Monte Todum and Pizzo Pernice

I wouldn't have my birthday weekend ruined by another rainy forecast for Switzerland. So I just planned a weekend away over on the Italian side of the Alps. CouchSurfer Mayeul hosted me in the village of Cadrezzate, and both on Saturday and Sunday we drove to the other side of Lago Maggiore to go walking.

On Saturday we hiked up Monte Todum and Pizzo Pernice. It became a relatively slow day, with many breaks for inspecting mountain flowers (don't care much about that, to be honest) and for playing some music on ukulele and harmonica (much more enjoyable!). The sun only broke through the haze towards the end of the day, but at least we were spared of the Swiss rain.

Mayeul dropped us at the quiet, almost spooky village of Ungiasca, before driving up to the end point at Cappella Fina to park the car there, and cycling down again to meet us again. From Ungiasca we joined the kilometro verticale, a popular ascent of 1000m from the village Cossogno to Monte Todum. We started a little higher up than Cossogno, but then from Monte Todum we continued up along a gentle ridge to Pizzo Pernice. All along, the ridge offers great views of Lago Maggiore on the right, and the Val Grande national park on the left. A shame that the weather was so hazy, or the panorama would have even been much better. Monte Zeda (or rather the southern summit of Pizzo Marona, which hides the actual summit from where we were) stood invitingly up ahead, but that'll have to be for another time. We walked down to the car in Cappella Fina, picked up Mayeul's bike again, and drove home.