Monte Emilius from Pila w/o lift

General notes:
This 22km route skips the Chamole chairlift which introduces an additional 400m of ascent. This has a few benefits with respect to taking the lift: i) no time dependency for the return, ii) adds forest as an environmental variety, iii) useful if you are scared of lifts. Alternatively, you can park by the Chamole chairlift, take the lift for the ascent, and walk the descent, changing the route only slightly. In our case, my wife took the lift and I walked with our dog up to Lago di Chamole where we met. The part from Rifugio Arbolle to Monte Emilius and back was performed solo. Hiking times of sections I walked with my (24 weeks pregnant) wife are indicated with *.

Pila – Chamolé (0h45)
Follow path 14 which quickly gets you out of Pila and into the forest. You cross the Chamole chairlift and a few mountain bike tracks after which you enter a grassy ski slope. The route follows the slope upwards to an open area, around the ruins of Chanté and up to the Chamolé farm.

Chamolé – Lago di Chamole (0h20)
For this I followed path 19, probably path 14 or 19A is easier to follow. At the junction at Chamolé there is a sign on which path 19 is not present. It is the only direction to which no signs are directed, which quickly turns right. The path is difficult to follow and only very little yellow marks were encountered. This path should be considered as abandoned. Luckily, I ended up exactly where I meant to. Advice: take path 14/19A.

Lago di Chamole – Colle di Chamole – Rifugio Arbolle (1h40*)
Continue to follow path 14. The path starts to serpentine on a grassy slope. A few times you may think you are almost at the pass, after which you are suddenly there. From the pass you have great views over Vallone di Comboe, Rifugio Arbolle (photo 1) and Monte Emilius. If you look carefully you can also see the amazing rope bridge which is part of the via ferrata to Monte Emilius. Sadly, we were harassed by a bunch of goats, so we only stopped here shortly. A gravelly and a bit steep path goes down to Rifugio Arbolle. A short ascent brings you up to the hut. Here you can enjoy the nice Lago d’Arbolle.

Rifugio Arbolle – Lago Gelato (1h10)
The path goes past the nice upper part of Lago d’Arbolle (photo 2) and follows Torrente d’Arbolle for a bit. After the junction with path 18 (where we still follow path 14) the path leaves the stream. After a while, a look back shows the nice and small Lago dell Echo (photo 3). The path becomes a bit up and down. I encountered a signpost before the lake indicating the junction with path 102 to Colle d’Arbolle. However, there is no junction. Shortly after the lake (photo 4) there is a masonry pole where the actual junction is (photo 5).

Lago Gelato – Colle dei Tre Cappuccini (1h05)
Following path 14 at the junction, the path is still a bit up and down. The last 200m of ascent to the pass are steep. From here all the way to the top the path goes over and past big boulders (photo 6). On this section I had much snow because snow had fallen from 2200m and up five days ago. From the pass, there are nice views into the valley with the Laures lakes (photo 7) as well as the Vallone d’Arbolle.

Colle dei Tre Cappuccini – Monte Emilius (1h00)
This section really requires the use of hands to transverse big boulders and steep slippery and gravelly bits. Luckily there was less snow here due to the southern orientation (photo 8). I lost the path a few times, but was able to find my way back using yellow dots and small piles of rocks (cairns). The top allows wonderful views all around. Given clear skies one will be able to see the Mont Blanc, Matterhorn (Monte Cervino), Mont Rosa, Gran Paradiso, etc. The surrounding valleys are also visible, such as Vallone d’Arbolle (photo 9).

Monte Emilius – Colle dei Tre Cappuccini – Lago Gelato – Rifugio Arbolle (2h10)
The way down back to Lago Gelato can not be covered quickly because of the steepness and big boulders. The part back to the hut is however not a problem.

Rifugio Arbolle – Comboé – Colle Plan Fenêtre – Chamolé (2h30*)
From the hut, follow path 14 towards Comboé (which is somehow a different 14 then path 14 from Pila to Colle di Chamole). The path descents very steeply into the valley, which itself is quite beautiful (photo 10). From Comboé follow path 16/20 up to Colle Plan Fenêtre. This is a very gentle 100m climb, which is nice after an already long day of hiking. On the pass, you can walk up to a nearby cross from which you have nice views back into Vallone di Comboe. Follow path 20 to Chamolé following an almost horizontal path. Late in the day, the sun still shines on this slope.

Chamolé – Pila (0h45*)
Follow the way back as you came to Chamolé. (Alternative: If you took the chairlift up, keep following the grassy ski slope which is path 19. In Pila, find your way to the lower station where you parked.) After in total 12h30, also including 25min at the hut and 40min at the top, Pila is reached while it is becoming dark.