Cengia Anulare della Cima di Porta Bassa and Zéngia de Severino Pagnussat

Premise

This route was traveled on June 20, 2022, and all subsequent observations and considerations fully apply only to that day.

The GPS track is quite unreliable in many sections due to signal bouncing between various high walls and gullies with “little light towards the satellites.”

Nevertheless, navigation is good with the local signs except in the first part of the descent from Porta Alta where they are missing and one must rely only on the guide's report.

In this detailed report, the term “guide” refers to → “Agneléze Erèra Pizzòcco” edited by Pietro Sommavilla and Paolo Bonetti.

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Ascent to Porta Bassa from Pian Falcina passing through the Forzelìn de la Val de l’Ègua

Up to the Forzelìn de la Val de l’Ègua, the path is the normal one for the Róa Bianca.

However, today I followed a variant – meanwhile better highlighted – compared to that of the itinerary → Róa Bianca from Pian Falcina via Forzelìn de la Val de l'Ègua.

At the start, you take the beautiful Sentiero Natura Val Falcina on the left hydrological side (or right when ascending) of Val Falcina.

Shortly beyond 600 meters of altitude and near bypassing a ridge, leave the Sentiero Natura Val Falcina for a track on the right that initially ascends steadily along the crest of a wooded ridge.

Continuing in the first part, you will encounter some secondary branches, one of which, which may cause doubts, is clarified by an arrow “ROA BIANCA.”

You join a path coming from the right from the locality Cesuràì and continue to the left, initially almost flat.

From here, proceed for a long stretch with short steep sections with hairpin turns and flat or rolling sections, cross some small gullies, and reach the point where you bypass a ridge where there is another arrow “ROA BIANCA” indicating to leave the good main path and ascend directly on a weaker track.

After a good stretch of about 35 meters elevation gain, turn left on a route which today has some sections that are hard to recognize due to tall grass regrowth: however, orient yourself with cut branches (quite a few), red marks (few), and cairns (few).

You then arrive at the final scree-channel for Forzelìn de la Val de l’Ègua which is climbed following a trace on the left side uphill or right hydrological side.

From Forzelìn de la Val de l’Ègua, you must head west, opposite to the normal route for the Róa Bianca.

There is an initial well-stepped small jump that leads to the first cut branches marking this continuation.

In a short time, you reach below the long and beautiful rocky band of Cógoi de Palatàna, and after the final edge, turn right ending under a small gully of a few meters with rocks that are theoretically not difficult.

However today – arriving early given the long program of the day – everything was still wet from the night dew, and I climbed using the dwarf pines on the left side direction of arrival.

Above the gully there is a small saddle that gives access to the final amphitheater with Porta Bassa well in sight.

It is not generally difficult, and the cut branches lead over some slightly more technical moves which, in my opinion, nevertheless do not reach grade I (vertical or horizontal).

The ground is mostly grassy with wide corridors among the dwarf pines, and I arrived at Porta Bassa wet (still due to night dew) as if I had waded: however here, unlike the rest of the route, the wet condition is manageable without problems.

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Traverse of the Cengia Anulare della Cima di Porta Bassa

From the Porta Bassa saddle, descend a few meters staying on the right side, heading toward the Western Val Brentón until the point where you bypass the rocky band on the right.

Here you notice to the right two rock pinnacles well detached from the wall which are reached by chamois tracks on hard scree.

Nearby the pinnacles, you must descend to bypass them from below, entering an obvious cut of dwarf pines.

Completed the bypass of the pinnacles, you enter a large amphitheater exposed to the northwest with the first part on hard scree which reaches below a large overhang.

After the overhang, the route returns among dwarf pines and arrives at the south edge which turns to the east side where, finally, the sun is found even in the first half of the morning.

Continue among cuts in the dwarf pines until the most difficult point: it is the passage at the head of a very irregular valley on a well-exposed route with unstable steps due to scree and “wrong side inclination” of some footholds.

Then it returns safer among dwarf pines and, paying attention to the cut branches, you ascend to bypass another ridge which leads to the final connection a few meters below Porta Bassa.

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Traverse of the Zéngia de Severino Pagnussat from Porta Bassa to the base of the southern gully of Porta Alta

For convenience, I refer to the entire ledge as “Zéngia de Severino Pagnussat” although, from what I understood, only the second southwest part should have this name: however the ledge is unique, continuous, for the entire section.

The entire first part (almost half) is very similar: a track among dwarf pines near the rocky band with some changes in level of a few meters (both up and down) following cut branches along not difficult secondary gullies.

You reach a recess that bypasses a larger gully where there is a slightly exposed passage resolved by a simple “crawling.”

Soon after there is the first real difficult passage: a VERY exposed traverse on a narrow rock edge which the guide says can be avoided below, although not easily.

I avoided it below, descending into the basin with a couple of moves of grade I (or I+) and then climbing back up the rock edge almost at the end.

Then continue on an exposed grassy ledge until the second key passage.

It is another traverse that cannot be bypassed in any way: more exposed in verticality than the first but with a (relatively) wider base for the feet.

Here I saw a piton halfway along with a rusty metal cord attached and … broken.

Further along, on other exposed ledges until bypassing a ridge from where you descend toward a cornice section under yellowish rocks.

Then at the passage of a secondary gully, you must ascend traversing a rocky hump still with exposed moves on small holds.

Here at the end there was a hanging steel cable attached to a piton, with the other piton (which originally kept the cable tense) all bent after coming out of its seat in the rock. 😲

A few more steps and you descend to the base of the southern gully of Porta Alta.

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Ascent of the southern gully of Porta Alta

The guide marks four points of attention.

