The destination of this route, which is easy and suitable for everyone, is the small church of San Colombano.

Just like the Corno mentioned in the article, which bears the same name, by car we reach the parking lot of the former Forte Venini at 1,718 m, above Oga, a hamlet of the municipality of Valdisotto (Sondrio). We strap on our skis and climb the road that winds through the forest. After passing 5 hairpin bends, an oft-traveled route comes off to the left, which saves us from having to reach the huts of Sposina bassa.

We reach the ski slopes above, but abandon them for the summer trail that comes off, to the right, at a junction. We thus take us to the Baite di Sposina alta (high Sposina huts) and crossing a section in the woods here we are in a wide clearing. We enter the ski slope again, which, shortly afterwards, we can leave one more time, ascending along the left edge.

In front of us, in the distance, it gradually takes shape and we recognize the silhouette of the Malga di San Colombano at 2,238 m at the alp of the same name, a suitable place for a break. The plain we then traverse allows ski mountaineers and snowshoers to catch their breath. In this section the slope is minimal and, keeping the slopes as a reference, we head to the entrance of the San Colombano valley.

It is at this point, we are at about 2,270 meters above sea level, that the itinerary we are describing breaks away from the one we followed to reach the Corno, which instead runs to the left. We are then guided again by the slopes and head, to the right, to the nearby Le Pone hump lift, visible above us. We now continue, with no obligatory track, on the slopes that remain to the left of the beaten routes for skiers. We move away from the latter after gaining about a hundred meters in elevation.

The little church of San Colombano remains hidden to the last, but the saddle where it is located is very wide. We are thus free to ascend where we prefer the remaining 100 meters of elevation gain. The panorama opens to Cima Piazzi and Val Lia as well as to the peaks of Val Viola.

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Ph: Giacomo Meneghello