Sambuco – San Magno Fraction Chiappi

Sambuco 1184m – Colle di Valcavera 2416 m – Colletto 2511 m – San Magno 1761 m

From the Stura di Demonte valley you pass into Val Grana through the wild Vallone della Madonna and then through the large pastures of Chiaffrea, Bandia and Fauniera; it is important to start off at dawn in order to walk through the first part of the ascent while it is still in the shade.

In Sambuco you go to the church and here you take the cart track that passes in front of a sawmill and then enters the suggestive Vallone della Madonna: you leave a first wooden bridge on the right (mule track that leads to Chiardoletta) and crosses a second bridge, where the track ends. Take the mule track P.34 which goes up the valley, first skirting the stream, then gaining altitude, while the valley becomes more steep. You cut across a slightly landslide slope (possibility of noticing ammonites or other fossils) and on the left the steep wall of the Rocce Bianche seems to block the valley: instead the path, with some ups and downs and short bends among sparse specimens of Scots pine and a rich flowering of lavender and foxglove, enters the narrow gorge leaving a deep gorge below where the torrent and a beautiful waterfall roar. Once past the bottleneck, you go up near the stream with some hairpin bends among large rocks and sparse larches, while the landscape spreads out like a fan into numerous secondary valleys. A short climb leads to Glas delle Mure 1831 m, located on a grassy saddle between the streams that descend from Val Chiaffrea and Vallone degli Spagnoli; 2.00 hours. A well-preserved hut with a tin roof and a votive pylon characterize this pleasant grassy knoll. Above the hut the path bears to the left (alder bushes) and with a now less steep route it enters the vast meadow expanses of Val Chiaffrea, passing alongside the Gias Sale 1969 m. After cutting through a scree slope, the valley widens into less steep pasture slopes and the mule track leads to the ruined Grangia Bastiera 2067 m (useful to stock up on water from the fountain downstream from the ruins). You continue through the pastures, halfway up the orographic left of the valley, which widens further. Going around a rocky relief on the right you reach the plateau where Gias Chiaffrea rises 2272 m. Leaving the Gias on the left, served by a road that comes from above, you turn right (east) following the numerous red trail signs that lead to a path, on which you climb up the pasture slopes for a 100 m difference in altitude until you reach a military road; follow it uphill (right) and, after a hairpin bend and a narrow path between the rocks, you reach Colle di Valcavera 2416 m, from which you look out into the Arma valley; 2.00 hours. The area, populated by marmots, has characteristic funnel-shaped pits due to dissolution phenomena of chalky formations (these are chalks and anhydrites, due to the evaporation of ancient brackish lagoons). Leave the road that descends into the Arma valley on the right, to follow the one that goes halfway up the hill towards the north-east; the stretch of road, not at all tiring, allows you to admire the rich flora of the area and then the stony valley of the Dead. After passing a bottleneck the road soon reaches Colletto di Fauniera 2511 m, also called Colle del Morti or Passo del Mulo; 0.30 hours Just before the hill you can take a path on the left that leads to a chapel overlooking the hill, from which you can enjoy a good view of the Argentera group and the surrounding mountains: Vallone dell’Arma to the south, Val Maira ( Vallone di Marmora) to the north-west and Val Grana to the north-east; the path descends towards the north and immediately leads back to the road, which after a short stretch reaches Colle del Vallonetto, 2447 m, open between the Vallone di Marmora and Val Grana (east). The road now descends into Val Grana with wide hairpin bends, which are avoided by taking the path on the right which, through a gentle pasture area with various springs, descends to the Fauniera refuge, located near the Fonte Negra, where the Grana stream originates from quartzite rocks. The mule track, cutting through some bends of the military road, passes next to ruined barracks and the Gias Fauniera, 2191 m; then it descends along the ridge, crosses a stream, and continues halfway up the orographic right of the valley, dominated by the rocky bastion of Parvo. Further down the path crosses the military road (near a bridge) and cuts a wide bend in the middle of wide meadows; at another road bridge you cross the stream on it, moving to the orographic left of the valley; leave the road for a short stretch to go to the Parvo huts 1958 m; then continue along the road for less than 2 km thus arriving, after passing the Sibolet valley, at the sanctuary of San Magno 1761 m; and at the stopping place in the hamlet of Chiappi Hotel Locanda La Meiro, 1.45 hours.