Читать книгу Walking and Trekking in the Gran Paradiso. Alta Via 2 trek and 28 day walks онлайн

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Getting to the start: Coaches and slow Ivrea-Aosta trains stop at Hône-Bard in Valle d'Aosta. Year-round buses run up the Valle di Champorcher to Chardonney from the small square near the railway station, in the shadow of the fortress.

STAGE 1

Chardonney to Rifugio Dondena

Start Chardonney Distance 5.8km/3.6 miles Total Ascent 738m Grade 1–2 Time 2h45 (opposite direction 2h) Maps IGC sheet 3, 1:50,000

The Alta Via 2 begins amid the beautiful alpine landscapes of Valle di Champorcher. The close-knit local community, with its time-honoured traditions, is descended from herdsmen-settlers from Valle Soana to the south. Two picturesque stories account for the curious name Champorcher: the first concerns San Porciero, a Roman legionary and companion of San Besso (see Walk 27) said to have taken refuge in AD302 near Lago Miserin (Stage 2), where he was inspired to begin preaching. A second story attributes the origin of the name to the pigs once bred in the valley on the fruit of the oak and beech trees that then died out after a dramatic temperature drop in the 16th and 17th centuries.