You then reach the Colle della Colma hill or Bocchetta di Campello Monti (1924 m) or Bocchetta di Rimella as it is known on the Valsesian side. Descending towards Rimella you quickly reach the basin of Alpe Pianello (1801 m) which houses a refuge of the CAI of Borgomanero; from the alp you descend another 150 metres and begin a long stretch along the slopes of Punta del Pizzo, furrowed by numerous valleys. Firstly you reach Alpe Versch, (1525 m) Alpe Van, (1470 m) and Alpe Selle (1449 m) and then the Cappella dei Morti (Chapel of the Dead) near the splendid hamlet of San Gottardo (Rund) (1329 m). An engraving on the stone slab near the Chapel recalls the date of 1551 which marks the end of transporting the dead from Campello Monti to Rimella via the Colma pass; the coffins were placed in this chapel for a prayer before going down to the village where they were taken care of by the people from Rimella who went up to wait for them. The rest of the stage is an easy descent towards the main village of Rimella, Grondo.