Rifugio Bietti - Rifugio Brioschi (via ferrata / Klettersteig)

General Notes:

Altitude Difference: 1000 m

Time: 3h

Phisical Effort: High

Difficulty: EEA

Description:

To reach Brioschi, there are many routes that start from Bietti, such as the famous caminetto,now we will present perhaps the most fascinating and difficult route,that is along the ferrata of CAI Mandello.

Reaching the Bietti is quite simple as we show you in this article.

Once we reach it we should pass it following the indications of path number 26,the signs are located just after the Bietti, the very simple path initially enters the valley in the middle of the mughus,overcoming during the initial part a small landslide.

During the initial route we will find some detours to the Elisa refuge,where we should keep to the left and succesively with the via del caminetto, this is one of the last chances we have to see if we feel like going along the via ferrata or not.

We will turn right at the intersection with the path to the fireplace, I always follow path number 26.

At the beginning of the via ferrata there is still a bit about 30', however this part of the approach is not trivial at all,indeed it could be quite difficult for those who are not used to the paths of the grigne,in fact we have some traverses on rock, not slippery but where you need to be very sure of your pace.

After this short stretch that lasts a short time, however, it can remain indigestible,the path falls into a pine forest of mughus,with considerable slopes,until moving towards the orographic left, the path will climb the coast on the ridge.

This stretch is absolutely not suitable for those who suffer from dizziness,in fact on both our sides we have nice jumps of about 30-40 m,towards the end of this stretch,we will find a chain that will make us go back down a short stretch quite exposed that is not yet part of the via ferrata,but that I found very difficult for the danger in case of slips.

Once finished begins the real via ferrata, initially very simple with a ladder and some pegs,after which we have a first point quite hard where we have to work a lot with the arms,however the supports are many and easy to find.

After this first and short but intense stretch, the path climbs again in the middle of a small pine forest of mughus and meadows, in a very steep way, during the climb we can already glimpse the Brioschi.

 

The route climbs continuously with short sections equipped and some passages not concatenated exposed enough and to deal with caution.

About halfway through the via ferrata we have the most complicated point, not for the via ferrata but for the route,we are in an unequipped stretch,which,however, has short ascents and very exposed descents, with precipices on both sides.

The route continues in this way for about 1h and 30',with continuous ups and downs with equipped and non-equipped sections.

However, the view is megnifico we climb among rocky spurs that have made the Grigne so famous,in fact the via ferrata develops along the entire ridge that leads us to Brioschi.

As soon as you finish the via ferrata you will find the summer path that goes up to the Rifugio Brioschi dal Pialeral and with "caminetto"

The summit is a few meters away,but they could be the most difficult because of the effort we have accumulated so far.