Our guests were extremely happy with their food today. Wonderful day, very nice guests, lots of sunshine and a huge Mars at night when I went to the loo at night. Already I can't imagine leaving the mountains.

Good-bye photo with silly friends and Fiorenzo. After they left I did the usual stuff like baking a cake, cleaning and preparing food for the evening: quiche, pizzoccheri and improvised mascarpone creme with bananas and the rest of the blueberries. Everyone was very happy with the food and the place. Nice guests.

Usual stuff, cleaning etc. Then a few rounds of Doppelkopf, a walk up to the "holy stone", which is a big heart-shaped rock not far from the hut, where - if lucky - Swisscom works well enough for an sms, and then preparations for dinner. And some more Doppelkopf.

My silly friends. How nice to have them.

Arriving at the hut shortly before an incredible thunderstorm started and a very interesting photo of the helicopter while it was departing:

My pretty pilot

The flight to Piano delle Creste leaves from San Carlo, a small village that used to be populated by people that worked the alps in the summer and went down with the cows in the winter. Known as transhuman living. Now all these pretty houses are holiday homes:

The views towards Tamierpass, towards the enchanting plane you cross coming up from San Carlo, towards mountain Basodino (light grey in the middle) and towards the lakes above the hut:

Pian di Crest consists of an old hut that is always open and has everything you need and a newer one that is only open when staff is present, meaning from mid-June to the first week in October.

Look at this wonderful place. If you come up from San Carlo this is the first view of the hut.

Baggy, Olaf and Paul (their real names are Bernd, Olga and Paula) wanted to come up on Saturday but they didn't. Thunderstorms were the problem. They lasted almost all day. So they stayed at San Carlo and came up today. While waiting for my dear friends I baked a cake, cleaned etc. Then - surprise - Maurizio showed up. The mad man left at five in the morning and walked all the way up to Pian di Crest only to stay a few hours (and give me my scheda telefonica italiana). He had to go back home the same day. Very nice surprise, a pity he couldn't stay.

Then the Cologne lot arrived. There was much rejoicing. We were alone here today, so there was even time to play Doppelkopf (yeah!). Then dinner and more Doppelkopf. My second day at beautiful Pian di Crest, the phots show the hut, from far away and a close-up.

All of us got up early and got ready for our journeys for our respective huts. The three Swiss women for Soveltra and me for Piano delle Creste. In the helicopter of course, I don't walk anymore nowadays, I only fly. In the helicopter. And the flight to Piano delle Creste is longer than to Soveltra and is real fun. These are the sacks ready for transport and up in the sie in their way to the hut.

Tomorrow I will be on my way up to Pian di Crest, another flight in the helicopter, which is exciting and I'm happy about it. I would have preferred to walk, but there isn't that much time. Loads of work to do. I haven't walked for ages, but it's ok. I am looking forward to Pian di Crest, another absolutely beautiful place. I am also looking forward to seeing my friends who will hopefully arrive without complications (and thunderstorms) in the evening. Now it's time to go to bed, I am sharing a room with one of three new cappanaras of Soveltra tonight. They are going up to the hut tomorrow and have very much work to do. The weather, however, will be bad, at least that is the forecast. We will see. I will not be "online" for at least a week again. No Internet access at Pian di Crest. I will get back to you as soon as possible. Take care.

I worked together with Fernand, a man from the German part of Switzerland and his German girlfriend from Karlsruhe. She made typical "Käsespätzle" one evening, which were absolutely delicious:

This is the new FAT flag (the umbrella organisation of alpine clubs in Ticino) that was delivered to the hut the day I went up. I proudly (even though I'm whether Swiss, Ticino nor whatsoever) put it up one afternoon in between cleaning, serving food and baking cakes

My week at the capanna Soveltra was nice, very nice, lots of work, but very nice experiences with the people that came (not all of course, but most of them) and working, which is something that makes me happy. And with all those small things that are simply beautiful like looking up at Campo Tencia every morning, lighting the open fire, the silence and peace (if the guests aren't too annoying, and mostly they aren't). Such a wonderful place to be. This is another new small table that has been built while I was away walking in all weathers, its a good table for the evening, to take advantage of the late sun in the evening:

Hello dear friends and family, after a week of silence I am back again, albeit shortly. I am fine even though my cough has not disappeared yet. I have a week of hard work behind my and am facing another week of - probably - hard work ahead of me. At least tomorrow will be a hard day of work because we have reservations for 35 persons, inclusive my dear friends Bernd, Olga and Paula, who will arrive in the evening (and then do all the washing up!).

I am (once again) at Arturo's house. I left Soveltra hut at about nine in the morning. I haven't walked up or down the path for a long time (since I fly around in the helicopter all the time nowadays, ah, I'm posh), it is a very beautiful and interesting path with stone "stairways" and lots of water in a steep canyon:

Dear readers, it is time to say good-bye for a while, because from tomorrow on I will once again enter the non-Internet world. I will be working at Soveltra for a week, maybe less, we will see, then a week at Pian di Crest.

