Via Alta della Verzasca
Map with all coordinates: 
The Via Alta della Verzasca or Via Alta Verzaschese is a demanding mountain hike lasting several days along the peaks that separate the Verzasca Valley from the Leventina and the Riviera .
history
The Via Alta connects five alpine huts in four daily stages. The Società Escursionistica Verzaschese (SEV) has published a bilingual (Italian / German) leaflet with a route description, which can be purchased inexpensively in many local shops.
The demands on the walkers are high. On the six-part SAC hiking scale , the first and third stages reach the highest level of difficulty T6.
The five shelters are unmanaged SEV bases with limited capacity, which are often overcrowded during the main tour season in July and August.
The Via Alta Idra , opened in 2018, runs along the Via Alta Verzasca with stages 7 to 10.
Daily stages of the Via Alta at a glance
The southern starting point of the Via Alta is the Capanna Borgna ( 1912 m ), which can be reached in around 2.5 hours from the Monti della Gana (here also by car). Alternative access: From Vogorno via Rienza (approx. 4 hours) or from Mornera (cable car from Monte Carasso ) via Capanna Albagno and Bocchetta della Cima dell'Uomo (approx. 4 hours).
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From Capanna Borgna to Capanna Cornavosa
The route takes about 8 to 10 hours to walk from Capanna Borgna northwards over the peaks of Poncione di Piotta ( 2439 m ), Poncione dei Laghetti ( 2445 m ) and Poncione del Vènn ( 2477 m) ) to the Capanna Cornavosa ( 1991 m ), inaugurated on August 7, 2010 . Before the hut could be completed, it was necessary to spend the night in the Rifugio Alpe Fümegna ( 1810 m ), 1–2 hours further away .
The difficulties reach the highest grade T6 on the SAC hiking scale, the most demanding section is the descent over the northwest ridge of Poncione di Piotta. -
From the Capanna Cornavosa to the Capanna d'Efra
The second day's stage leads over the Cima di Rierna ( 2461 m ) and the Cima di Gagnone ( 2518 m ) to the Capanna d'Efra ( 2038 m ). The walking time is about 8 hours.
The difficulty reaches grade T5 on the six-part SAC hiking scale. -
From the Capanna d'Efra to the Capanna Cògnora
The high-alpine transition leads in around 8-10 hours from the Efra hut over the connecting ridge of the peaks of Pizzo Cramosino ( 2718 m ), Madom Gröss ( 2746 m ) and Pizzo di Mezzodì ( 2708 m) ) to the Alpe di Cógnora with the hut of the same name ( 1938 m ).
The difficulties are in the highest grade T6 on the SAC hiking scale. -
From the Capanna Cógnora to the Capanna Barone
The shortest stage of the Via Alta leads in around four hours to the Barone Hut ( 2172 m ) without touching the summit . The difficulties are to be assessed at T4.
A more difficult variant in grade T6 leads one floor higher over the Pizzo dei Laghetti ( 2443 m ) and the Pizzo della Bédeia ( 2666 m ) to the Capanna Barone in around 6 hours. This variant (Via Nicola Balestra, named after a Ticino mountain guide who had an accident on Mont Blanc du Tacul ) is well marked with blue dots and has a few safeguards.
You can descend from the Barone Hut to Sonogno in the lower Verzasca Valley in around 3 hours .
Other peaks on the Via Alta
Popular peaks that are often visited in connection with the Via Alta della Verzasca are
- from the Capanna Borgna of the Pizzo di Vogorno ( 2442 m ) with a beautiful view over almost the whole of Lake Maggiore
- from Rifugio Alpe Fümegna of Poncione Rosso ( 2505 m ) on the white-blue marked route (flat climbing in the summit area, very tricky when wet)
- from the Capanna Barone to the Pizzo Barone ( 2864 m )
SEV hut list
Branches to the GeoHack page. Various external map services can be called up using the stored coordinates.
External link to the website of the hut at the SAC .
External link to the website of the hut at the FAT .
| image | Location links to the hut |
Surname | Owner / valley location | Height m above sea level M. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Capanna Barone | SEV, Sonogno | 2172 | |
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Capanna Borgna | SEV, Vogorno | 1912 |
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Capanna Cògnora | SEV, Sonogno | 1938 |
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Capanna Cornavosa | SEV, Lavertezzo | 1991 | |
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Capanna d'Efra | SEV, Frasco | 2039 |
See also
Web links
- Dorothea Burkhard in Die Alpen 8/2001: A Queen Among Kings (PDF file; 520 kB)
- Gaby Funk in DAV Panorama 1/2009: Wild paths in lonely heights (PDF file; 863 kB)
- Alps insight: Hiking Via Alta Verzasca
- Alpine Canal: Via Alta Verzasca (video)