Refuge Mongioie – Refuge Havis De Giorgio

Rifugio Mongioie 1550 m  – Colla di Carnino 2174 m – rifugio Ciarlo Bossi  1550 m – Passo delle Saline 2174 m – Rifugio Havis De Giorgio 1761 m

A stage that takes place along the route of one of the oldest salt routes, already practiced in pre-Roman times and then renovated by the Romans; from the sea the product was brought to the Monregalese area and from there distributed to more distant regions. From the upper Tanaro Valley we move on to the Ellero Valley through high pastures on calcareous soil, still frequented by herds on the Ellero side, on which a first example of morphology tormented by karstism can already be admired in the Gruppetti area.

From Rifugio Mongioie 1550 m take the dirt road towards the west. You ignore a dirt track on the right and, a little further on, you leave the road to take the path to Lower Carnino on the right. The path continues on a slight slope for a long time and, having ignored a branch to the left for Viozene, it goes up to a crossroads: on the right the path to the Grotta delle Vene branches off, straight on (recommended) you reach the suspension bridge over the stream that flows in the Vallone delle Vene Melted. A final uphill traverse reaches Colla di Carnino 1594 m, 1.00 hour. You descend on the opposite side of the pass with a wide path which, near the ruins of Tetti delle Donzelle and the Refuge Ciarlo Bossi 1550 m 0:15 hours, joins the dirt road coming from Carnino Inferiore at the foot of the bastion of the Rocca delle Donzelle . Head to the left (northwest) in the direction of the impluvium line of the Vallone delle Saline; at 1616 m you enter the path that comes from Viozene, and once you reach the valley you follow it. After twenty minutes from the refuge the valley narrows into a sort of gorge and widens again further upstream. Before 1900 m you leave the bottom of the valley turning left, on the mule track which climbs up and further on continues less steeply. About 100 m below the obvious depression of the hill you zigzag up a steep grassy slope and reach Passo delle Saline 2174 m 2.15 hours. The name of the pass is linked to the ancient salt trade. In recent centuries, in particular, there was an active passage of people from the Negrone valley who went to the lower Val Ellero to stock up on chestnuts. In the Saline valley a cross recalls the episode of a mother from Carnino who, caught with her children by the storm while she was coming down the hill exhausted from the load of chestnuts, had to succumb after having shown them the way to safety – The mule track, now signed G3, descends 100 m of the initial steep slope and then descends along karst slopes and shelves. You enter the Gruppetti area, on the western side of Mongioie, where karst phenomena are very evident, with rocks eroded into characteristic shapes. You leave the Gias Gruppetti 1893 m on the right and then (already almost at the bottom of the valley) the Gias Pra Canton 1764 m, and after two crossings of the valley furrow you finally reach the little bridge over the newly created Ellero: in fact it originates from the springs that flow into wall on the left (Pis d’Ellero). Beyond the bridge, follow the path that leads to the nearby Havis De Giorgio refuge 1761 m, also called Mondovi refuge 1 hour.