By car, drive past the village of Alagna and park at the final car park, Wold (Parcheggio del Wold). Then take the shuttle bus (€3 per person) along the 3 km road to the Acqua Bianca waterfall.
(S/E) At the information boards, take the path towards the Pastore Refuge.
(1) After about 10 minutes, you’ll come to a junction indicating two routes to the Pastore Hut. Turn right onto path 207a (formerly 7a) to continue the winding ascent towards Alpe Fum Bitz.
(2) At the junction, turn left towards Alpe Fum (towards Rifugio Pastore) and leave the path that continues the ascent (Monte Rosa Tour – Colle di Turlo). Once you reach the mountain pasture, you can take a break to visit the botanical garden and the Alta Valsesia Nature Park visitor centre (Giardino botanico e Centro Visite Parco Naturale dell’Alta Valsesia).
Then continue down towards the Rifugio Pastore, leaving the path that climbs to the right towards the Rifugio Barba Ferrero.
(3) At the junction, continue to the right towards Rifugio Pastore (mountain hut). Cross the covered footbridge (Ponte delle Pile) over the impressive Sesia torrent. When you reach the vicinity of Alpe Pile (a flat area with smooth rocks), leave the Pastore refuge on your left (you’ll return here on the way back) and follow the path to the right which follows the Sesia upstream towards the Crespi Calderini refuge. You’ll then enjoy a splendid view of the south face of Monte Rosa (Mont Rose). Follow the signposts for path 206 (formerly 6) via Alpe Casera Lunga. Continue to the small bridge over the Bors torrent (rio Bors).
(4) At the junction after the bridge, turn left onto path 210 (formerly 10), which begins to wind upwards towards Alpe Bors (Rifugio Crespi Calderini). Just before the end of the switchbacks, you can venture into the open tunnel of an old mine (Miniera San Maurizio). You finally reach the Alpe Bors plateau. Walk past the few houses on this mountain pasture (you can take a break at the Crespi Calderini refuge – 1,829 m) and enjoy the view across the whole plateau.
(5) Just before the refuge, take path 210a (formerly 10a) which leads to Alpe Fun d’Ekku (2,070 m), the final stage of the glaciological route.
(6) Pass by a viewpoint (called “K2” – 1,895 m) equipped with picnic tables. Leave the path that branches off to the right and continue along the ridge to Alpe Fondecco, Fun d’Ekku. From there, you can enjoy the majestic panorama of the glaciers and the creaking sounds of the south face of Monte Rosa. Please note that it is best to arrive in the morning to admire Monte Rosa and avoid the clouds that form from midday onwards.
(7) Then head back down via the same ridge path to the previous junction.
(6) Instead of heading back down towards Alpe Bors, turn sharply left towards the north. Follow the path, which is less well-trodden than the previous ones, to a small, barely visible junction.
(8) Turn right towards the east to follow the streams to Alpe Muflicat.
(9) You can stop off to have a look at the Val Malfatta stream, but do not cross the bridge heading north, as you must continue down the Sesia on path 206 (formerly 6) towards the Bors stream (bridge) which you passed on the way there.
(4) Take path 206 back in the opposite direction to the outward journey, towards Alpe Casera Lunga and then Rifugio Pastore.
After the refuge, continue along the original route, cross the bridge and rejoin the junction you passed on the way there.
(3) This time, take the path on the right leading down, which will take you past the Caldaie del Sesia (a waterfall with an information board explaining how waterfalls are formed).
(1) Finally, continue along the path to the starting point (S/E).
Alternative route: please note that you can also ascend or descend from the Pastore refuge to the Wold car park without taking the tarmac shuttle road. There is a path via Alpe Stiga (with a view of the Acqua Bianca waterfalls) which joins the tarmac road at a place called Sant’Antonio (where there is a small chapel).
