From Campo Moro to Rifugio Bignami
We drive up the right-hand branch of the Valmalenco to the Campo Moro reservoir and leave the car in the parking areas at the far end of the lake (about m2050).
From here we head for the right-hand wall of the gigantic Alpe Gera dam. At its base, a walkway clinging to the dam itself takes us up to the top. From here we can already take in the whole hike: Rifugio Bignami opposite us, surrounded by the icefall of the Fellaria, and the little huts of Alpe Gembré at the far end of the lake.
We cross the dam, then climb diagonally up the NE ridge of Sasso Moro until we reach Rifugio Bignami (m2401, 1.30h).
The Luigi Marson glacier trail (optional)
North of Rifugio Bignami we can venture into a network of paths that take us close to the Fellaria glaciers, battered by global warming and pushed ever higher. There are 3 routes (A, B and C), maintained by the Servizio Glaciologico Lombardo under the name Sentiero Glaciologico Luigi Marson; route C is the most spectacular, because it leads to the famous glacial lake (about m2600, 2 hours or so for the whole route) that formed a few years ago as the glacier retreated.
Here the end of the Fellaria drops into the waters of a small lake, creating an atmosphere similar to the Iceberg Lagoon in Iceland. The ice here has been cut off for years from the main tongue of the Fellaria, which we can see peering over the rock step above us; this means that, with nothing feeding it, this mass of ice will not last long (so it is best to visit this little lake before it is too late).
The circuit of Lago di Alpe Gera
Back at Rifugio Bignami, most people return to the car the same way, but it is worth going round the lake (only a little longer). We descend to Alpe Gembré, passing below some waterfalls, then return on the level to the dam, on a route with short tunnels and passages through the rock. With the loop closed at the dam, we cross back over the footbridge we used in the morning.
