Bivouac Borelli-Pivano

Introduction

Beautiful but short ferrata: The equipped section has a gross height difference of about two hundred metres, including several unequipped sections on a path. The difficulties are concentrated in the final part that gives access to the Fauteuil des Allemands, where there are two vertical ladders and the delicate and exposed traverse beyond which the ferrata ends.

Description

After leaving the car, we set off, following the signs for the Borelli hut, along a path through the flat pastures surrounding the village, heading towards the Peterey forest. In a few minutes, you reach the dirt road that runs along the edge of the forest. Here, every year at the beginning of July, Celtica is hosted, the great Celtic music and culture festival that fills this beautiful natural amphitheatre with music, dancing and historical reconstructions for a week.
In the shadow of the firs and larches, the menhir and what remains of the large camp wait in silence for the arrival of the performers and musicians, the only sounds accompanying the hikers' footsteps are the calls of the birds hidden among the branches and the light breeze swaying the conifer tops. As soon as you leave the old forest, you pass a concrete construction of the aqueduct and continue along the dirt road until you reach the bank of the stream that descends from the Fauteuil des Allemands. Here, following the signs for the Borelli bivouac, leave the road, cross the stream and ascend its course on the orographic right. The first part of the path is well marked and does not present any difficulties, but as you ascend through the low coniferous forest, you must pay particular attention because there are numerous shortcuts leading off from the main branch, which, although they shorten the ascent a little, make it discontinuous and tiring.
At the foot of the waterfall, continue to the left, following the yellow markers, which soon lead to the start of the ferrata (be careful not to turn right and follow the red markers). It takes about an hour or so, bearing in mind that the difficulties are concentrated in the last part. Immediately after the start, stretches on very steep rock alternate with parts of the path where the chain is missing. You climb quietly until you reach the chimney, which offers numerous handholds (take the time to look for them) and immediately after the exit, the first ladder begins, about 5 metres high and vertical, which presents no difficulties whatsoever. After this, a short traverse to the right, exposed and with some delicate passages, leads to the second staircase, also short and vertical (16 steps), at the end of which is the key passage of the ferrata: a small, smooth traverse that is climbed on iron spikes embedded in the rock. Once this last obstacle has been overcome, the chains end and the comfortable path begins, leading to the bivouac in just over half an hour.