Maureen Pies
Rifugio Zoia is located beside the...
Rifugio Zoia is located beside the hydroelectric station at Campo Moro in Valmalenco close to the Swiss border. To get there we drove Franscia left the car in the car park by the Edelweiss restaurant and managed to hitch a lift in a 4x4 of a very nice man who helps to keep the road clear. To drive up in the winter you need snow chains or 4x4.
The Rifugio is newly restored with 60 beds and panoramic windows in the restaurant. We went out to explore the two big dams nearby. In the summer these are used for high diving competitions. We were lucky enough to meet two ornithologists from the Stelvio national park who showed us a golden eagle through their telescope.
We had booked for the moonlight ciaspole (snowshoe). We left the Rifugio at 6:30 and headed for piano della campagneda a high altitude alpine pasture at the foot of Pizzo Scalino. The moon was bright and we experienced a halo caused by the ice crystals in the atmosphere. Then back to the Rifugio for pizzoccheri a local mountain dish.
To return to the car the next day we once again put on our snowshoes and headed for Rifugio Cristina located amongst the malgas in another high alpine pasture. As you enter Prabello you travel back to a simpler time of subsistence farming but the location is stunning. After a warming minestrone we descended down through the larch forest back the Franscia. Total walking time about 4 hours.
To return to the car the next day we once again put on our snowshoes and headed for Rifugio Cristina located amongst the malgas in another high alpine pasture. As you enter Prabello you travel back to a simpler time of subsistence farming but the location is stunning. After a warming minestrone we descended down through the larch forest back the Franscia. Total walking time about 4 hours.
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