Motto Crostel

With a rather pessimistic weather forecast, all we wanted was an easy walk, perhaps including the event of summiting a peak, why not? Motto Crostel was today’s choice, again along the ridge between Val Leventina and Valle di Blenio.
Start of the hike is Monte Angone, where limited parking room is available. The path is very well indicated and marked and pumps up to the houses of Frageira. Over that you would meet the dirt track where you will have to turn left (no more indications, from now on) heading up gently and soon, after a sharp turn, you would get to Grasso Vecchio (map indicates 1.836m). After a short while you have to leave the track by turning left on another wide track, grassy, this one. Should you instead go straight ahead you would reach Tre Croci and the South-West approach to Pizzo Erra. The grassy track ascends very gently and the place is really an idyll. The scenic esplanade of Cascina di Laghetto bears Motto Crostel in the background. Well visible is also Passo Crastumo, which needs to be reached. There no path whatsoever, just a faint mark roughly heading Eastwise, but the direction is absolutely unmistakable. Once Passo Crastumo is reached, the summit is really close, and you benefit of a nice scramble on the ridge, where a path is found and can be followed. Some cairns are there to assist, if needed. The summit beholds a weather station (with summit book) and a cairn. Most probably the view is wonderful, but the turbinous rising clouds prevented such enjoyment. Quite cold as well, so we ended up having a quick sandwich and fleeing down while the rain started. Thankfully, by the time we got back to Cascina di Laghetto, it had stopped, but the three of us were pretty much soaked! Anyway, this is a nice, relaxing walk; we met no one at all (ok, the weather of the day was not ideal), certainly Pizzo Molare, Pizzo Erra and Matro are far more popular.
Special mention for Toto, definitely the master of the Leventina/Blenio ridge!