From the east face of Monte Rosa flows one of the most beautiful glaciers in Italy, remarkable for the length of its tongue, which stretches almost level as far as Rifugio Belvedere. This natural wonder is within everyone's reach by going up to the Belvedere (which can also be reached by chairlift from Macugnaga), and from there the traverse to Rifugio Zamboni-Zappa is a must, as it brings closer contact with the glacier.
From Pecetto di Macugnaga to Rifugio Zamboni Zappa
We drive the whole length of the Valle Anzasca to beyond Macugnaga and stop at Pecetto (m1389). On foot we cross the hamlet and, once at the valley station of the chairlift, start climbing the broad ski runs at a gentle gradient. The route, monotonous and exposed to the hot summer sun, is made pleasant by the view of Monte Rosa, already imposing in front of us. In about 40 minutes from Pecetto we are at the first section of the chairlift, near the Ristorante Paradiso (m1613, 40 minutes).
From here the dirt road gets a little steeper and makes two small hairpins. At this point we either continue on the dirt road that climbs the new run on the right (which takes us to see the northern snout of the Belvedere) or take the path that climbs into the woods. The two routes meet near the Rifugio CAI Saronno (m1822, 45 minutes), from where, again by path or by ski run, we quickly reach the Belvedere (m1932, 15 minutes).
Already, on our left, we can see brown billows: the last offshoots of the glacier. We continue on the level until we reach the glacier; crossing it poses no problem at all, because the ice is entirely covered in debris.
We are soon on the opposite moraine, spectacularly squeezed between the glacier and the side valley. Before long, though, the show is over: the path cuts diagonally across the moraine and heads straight for the plain that is home to Rifugio Zamboni-Zappa (m2070, 45 minutes), which has been visible for some time among the enormous boulders around it.
The Lago Effimero on the Belvedere Glacier
It is worth a short walk of another 30 minutes to see the Lago Effimero, a glacial phenomenon that caused much talk in past years, and Lago delle Locce (m2271, 30 minutes). We cross the little bridge over the stream and immediately turn left; traces of path lead us to the end of the plain, where we climb to a panoramic knoll.
From here what remains of the Lago Effimero is clearly visible: born in 2001 in a hollow created by a glacial collapse on the Belvedere, by 2002 the supraglacial lake had grown so large that it seriously worried the people of the Valle Anzasca: had its 3.000.000 cubic metres of water broken through their banks of ice, they would have razed half the valley to the ground.
The lake was so large and "heavy" (3 million tonnes of water) that even the glacier's movement down the valley had accelerated. That is why in those years, between 2001 and 2015, the glacier below the lake looked particularly bulky, pushed from above by the weight of the lake. You can still see it a little in the photos below: the glacier had come to "fill" the moraines, reaching or even exceeding the height of the moraine, which gave something of the feeling of standing before the Belvedere during the Little Ice Age.
Fortunately, just as people began pumping water out of the basin artificially (a procedure already used on the Rocciamelone), nature gradually emptied it without serious consequences. Today all that remains as evidence of this phenomenon is a pool of water on the surface of the Belvedere.
Lago delle Locce
Lago delle Locce, by contrast, lies enclosed in a hollow reached from the "canyon" behind us. The east face of Monte Rosa, with Punta Gnifetti and Punta Dufour, shows itself here in all its beauty.
The descent to Pecetto follows the same route as the ascent (2:15 hours).