Today I slept until eight thirty, a real change. The medication I am taking is starting to take effect and I am feeling a lot better. I helped Emanuela with the shopping and cooked for the Rothen family in the evening. Shopping for Soveltra is no easy task, especially now that there are a lot of reservations. It took all afternoon to shop and load the small lorry. And tomorrow we have to pick up the bread and meat before driving up to Schied, where the helicopter arrives to pick up us and the merchandise.

It is time to go to bed. And say good-bye, but as a treat here is a photo of "il presidente" Arturo, practising his guitar for tomorrow, he often sings at weddings or other festivities. He is the soul of the alpine club SAV and its huts Soveltra, Pian di Crest and Fiorasca.

Ah, dear readers, plans are futile. They exist only to be changed as it seems. While I have been fighting my cold and mulling Berry's offer, or plead, to stay and work for him, Arturo asked me if I was willing to come to Soveltra and work next week because there are so many reservations and too little staff. I decided to help out at Soveltra. I'm in the region and have time, on my way to Pian di Crest I would have passed Soveltra anyway and I wasn't too happy with walking all those paths again. And I am not well. I drove down in the car with Berry and Elfriede today from Cava to Biasca, avoiding a descent of 2000m, and Berry was kind enough to give us a lift to Cadenazzo, where we took the train to Locarno and sat at the bar at the station to discuss the situation. I wasn't sure if I was fit enough to walk, I wanted to move and would have enjoyed walking together with my new Dutch friend, but then, in the end, I decided to take up Arturo's offer to come and stay at his house and then walk (or fly) up to Soveltra on Friday evening or Saturday morning. I went to the chemists to get some medication for my cough, went to the bank, met with Arturo at the bar near the station and had a white wine and then caught the bus to Lodano, where Arturo and his family live. This is the old part of Lodano:

A warm welcome at Casa Rothen, Emanuela, Arturo's wife is already used to me showing up when something goes wrong. I am very grateful for this hospitality, apart from the luxury of a hot shower and a washing maschine and the cats. This is Lucky, one of the two Rothen cats, he likes potato peels:

I decided to stay another day at Cava seeing I was still feeling quite ill and knowing that Berry would be going down to Biasca and further in the car on Thursday. Elfriede also decided to stay another day because she also wasn't too keen on going down 2000m to Biasca. We agreed that we would walk together to Soveltra from Sonogno via Barone if I felt well enough.The weather remained incredibly good also on my third (unbelievable) day of rest and I went for a short walk to the lakes near Cava hut, also to feed the fish. Berry's ambition is to make the fish grow.

They suffer from "dwarfism" because there is too little to eat in the lake, so Berry takes all the organic rests to the lake and claims the fish have already grown. The alpine club is considering putting in a special type of fish that are more adapt to the conditions and thus attract fishers. Elfriede (I'm Dutch, I jump in every lake), went in, 13 degrees more or less, I didn't considering my cold.

"Erba di cotone", or "Wollgrass", I have no idea what the English name is and only Ute is able to tell us what the scientific or Latin name is. Anyway, I love this plant.

I got to know Elfriede, who arrived and decided to rest a day. A very nice Dutch woman who has been living in Switzerland for more than 20 years. We might walk together for a few days if I am well enough tomorrow. We ate together, Berry, her me and Michele, and then went outside to admire the view. It's a pity I'm not walking now that the weather is so perfect. Ironic, me walking in storm and rain and then falling ill in the sun. I suppose it's the "forza del destino" as Ciro would say.

My second day at "clinica Cava". I'm too ill to continue walking. Berry is taking good care of me. And between naps and short walks I help him with chores like walking down to the alp to pay for the butter and fetch the washing. Berry is a very special and generous person worth knowing and his cooking is great. This is the bread he baked last night. Extremely yummy.

Cava hut, a lovely place to be. And today my place of rest. To recover from a cold, sore throat, blocked nose and cough. To weak to go on. Maybe I'll have to stay tomorrow too, I'll have to see. I slept almost all day, helped Berry a little bit in the kitchen and with translating at noon. He adopted me and is making sure I have everything I need.

Looking back towards Passo del Mauro I couldn't see anymore where we came down from. Looks completely unaccessible.

I walked eight hours today, climbed 1180m and went down 1030m, the highest point was at 2560m. The welcome at Cava hut was very warm. Aldo, the capannaro, or Berry, which is this nick name, is a very nice and special person. I hotbot recommend this hut because of him and his cooking. I'm completely stuffed. Delicious soup with pasta and beans, melanzane alla parmigiana, fresh cheese and salad and lovely wine. I ate together with Berry and another very nice Swiss couple and had a very good time.

Soft climb at first, then steep and then the descent which was very interesting, but not altogether pleasant. First exposed along a crest then steep and loads pc slippery gravel. And long, Cava is one of those huts you see early from the top, but don't seem to come closer.

After the snow there was a lot of close-to-the-edge-do-not-fall walking going up to Bocchetta di Piöv di Fuori. Then the path descended into a beautiful plane. This is the view back to where we came from while starting the final climb towards Passo del Mauro and Cava hut.

