Pizzo di Vallumbrina

Bivacco Battaglione, Pizzo di Vallumbrina (Santa Caterina)

The Pizzo di Vallumbrina (Bivacco Battaglione Skiatori Monte Ortles) is a gigantic tour that starts from Santa Catarina and takes mountain bikers to an unreal and somewhat forgotten area, from which they return with fantastic trails and incredible mountain panoramas.

Description

The tour starts in Santa Catarina in Valfurva. From here, you can either take the asphalt road up towards the Gavia Pass or take a cab to Rifugio Berni at 2541 meters above sea level. After the Rifugio, it's just a few meters of pedalling on the 551 path to the former Rifugio di Gavia. Then it's time to push and carry the bike towards the summit. The path, which runs eastwards, offers a view of Punta San Matteo, a glaciated peak around 3700 meters high, and makes alpine bikers' hearts beat faster. On the ridge or at the bivouac, there is an incredible panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and the beautiful mountain lakes. From Corno dei Tre Signori all the way back to the Adamello mountains, everything is at your feet.

The way down is the same as the way up. The difficulty from the summit can be declared at S3 level, whereby the bike has to be pushed briefly in the middle section, as weather conditions repeatedly make the path difficult or impossible to ride. As you head towards the pass road, the trail becomes more and more flowy and is then signposted as a 525 trail at S2 level up to Dosso di Tresero. From here you can take the 561 path and then the 556 path or keep right onto the 561 path towards Santa Catarina. Both descents run continuously at S2 level and spit you out directly on the valley floor at an altitude of 1700 meters above sea level. All in all, the trail descent, which is over 1500 Elevation loss long, offers a tremendous firework display of panoramic views, adrenaline and also a bit of high-altitude exhilaration, with the focus on fun and the tour's westerly orientation making it the perfect sundowner to experience the glowing mountain world when the sun is low.

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