Mount Pedena

Access

From the town of Morbegno in Valtellina, turn right to Passo di S.Marco (Valle del Bitto di Albaredo). Beyond Albaredo, continue by car as far as the snow conditions on the road allow: always at least to Madonna delle Grazie (approx. 1150 m), latterly to the junction for the Monte Lago hike (approx. 1350 m). 

Introduction

 This is a beautiful winter tour where you can almost always find splendid powder snow. The only drawback to the trip is the initial section along the road to the San Marco Pass, which is fairly flat here. Recently, it is possible to drive up to around 1350 m, the junction for the equally classic excursion to Monte Lago, and beyond the 1200 m altitude of Madonna delle Grazie (departure point generally considered in guide books), due to the fact that higher up, the Casera di Monte Lago is open all year round 

Description

After putting on your skis, continue along the summer road, which is not very steep and will require some pushing on the return journey, to the Casera di Monte Lago, which is inhabited all year round (and where it is possible to stay overnight).

From here, various solutions are possible: all to the left, if the snow is well settled and spring-like (in this case it will be possible to reconnect with the Monte Lago excursion by climbing to the left to the W ridge of this beautiful mountain), finally reaching the Baitone on the plateau on the right or rather, immediately after the bridge, going up the slope beside the wood, initially untangling the large boulders and shrubs, then heading for a hut with two centuries-old larches beside it, then slightly to the right towards a fir wood (paying attention to the avalanche gullies of Punta del Piodere), passing over a hump again and cutting left towards a cross just below the characteristic Baitone hut, where you can reconnect with the other variant of the ascent.

The spaces open up: go up towards the right in the direction of the Pedena, bypassing a rocky band on the left and entering a wide valley that you follow to the bottom, where you cross the final jump to the right, reaching the ridge within sight of the summit. A steep but short gully leads to a fork just below the summit where you leave your skis. Walk up the steep slope to the antecedent and then to the summit a short distance away on an airy but easy ridge (watch out for possible cornices). On the descent, it is best to stay to the left, on the entire northern flank, generally with splendid powdery snow.