This is the view down from Passo del Lago.

The weather was great, what a change! This is the view looking back towards Brogoldone. The path was very nice and easy at first, climbing softly at first to passo Mem. Then it turned more difficult and steep going towards pizzo Claro where the path turned to blue-white, thus more difficult. After Bocchetta del Lago there was some unpleasant scrambling down and lots of snow! Seeing I walked more or less together with one of the Swiss couples. I think they didn't approve, but it was a case and I was glad when we came to the big snow field, which was unavoidable, I followed their trace.

I slept really well, even though I had a slight throat ache, I think I have a cold coming. Breakfast at 7:30 because I knew I had a long day before me. The night before one of the Swiss couples became friendly, which was very nice. Our dinner was minestrone, polenta with gorgonzola and Zabaione sort of afters that drove the women wild.

Brogoldone horses and donkey. First in the fog then in the sun. It is thundering in the distance, here the sun made a short appearance. They say tomorrow the weather will be better. Yawn. I don't believe anything anymore. I'll see tomorrow morning if it is realistic to go to Cava hut, which is an eight-hour walk. I'm not the only one who wants to go, one of the Swiss couples wants to go too. Now that I talked to the landloard of Cava hut, I have to get there somehow. He promised me melanzane alla parmigiana when I told him that I'm vegetarian.

Brogoldone hut. It's a converted alp, the dorms are in a former barn. My short walk took a little less than two hours, up 550m and down 50m. As usual through steep forests, the last bit was very pleasant, I was able to walk without watching the ground all the time, which makes for a nice change. There was a lot of fog, but no rain. I was completely wet though when I arrived from sweating and lots of wet grass and trees. I'm not alone, apart from the seven other guests (all Swiss and I don't understand what they are saying), there are horses, donkeys, chicken, a dog and cats. I have learned from Laura, the Brogoldone landloard, that one of the cats was stricken by lightning ten days ago. It survived, but is still recovering and wasn't come out of the house since.

We had a late breakfast at 8:30 and discussed what I should do. There are may paths leading up to Brogoldone hut, in the end I opted for a VERY short one seeing the weather was not good and they had forecast rain and thunderstorm (for a change). Maurizio took me up to way above Giova, where we said good-bye. He left for home today. We had a very good time together and it will be a strange feeling to be on my own again.

St. Maria, a very small and quiet place with 107 inhabitants, at night fall, coming back from Pizzeria Croce Bianco, run by Turks.

And these are - yes - garden gnomes, in a fountain next to the church.

And this is the church right next to Bellavista. The bells rang at six in the morning and woke us up. It was the first time for a while that we weren't awake already. We were tired and the bed was extremely comfortable. And we had played Scopa for the last time until eleven.

This is Bellavista, where we spent the night and did all the stuff we wanted to like load all digital maps for Piedmont onto my HTC. Another thing Maurizio had done for me, he brought his laptop along just for that. I owe him more than a simple thank-you. I was once again lucky to use the washing machine, the lady who runs Bellavista with her husband is a little nervous, but very friendly and helpful.
In the evening we went to Roveredo and had a huge pizza (in the rain under and umbrella outside, because it was very warm). We tried to go for a walk in roveredo, but actually there isn't anything to see.

Friday, 13.7.2012

We woke up in the president's suite to the rain and didn't hurry, the rain had already decided for us that we wouldn't take the long way (7 to 8 hours) to St. Maria, but the short one to Rossa. We had a lovely breakfast at eight, waited for the rain to ease or stop and then went down. The path was easy, but still walking wasn't comfortable because of all the slippery stones and roots. At Rossa we caught a bus to Grono where we picked up Maurizio's car and had a drink while deciding where to sleep and find out where the nearest Pizzeria was.

Buffalora from far:

And close by:

We arrived very early and had a very warm welcome by Jeanette and her husband, who already knew about us from Roberta. We have a room for us and Pizzoccheri for me! After two days of eating almost nothing! Another wonderful place and hut with such nice people. I am so lucky and happy to do this. By the way, Swisscom is repaying me half of the money I apparently spent. Well, a lot better than nothing.

Lago Calvaresc on the descent to Buffalora hut.

The path wasn't difficult, but again the path was very close to the edge. Careful, but wonderful walking.

Piz Ganan, our highest point today. Incredible view.

This is the view back at rifugio Ganan, such a beautiful place. The night, however, was COLD. There were enough covers, but the wind and cold air entered through the cracks. We left late at 9:30 seeing we would be walking only about three hours. Beautiful path, little shock for me because there was a tiny but very steep snow field, but otherwise stunning trek.

And this is the loo. You shouldn't be afraid of heights if you use it. It was a good decision to stay at the bivak, a thunderstorm came about an hour after we arrived. It cleared after that and we washed at the tap outside in the sun. And then we spotted the ibexes. How beautiful they are and so close, they came closer and closer and we watched then dir hours at a distance of about 20 metres. Then another thunderstorm and sun again. We walked about five hours to Ganan, climbed 760m and went down 780m and our highest point was 2500m.