Climbing up Monte Orsaro via the Bocchetta dell’Orsaro was a path that I had been meaning to do for a
long time. Last year I was defeated by an
incredibly windy day, not the best thing to experience on a rocky mountain crest.
To avoid the July heat whilst getting up to the crest I
set off from the car at six o’clock. It
was still quite cool, but the high humidity was fastidious.
My first stop was Parma’s
Lago Santo, In the early morning light
it was spectacular, with little wind to disturb the reflections of the forest
and mountains in the lake.
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| Lago Santo, PR |
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| Lago Santo, PR |
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| Lago Santo, PR |
Now it was on and upwards to the “Crinale”. After a hard
climb one is rewarded at Sella Marmagna
with a fantastic view down towards the sea at La Spezia.
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| Sella Marmagna, PR |
Before reaching Monte Orsaro I had to pass two mountains,
Monte Marmagna and Monte Braiola.
From Monte Marmagna the receding mountain peaks in the early morning mist presented an almost
abstract landscape. From the other side of the mountain the view of the rock
formations of Mont Braiola make for one
of the most dramatic views to be seen in the Tosco-Emilian Apennines.
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| View from Monte Marmagna, PR |
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| View from Monte Marmagna, PR |
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| View from Monte Marmagna, PR |
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| Monte Braiola, PR |
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| Monte Braiola, PR |
On Monte Marmagna one is presented suddenly with the
vision of a huge steel cross the was erected in 1902. I pity the poor souls or more probably mules who had to
drag all that steelwork up here to 1800 metres. On Monte Braiola one finds a boundry stone placed by the Ducato di Parma before the unification of Italy.
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| Monte Orasro from Monte Braiola, PR |
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| Monte Orasro from Monte Braiola, PR |
Now it was time to confront the Boccetta. The path climbs steeply up the exposed south
face before swinging across a gap in the vertical rock face. Then the fun starts. The path follows the crest and a bit of rock climbing is necessary to pass over the outcrops of rock along the narrow
crest.
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| Bocchetta dell'Orsaro, MC |
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| Bocchetta dell'Orsaro, MC |
Finally after a hard climb I was at the top of Monte
Orsaro with its strange statue .
The weather seemed to be on the point of changing as forecast,
so it was time to return. It was now quite hot and humid even at 1800 metres so
I took the shady forest path back to Lago Santo where I arrived in time to be
able to eat a nice plate of polenta with sausages at Refugio Mariotti before returning to the car.
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| Monte Orsaro, PR |
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| Lago Santo, PR |
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