Valmalenco

Characteristics

Valmalenco climbs north out of Sondrio, in the Valtellina in Lombardy, and ends against the Bernina massif on the Swiss border. From a valley floor at around 1,000 metres the ground rises to Pizzo Bernina at 4,049 m, the highest summit in the Eastern Alps, with the Scerscen and Fellaria glaciers hanging between the two.

The rock here is granite and serpentine rather than limestone, which gives the valley its dark, solid look, and its oldest craft, soapstone, carved into the pots and stoves you still see in the villages. Chiesa in Valmalenco is the main town; Lanzada, Caspoggio and Torre di Santa Maria are the quieter ones.

• Altitude: roughly 900 to 1,500 m in the valley, Bernina at 4,049 m
• Language: Italian, very little English, which is part of the charm
• Nearest airports: Milan Bergamo and Malpensa, about 2½ to 3 hours
• Where to stay here: Chalet Valmalenco in Torre di Santa Maria

Why we love it here

This is the one that still feels undiscovered. Two hours from Milan you are in a valley with glaciers at the head of it, mountain huts that take reservations by telephone, and slopes where the lift queue is three people deep on a Saturday in February. Almost everyone you meet is Italian and from within fifty kilometres.

And the food is a reason in itself. This is Valtellina: pizzoccheri, bresaola, Bitto cheese and Sassella wine from the terraced vineyards on the way up from Sondrio. A long day on the mountain followed by dinner in a rifugio here is hard to beat.

Winter activities

• Alpe Palù ski area: around 50 km of runs, wide open and rarely busy, with the Bernina massif in front of you the whole way down.
• The Snow Eagle cable car: cabins for 160 people, and the fastest way from Chiesa onto the mountain.
• Caspoggio: the gentler, sunnier side of the valley, good for families and for learning.
• Ski touring: Monte Motta (2,336 m) from San Giuseppe for a first tour; Passo di Mello (2,992 m) from Chiareggio for experienced ski mountaineers.
• Snowshoeing in the woods around San Giuseppe and Lago Palù, plus a snowpark and off-piste terrain for experienced freeriders.

Summer activities

• Lago Palù: an easy hike through fir and larch forest to a clear mountain lake; the cable car shortens it if you want.
• Campo Moro and the Fellaria glacier: the classic walk from the dams towards the glacier, one of the most striking days in the valley.
• Rifugio Cristina at Alpe Prabello: an easy hour up from Campo Moro, below Pizzo Scalino, and the start of the loop to the Campagneda lakes.
• Pizzo Scalino (3,323 m): the valley's signature summit, a glacier climb with some exposed rock, for experienced mountaineers or with a guide.
• Climbing and mountain biking: granite crags, long forest ascents and technical descents, with the cable car taking bikes up in July and August.
• Serious alpinism: Pizzo Bernina via Rifugio Marco e Rosa and Pizzo Palù, both glacier routes for experienced parties or with a guide.