On day 2 we head from the Marteller hut to the Branca hut. There are several ways to get there, and we will make our choice based on weather and conditions. Basically, we contour the 3769 meter Monte Cevedale.
If weather and conditions are good, we normally circumnavigate Cevedale in a counter-clockwise direction by it’s north side. We begin by skinning up the Cevedale glacier (or the Zufall Glacier if you prefer the German names). After approaching the peak from the north, we descend slightly to the east on the smaller Cedec glacier, then climb again steeply to a col between Cevedale and its neighbor to the west, Monte Pasquale. From here it’s nearly 1000 meters of uninterrupted descent, very steep at first but soon gliding among moraines and gently cascading benches. Our first glimpse of the Branca hut is of the roof as we descend practically right on top of it at the end of our exhilarating run.
A safer option if the weather and conditions do not allow us to cross the Cevedale-Pasquale Col, is to either descend the Cedec glacier to the northwest or to steep slopes from the Cevedale Pass, then pick up the road in the Cedec valley and follow it around the Pasquale Cevedale massif to the west.
A much longer and demanding expedition over the Palon de la Mare, to the south of Cevedale, could also be considered.
However we get there, once at the Branca hut we can settle in as we plan to spend three nights here.
Day 2 - Marteller hut to Rifugio Branca
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Ascent |
1183 meters |
3880 feet |
Descent |
1306 meters |
4284 feet |
via the Col Pasquale route |
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