This day marked an important milestone on our journey from the Rhône to the Maggia: the crossing of the Hendar Furggu pass. But before we started the climb to the pass, we followed the bottom of the Pomat along a small, paved road, which was fortunately very little used. We followed it to Stafelwald, or Fondovalle. It is from this small locality that the real adventure begins. Indeed, the trail climbs almost without interruption to the vicinity of the pass.
We started by climbing through the woods while crossing a few streams. It is only at the Alpe Stavello (Alp Stafel on the old maps) that we reached the pastures. At the Alpe Stavello there is a shepherd’s hut. Was this where our protagonists had seen a bottle in front of the hut? They had taken the bottle for a bottle of wine, but it turned out to be nicotine to treat the sheep.
After passing the pasture, we climbed into a steep larch forest where the trail winds its way through the rhododendron thickets. This passage is very steep and leads to an area that is slightly less steep, where a trail branches off to reach the Grossalp via the Guriner Furggu. However, we continued our climb in the direction of the Hendar Furggu.
By following a loop around a kind of ledge, we then reached Lago Superiore, a beautiful mountain lake with black water. Corina Bille believes she read in the Gurin museum that this lake was called Chälisee. If you consult the maps from the last century, it is mentioned as Obersee, which is consistent with the Italian name. The last time I climbed to the Hendar Furggu, I climbed directly the ravine. The new route is much more pleasant.
After the lake, we climbed very steeply up a kind of ridge that leads to a small valley filled with large boulders. We then had to cross these boulders in the best way possible to reach the pass. On the Ticino side, there are also boulders, but they are a bit smaller, and the area is easier to cross than the Italian side.
The descent to Gurin currently follows, contrary to what Corina Bille experienced, well-marked trails, even if the storms of 2024 damaged some small bridges.
Route: Wald (Pomat) – San Michele – Stafelwald – Alpe Stavello – Lago Superiore – Hendar Furggu – Bann – Gurin
Distance: 12.6Km
Elevation gain: 1240m
Duration: 6h30
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