Gran Sometta
Introduction
In the orographic view of the Valle d'Ayas and Valtournenche, the White Peaks represent a geological rarity: it is curious to observe the three "white" peaks, close to the Matterhorn, that look more similar to the Dolomite mountains than the Valle d'Aosta ones, and notice the strong detachment of color and shape that affects the viewer's eye accustomed to very different shapes and colors in this area. In this page you can read other interesting notes about it.
Great Sometta, the highest and most westerly of the three, lies between the upper and lower Cols of the Cime Bianche, basically riding the watershed Ayas - Valtournenche. It 'a massive and elegant pyramid-shaped top and from it you can enjoy a splendid view of the nearby Matterhorn mainly on the Gobba di Rollin and the main peaks of the two just mentioned valleys. The fastest and easiest access is from Valtournenche: thanks to the cable of La Salette, you save about 700 meters. Coming from Ayas the departure is from Saint-Jacques, and most of the route to reach the Lower Col has in common with that of Col Higher to which we refer also with regard to the reflections on the impact that the lifts built for winter tourism has had on the environment. In particular, rising from Valtournanche no one can escape a sense of unpleasantness since much of the route is carried out under piles of chairlifts and beside long rows of cannons for artificial snow. Also to avoid to pass back through these plants, it is recommended as we did (myself with Massimo Martini) to outline the white peaks to the South Col Roisetta and return to the head station of the cable through the beautiful path nr. 23. True that, during summer, these plants do not operate and consequently we do not have here very crowded situations, but it is also strange to find at an altituide of lmost three thousand meters ugly buildings scattered everywhere and the roads that intersect the summits of valleys as well, as already mentioned, and the long rows of pillars. In our tour we met almost nobody(except for four hikers English) and was therefore a pleasant surprise to observe a bit of a beautiful wildlife including ibex, seemingly oblivious of our presence, loitering on the road near Lower Col and then disappearing in the direction of Becca Carrè on a spit of snow.
On the top there was a statue of the Madonna. We have found it broken, his head secured to a stone near a stick in stone metal with three tipss and the trunk thrown to the ground just ahead. We do not know whether this was an act of vandalism or lightning, or other.
Description
Just outside the station of the cabin you are in a vast basin bordered to the east by Becca d'Aran, the two peaks of Mount Roisetta and the Grande Sometta at left. Direction North are the three peaks of Motta Pletè and of Becco del Pio Merlo. In front is rather beautiful the view of the Grandes Murailles and the Dent d'Herens with its southern slope, the crest Albertini.
This vast grassy plateau is crossed by many roads and dotted with ski lifts for winter skiing. After a few meters (signs) take the road to the left (signposted No 20) by ignoring the path n. 23 to the right that we will use during the retour back. The road starts to climb with a regular slope and goes far in the branch of a valley directly towards the Grande Sometta which already appears from here as an elegant pyramid, walking next to some buildings and constantly accompanied by snow cannons, which are continuing at regular intervals and under the piers of the Lower Col chairlift to the Cime Bianche. After about a half hour climb with a few turns, at a junction you take a path marked on the left (numbers 20 and 21, indications for the Colle Superiore delle Cime Bianche) and follow it in grass and rocks. A little further on, keep right on No 21 (the 20 goes to the Colle superiore) and continue the climb, steeper at times, keeping always on the left side of the valley and not far from the chairlift and also from the road that goes towards the hill.
This brings us to the Lower Col. The place would be great if it were not for the arrival station of the chairlift and other facilities and buildings that can be seen now on the Ayas side (in the distance can notice the head of the cable car station of Plateau Rosà too) that make it a little false and without charm that, in the absence of human intervention, surely it would offer. We stand now in a vaste area of debris with the view that opens onto the Gobba di Rollin, the Valley of Cortoz and the peaks of the Valle d'Ayas. In the distance the lakes of the Cime Bianche. To the right lies, quite elegant and turreted, the Becca Carre, the second of the Cime Bianche.
After mounting onto the horizontal roof of the chairlift station and earning the start of the crest of Sometta with a short steep section on a little slippery terrain, we start to follow an itinerary always pretty obvious, not marked but only with some small stoned "ometti" continuing then on the track and passing a first rounded, grassy hill. At the top of it let's follow a short flat stretch, and see the the Great Sometta final "castle" with its geological structure in layers, hence the mixed terrain of grass and rocks, debris at the end, it becomes more than a rough scree in which the path continues to meander without particular difficulty. Thus we arrive at the foot of a rock band more clearly crossed by ribs to be overcome with a traverse of about ten meters from right to left in the direction of an obvious "ometto"(this is the more "difficult" passage of the ascent.) Meanwhile, it appears, in all its majesty, the Matterhorn. The track goes more steeply and wins the remaining altitude with a few turns. The terrain is a bit arduous, but the socket is always secure enough to the summit which is reached without further difficulty to the big "ometto" at whose feet, as already mentioned, lies the statue of the Madonna.
After the dutiful stay on the top you retrace your steps to the Lower Col from where you descend a short slope on the Ayas versant in the direction of another station plant, just below. Looking towards the lake, then we must search for the beginning of route 6A (indicated on the map mentioned in the bibliography). Effectively we were not able to find it, for sure there are no poles indicator of its start even though, intuitively and by comparing the map itself, we found some tracks and even the yellow signs and arrows (without number). In practice, we proceed to the Lake Roisetta and run along the left bank (looking) slightly raised on it. With a steady descent (in the meantime we had walked around the base of the Becca Carrè and were approaching that of the Pointe South) you will come in a landslide area of large rocks. The few signs lead back up towards the end of the base of the Pointe South, and with a long traverse on a slight slope, leading almost to the height of the Col south of Roisetta that is reached with a long-last climb on grassy slopes. The Col lies between the Cima Bianca Roisetta and the Pointe South in a very suggestive environment. The rugged crest of Roisetta in front and the softer curve, with tufts of grass in the direction of Pointe South form a harmonious whole. The place is rocky, almost lunar ... Large view on the Ayas Valley, just below, the vast rocky valley, an ephemeral lake. Many ibex that are on the hill are on ... guard!
At the Col the signs (No.23) can be found immediately: they will take us back to the station of La Salette. The descent is at first in a vast basin with stone, very impressive even for the looming walls to the left and the wide view in front of the rocky chains dividing Valtournenche and Valpelline: in the foreground stand out the Monte Pancherot with the Window Cignana, the area of Rifugio Perucca-Vuillermoz and the Chateau des Dames with the Grandes Murailles. The tracks advances in the stony ground with a diagonal to the left and then down to the bottom of the basin, following the signs and cairns, climb in a short gully to gain a rib across the basin from which a further short climb leads to a grassy ridge on the waterfront overlooking the arrival area of the cable. Follow it to the right for a few meters and then you leave with a rapid descent to the right. The trail drops steeply with a few turns on the grassy ground again (here we also observed several edelweiss) and ends into a natural road nearby a restaurant. Go to the right passing near an old and ruined pasture and with a few minutes walk you are back to the starting point.
Author
- Check all the excursionism reports of Giovanni Consigli
- Check all the excursionism reports ofMassimo Martini
- Check the page ofGiovanni Consigli
- Check the page ofMassimo Martini
Bibliography
- Marco Soggetto: Le vette della Val d'Ayas L'Escursionista Editore, 2008
Cartography
- 7 - Valtournenche, Monte Cervino, Val d’Ayas ovest 1:25.000, L'Escursionista Editore, 2009
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