Aosta 2012
June 14 - Exploring Aosta
June 15 - Hike from Chamois
June 16 - Hike from Valnontey to Rif. Sella on the Alta Via 2
June 17 - Hike from Pont to Laghi del Nivole and Col del Nivole
June 14 - Exploring Aosta
After taking the train from La Spezia to Milan, the subway across Milan to the bus station, and the bus from Milan to Aosta, I wandered around Aosta.
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The Europe Cup was in process and TVs were set up outside in many of the bars and cafes. Spain ended up beating Italy in the finals on July 1, after I had returned home. But it was big excitement in Italy during their matches...
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A pay toilet for dogs! That's a first in my experience.
6/14/2012 7:27:16 PM June 15 - Hike from Chamois
Click on the map for a larger version.
Bus schedules did not connect well, but I bused from Aosta to Chatillon and then from Chatillon to Buisson. There, I took the only lift in the area that was operating so early in the season. From Chamois, I hiked up to the Valle d'Aosta Alta Via 1, a long-distance path that spans the north side of the Aosta valley. I was hoping to take the Alta Via up to a pass (Col de Nana), but there was too much snow. So I descended to trail number 1 (labeled '3' on my 1:25,000 hiking map). Slabbed pleasantly along contour and across residual snow patches to a chapel, Sant Clavalite, which was perched with a breathtaking view up the valley toward the Matterhorn. Unfortunately, the clouds did not part to afford me the view. Descended the roughly 1,800 vertical feet through a charisma-free ski area. The vistas were splendid, but the immediate surroundings were not so much...
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I hoped for a better view of the Matterhorn (M. Cervino) during my hike, but the clouds later were not cooperative.
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I did not see the other shoe - or any partially shod hikers.
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I waited for a few minutes, hoping that the clouds would break and I'd be treated to a grand view of the Matterhorn, but the clouds hung tough.
6/15/2012 4:50:54 PM June 16 - Hike from Valnontey to Rif. Sella on the Alta Via 2
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Bus from Aosta to Cogne. Catch the opportune shuttle to Valnontey. Hike to Rif. Sella and back.
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Perhaps you can tell from the width of the elevator doors below that this was a BIG bell!
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I caught up with a large group of hikers carrying musical instruments. I opined to the guy lugging a saxophone case that it was a good thing that he did not play the tuba. An English speaker who overheard said that they belonged to the group that owned Rifugio Sella and were celebrating the season opening with an evening concert. She said that they had arranged donkeys to carry the instruments, but "the donkeys broke down, so we are the donkeys".
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6/16/2012 3:58:44 PM June 17 - Hike from Pont to Laghi del Nivole and Col del Nivole
Click on the map for a larger version.
For an even larger version, click here.
After ascending from the main valley Valsavarenche, trek across a broad glacial valley to a pair of lakes (Laghi del Nivole) with residual ice and a pass (Col del Nivole). Unfortunately, the spare camera battery I had with me was spent, so I was only able to snag a few photos in the pass and plain on the last of the battery juice.
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Looking south from the pass.
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Looking north from the pass toward the still-mostly-frozen lakes (Laghi del Nivole) and my return route to Pont. The rifugio in the foreground was still snowbound and had not opened for the season yet. Vertical walls of snow along the road towered as much as 6 feet above my head.
6/17/2012 12:45:26 PM
In both directions on this hike, I enjoyed an extended, largely flat, traverse of this broad, scenic plain.
