Cima di Sassello (CH) - 1 899 meters
Nr 34
This was the 2nd peak on todays 3 summit hike (Sassariente, Cima di Sassello, Madonetto).
We took the south-western route up coming from Sassariente following path 1702 explained in the official guides of the CAS (Swiss Alpine Club), page 456 of the 2nd volume (Guida delle alpi ticinesi, dal Cristallina al Sassariente).
Basically the whole path from one mountain to the other follows a ridge on which a long stonewall has been placed, built by Polish people which were interned during World War 2 named Muro dei Polacchi (see pictures below).
As we did it mid-november with a bit of snow, it was far more difficult and dangerous than it would have been on a normal day in summer (probably even the most risky one of the 34 summits I've done so far)
In fact, the hike got quite tricky on the more exposed sections as the ground was covered in ice (sixth picture below, believe me it's far more steep than it seems).
The view is more than breathtaking, on one side there is the lake of Locarno and on the other side you see the first higher summits of the Lepontine Alps coming from south.
Level: T4- (it would be a T3 on a normal day without ice as in the end there really is no clear path and some sections are exposed and steep).
With Kartin
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