The Morelli Buzzi Refuge and the Colle del Chiapous

A long climb up to the Colle del Chiapous, with a providential rest stop at the Morelli Buzzi Refuge. The last tract of the trail up to the Colle can be challenging due to the scree of boulders and rocks it passes through.

From Terme di Valdieri (ca. 1353 m) the route leads to the pleasant bowl containing the Lagarot di Lourousa (1971 m, 2 hours and 5 minutes from Terme di Valdieri), along the same trails as for itinerary 18, "The Lagarot di Lourousa" {->18}.The trail crosses the broad grassy depression, passing by two turnoffs along the valley floor: the first turns back towards the Lagarot, the second leads to the Varrone Bivuoac shelter. The trail surmounts a morainic hillock with two traverses and comes to a decidedly detritic habitat, where only a few spindly larches can manage to grow in the most protected niches. The trail continues on through scree, sometimes paved with flagstones for brief stretches, sometimes on shingle. It rises over a last hump with several tight switchbacks and then snakes around large boulders until it reaches a spot directly under the refuge. Deviating for the moment from the trail straight ahead for the Colle del Chiapous, a few dozen meters on the turnoff to the left brings hikers to the Morelli Buzzi Refuge (2351 m, 1 hour and 20 minutes from the Lagarot di Lourousa). After returning to the main trail, the route follows it to the left(south-southwest). The trail climbs uphill with several turns, at first on a detritic base but in good condition and later decidedly more demanding, among large boulders and rubble(there are frequent rockslides in this tract, that sometimes obstruct the trail). Before reaching the pass, the trail passes through a small bowl, on the orographic right, then finally comes to the Colle del Chiapous (2533 m, 45 minutes from the Morelli Buzzi Refuge).