At the base, you look inside the gully but … you do not ascend immediately through the gully because of obvious impassable jumps.

You cross the gully bottom and ascend the steep grassy slope opposite almost to the base of a rocky band: here turn right and “attack” a steep gully-notch with a mixed floor of rocks, earth, and grass (more rocks at the bottom and more earth-grass at the top, and practically vertical at the exit).

Here the guide signals useful dwarf pines as handholds: they are only on the exit edge on the right, and they are very useful for getting out!

After the gully-notch, advance a few meters on grass and reach above the initial impassable jumps.

Here you descend and then ascend toward a first wedged boulder which you bypass to the right with grade I moves.

Continue on hard ground and stones until a second HUGE wedged boulder indicated as grade II for the bypass (also to the right).

The bypassed scree is not very steep, but it is hard to find good holds: it is probably better to stick to the boulder edge and use the notch created by the edge.

However, I looked under the huge boulder and saw some light coming from above.

I removed my backpack to be able to advance and climbed up to a slit on the right from which you exit outside when only 3-4 easy steps remain to complete the bypass.

I descended, quickly made a harness with a sling to which I attached my backpack (with another sling) to hoist it up in the “natural tunnel,” and overcame this passage with zero alpinistic difficulty (from here GPS did not recover until arrival at Porta Alta and then I had to draw straight lines manually).

A little above I saw a white sling loop attached to a wedged stone.

Immediately after there is the (in my opinion) MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE ENTIRE EXCURSION, which cannot be avoided.

The guide notes “... mandatory rocky step on an inclined slab” and it is rated Grade II.

Approaching below it does not seem so, but then you realize that holds and footholds are minimal (not considering exposure) and in my opinion it can be graded at least II+, and it must be done.

A little above I saw a red sling loop attached to a wedged stone.

From here, difficulties ended and you only have to push to arrive at Porta Alta.

For this final section, I was generally on the right side uphill where I saw a ground more suitable for walking, and I also found a large cairn.

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Descent from Porta Alta via the Western Val Brentón

Viewed going up, it is almost always a ridge path, fairly well marked, up to a large clearing on the left hydrological side at the top, where there is a band of intricate rocks to climb then to find (words of the guide): “grass, rocks and dwarf pines up to 50 meters from the saddle; then on the bottom (boulders, scree) where one enters a narrow ledge for the last stretch.”

I note that the markers (cut branches and cairns) end at the entrance to the final large clearing, so the descent begins without markers following in reverse what is written in the guide.

I had already done reconnaissance from below a few days before, and even with this you should not go “with eyes closed.”

From Porta Alta descend the approximately 50 linear meters indicated in the guide following a diagonal that leads beside the rocky band above a spur that creates a small gully between its tip and the rocky band.

The narrow ledge begins there, crossing the small gully to the left.

The ledge ascends a few meters and then descends with some small steps of discontinuity to a grassy ribbon.

Here immediately bypass a rounded edge that leads above the clearing of the high valley with a diagonal above almost vertical rocks.

Now you basically have to “pierce” (there are no cuts) a band of dwarf pines climbing a bit to intercept some grassy corridors on the bench and reach where there are the lowest and easiest rocks for the descent near a dark gray rock band.

Going up from below it is more evident where to go, and descending you should (in my opinion) reckon on a short rappel on the first jumps.

I did it also because (having already been from below) from above I couldn’t figure out among the dwarf pines where was the easiest rocky point.

In the end, I chose a small beech near the dark gray rock band and rappelled about 8-10 meters onto a grassy platform without dwarf pines to avoid problems with rope retrieval and recoil.

Then a few more meters of scrambling until encountering a free diagonal that I remembered and which led me just above the path trace coming up from Spìgol Séch.

The “true” path now goes slightly downhill without markings until exiting from the large clearing at the top, where there are cut branches at the entrance to a small basin with a large cairn in the center.

To descend into the small basin, there is a rocky jump that is overcome laterally on small holds and grips: I would say very small but at least solid.

With a few meters of traverse you reach where the jump is about one meter and you descend.

After the basin, you immediately reach the head of a rocky slide for which you descend along the right edge to exit to the left corresponding to some cut branches.

Here end the peculiarities and there is the long wooded ridge to Spìgol Séch.

At times it is a single crest-ridge and at times it splits by small valleys and you must pay attention to the signs, much more visible uphill in my opinion.

In this GPS recording, I followed the markers “quite a lot,” but not always because I went by memory without fear of getting lost.

After a right turn below 1,200 meters you reach the forested summit elevation “official on maps” of Spìgol Séch which is recognized by a large boulder among the trees with bivouac signs: however, there the ridge is wide and it may not be noticed.

Still an almost flat stretch and then descend to a ledge with a beautiful view on the branching of Eastern-Western Val Brentón and on the side of Róa Bianca where the beautiful and difficult Zéngia Bruta flows – see itinerary → Zéngia Bruta (or Zéngia Burta or Zengión North) of the Róa Bianca.

(The Zéngia Bruta of Róa Bianca ends exactly at Forzelìn de la Val de l’Ègua where we passed at the initial phase of this itinerary.)

From the ledge starts the well-known very-steep descent of Spìgol Séch: it is a twisted track cut among dwarf pines and various shrubs, and you must go slowly!

After losing more than 200 meters of elevation you turn left and with some bends you cross on white rock the flat bottom of a gully.

Now in ups and downs you bypass a saddle (a little evident passage due to some fallen trees) and reach below a waterfall “blessed (at this point of the excursion) for water supply.”

Finally – always paying attention to the branches and cut signs – you join the path that from Cadíni del Brentón climbs to Casera Morséca or Morsecca, and finally to the bottom of Val del Mis.