The Ambria (Piateda) Facebook page reads: “Ambria is a true jewel of a hamlet nestling in the shade of high mountains, with streams and rivers, waterfalls and majestic forests. A little town with an ancient feel to it, up in the mountains where peace and quiet reign supreme.” There you have it, the reasons that make this climb worthwhile. The first part, to the fork for Vedello, is tarmacked with regular low gradient, followed by a potentially monotonous, steeper stretch on tarmac through Val Venina. After Vedello and the power plant, turn right up the rough track to Ambria. At the fork you can also go left, through the group of houses at Agneda in Val Caronno, then up to the artificial lake at Scais, with views of the surrounding mountain summits and glaciers (Pizzo del Salto, Redorta, Porola and Scais).

(texts and technical data by Federico Pollini)

Departure / return place: Piateda 310m

Arrival place / maximum quota: Ambria 1315m

Total gradient slopes: 1005 m

Total gradient descents: 1005 m

Slopes’ total length : 13,4 km

Descents’ total length : 13,4 km

Plain total length : 0 km

Total kilometers: 26,8 km

Slopes’ middle inclination: 7 %

Slopes’ maximum inclination: 11 %

Time taken: 2-3 h

Difficulty: medium