Colle Armoine

The headwaters of the Po offer countless trail options on historic war trails, especially in the border area with France. One of these is the circular tour via Colle Armoine with a long and varied trail descent.

Description

The tour starts in the Italian town of Crissolo. From here, the route rides relaxed but steadily uphill on the Via Pian del Re. The road was built in the last century as part of the Vallo Alpino military defense network and winds its way steadily uphill to Pian del Re. There you change to a mountain path or mule track, on which the bike has to be pushed or carried in places. The landscape is breathtaking - with spectacular views and numerous lost places from the time of the Vallo Alpino.

In the upper section, at the ruins near the Traversette tunnel, leave the main trail to the right and follow trail V20 up to Colle Armoine at 2692 meters above sea level. This crossing marks the watershed between the provinces of Turin and Cuneo, or between the Pellice Valley and the Po Valley. A few meters further up, you reach the Rocce Founs, the highest point of the tour - from here, a gigantic panorama opens up over the Piedmontese mountains.

The descent rides down open, sparsely vegetated meadow slopes to La Sellaccia. The difficulty level is S2, although the paths can be washed out and more challenging after heavy rainfall or storms. Back at Pian del Re, the route continues along hairpin bends with some key sections, also at difficulty level S2, until you reach Pian della Regina. This is bypassed to the south before the last part of the descent follows: a flowing trail that leads directly back to the starting point in Crissolo.

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