ロビランテの絶景の山頂・トップ20

A beautiful stretch of ridge that goes from Cima Rossa to Cima Besimauda. Pay attention to the weather forecast for the risk of thunderstorms. If you hike in the sun, bring water with you, as there are no fountains except at the bottom of the valley. The stretch is challenging but doable with due caution.

great view

The "Dragon's Breath" is a large cavity between the rocks protected by a grill from which a light breath of air comes out. It is a bit hidden, it took me a while to find it. Once you reach the viewpoint you have to go down the steep path marked with the sign for the "Dragon's Breath". As soon as you see a blue sign on the rocks stop going down and take this path on the left, and after a few meters you will reach your destination. On windy days you might not hear this hiss of air coming from the cavity

I do not recommend Cima Pissousa with a MTB. Practically all to be pushed or carried on shoulders. The last stretch is very straight on rocks. On the descent towards Madonna del Colletto it is difficult to pedal. I even lost the track. From the top there is a spectacular 360° view. Recommended on foot

I was really looking forward to going up to the Santuario della Madonna del Colletto. I had been to this area several times and had not had the opportunity to go up here. So on the trip through Piedmont in July 2022 I made sure that the planned route passed through here. We went up the western slope, the one used by the Giro d'Italia when it first went up here in 1999, on the famous stage where the Fauniera was climbed, with the spectacle of Pantani climbing and the stratospheric descent of Paolo Savoldelli. I have to admit that the climb itself is not very attractive. Once you leave the village of Festiona behind, you enter a forest and there are hardly any views over the valley. You can only focus on the road, its curves, straights (which there are) and difficult slopes. The asphalt is old, with a lot of gravel and very uneven, which obviously adds difficulty to the climb. The climb up the western side is 7.1 km, 576 metres of elevation and an average gradient of 8.1%. Therefore, it is very hard!! And there are several sections above 12%, especially in the first kilometres, where the gradient is irregular, with very hard sections and small rest areas. The views of the Valdieri valley from the Sanctuary are very beautiful, and also of all the mountains covered with forests and vegetation in the surroundings. We took advantage of the porch at the entrance to the Sanctuary to take shelter from the sun and the heat, and to stock up on food and eat some spectacular sandwiches. I remember it fondly. Below is the altimetry of the climb published by @cyclingcols, the best in these matters --> http://www.cyclingcols.com/col/Colletto

Rocky peak with a view over the entire Cuneo area

Protected pit from which hot air comes out

Panoramic point, we reached it by making a small detour from the K-Trail