Rifugio Vittoria Sella, 2588m
We've never spent much time in the Gran Paradiso area but had heard get things about it. On a dark winter's day we sat down at the kitchen table to plan, browsing our Cicerone book "100 Hut Walks in the Alps". Rifugio Vittoria Sella, in the National Park, Italy, looked like a great spot, at 2588m and, when we emailed them, they said we could take the dog!
We booked in for two nights, mid August, thinking it would be a good place to base ourselves to explore a little more. The rest of the trip was mainly going to be spent in the Chamonix valley, doing local walks.
Mid August quickly came around and it was time for us to pack our bags and head through the Mont Blanc Tunnel. It was about two hours to our starting point for the walk up to the refuge. A few weeks before there had been terrible floods in the valley. The bridges were all under repair and the roads quite bumpy. It was a scorching day. We parked up and got ready to walk, all carrying our own gear, apart from Basil... and wearing a lot of suncream and hats for shade.
The start of the walk took us up.. and up in the woods. We quickly gained height to look back at the village in the valley. Passing a couple of ruined mountain / shepard huts and several watering troughs. The kids refreshed themselves by putting their heads under the freezing water. We crossed the river/waterfall at several points.. heading on up.
We walked up above the trees and across a large point of the river. From here the path got steeper and more exposed in the evening sun.
As we walked on up we could hear sheep up above us. Gradually, with each bend we got closer. The flock looked quite glorious on the steep hillside in the warmth of the evening sun.
We passed a sign, telling us we were near. As we came over the hill we could see the refuge. A very welcome sight by this point. We all arrived, a bit hot and sweaty and got to finding our rooms, changing out of our walking boots and getting comfortable and ready for our well earned supper.
We had a lovely dorm for the four of us (two up, two down) and basil. With a table and stools, plenty of hanging space and a door opening out on to the view with picnic tables. The beds were made up with covers, but we all had our sleeping bag liners with us. The bathrooms were clean and functional.
Feeling a bit fresher, we found our place in the dining room (we'd booked for half board). It was full of chat and excitement discussing the day's activities and the adventures to come. We had a fabulous home cooked, three course meal. And after a game or two of cards we headed to bed, ready for an early start.
We all slept well and woke, ready for breakfast was a 7. It was mainly biscuits and cake... much to the kids delight. The views from the dining room were stunning.
Well fed, we went back to our rooms to prepare for the day. What we hadn't realised when we'd booked, that although Basil was allowed in the refuge, because it was a national park he wasn't allowed any further. Our original plan had been to explore on. up from the refuge during the day. So I stayed with Basil while the others went on up, then later we'd swap. Basil felt quite at home with his room, looking out over the landscape waiting for day trippers to come up for lunch.
I went for an explore with him, heading back down to the river crossing while the others went up. There were lots of amazing wild flowers and butterflies to see. And we stopped by the water for a sit down, a picnic and a little snooze before walking back up.
The kids came running down from their walk up. Excited and ready for lunch. We all sat down to have a picnic, not far from the refuge. Such a fabulous spot with water running by, wonderful mountain views and marmots popping up here and there.
The kids were tired and quite happy to stay put, playing cards and marmot spotting. So we left them to it, with Basil and set off to explore a bit more in the afternoon. Walking up, around the corner we passed some fantastic looking goats.
Eventually coming to a lake with far stretching views across the valley. A lovely spot for a quiet sit down and afternoon tea.
It was getting late in the afternoon, so we headed back to the refuge and got ready for another delicious supper.
Our friends had to leave early the next morning. After breakfast and a spot of marmot watching they headed off. We had to check out of our rooms, but we were allowed to leave some of our stuff safe at the refuge, walking with lighter bags for the day. It was Guy's turn to stay with Basil so I set off up for a walk with the kids. We walked up and up, with the river on our left. The landscape began to look more lunar with blue and red rocky mountains either side of us. The path twister up the mountain. The kids chatted the whole way.
The path got steeper and steeper. A little too steep and slippy for me. We got to the highest point. The kids were totally unphased. A narrow path followed the mountain round with a little rope to hold onto and a very long drop below. I decided we'd come far enough. We messed around for a little bit, taking photos before heading back down.
Half way down, we stopped for a little refreshment, just off the side of the path. Taking time to enjoy the landscape and wild flowers.
Heading on down, back to the refuge with mountain views in front of us the whole way. Occasionally looking back at the steep slippy path we'd come from behind us.
Back at the refuge we picked up our bags, filled up our water bottles and set off to walk down back to the village where our car was parked. It felt like a long way.
A quick silly selfie with the refuge before we left. And down we went.
Finally reaching the village a bit tired and thirsty, we found a cafe and got some refreshment while we waited for Guy and Basil to come and meet us.
We all hopped into the van and went further down the valley to beautiful Cogne to explore and find some supper (pizza), before heading back through the tunnel to France.
What a memorable couple of days. I'm a firm believer of a holiday within a holiday. We will definitely be back to the area to explore more.
A few of our walks on strava during our mini break in Italy:
Products used on ths trip:
