At the end of August, we are in the Gran Paradiso on the plateau of Nivolet about 2500m high, one of my favorite places in the Italian Alps. We're staying at the refugio Savoia. Today we walk through the 2800m high Grand Collet to Pont, end station in the valley of Valsavarenche and back to the Savoia hut of course. A day trip in our paradise.

First we climb to the Grand Collet, along the way we cross a large group of grazing ibex. Not so surprising in this oldest European nature reserve, where these animals have been protected for many years, and they seem to know that too. They haven't been really afraid of people, and sometimes they look like a bunch of grazing cows. The hill is easy to reach and in the descent we enjoy the special vegetation

Arnica, Aconitum and other plants
We find the last flowering Arnica plants on peat soil, a place where they belong according to the flora. I harvest some ripe seed and put it in the net pocket of my tractor pants, where they can air and dry at the same time. Arnica montana or Falperwort, as its name says, is a herb against the effects of falling, and thus completely in place in the mountains. Really a wonderful remedy for bruises and sprains, but one with instructions for use. Fresh, the flowers can cause skin irritation for sensitive persons, so always test carefully or use diluted with water or oil.

You descend further, near a mountain stream I find a Sedum species with yellow to red flowers, a kind of Sky Key. Could this be the Rhodiola rosea I'm looking for? This succulent plant has become known as adaptogen in recent years and so I would like to see a reinforcing herb in person. The Rhodiola root smells like rose water and so I try to scratch the roots to sniff up the scent. Unfortunately, I only smell wet, humus-rich soil smell! Or something of roses? Doubt remains.

Further in the descent we find the poisonous, but oh so magical Veratrums and Aconitums, plants that are often used as homeopathic remedies. So fresh and undiluted, certainly not to eat, unless you want to put an end to your life personally, and I certainly don't intend to do that right now.

The aconite in blue bloom always looks venerable, but appearances deceive under its monks-appearance, he hides strongly acting alkaloids, which bring up our brain and heart lower. Two grams of root internally can already be lethal, and even the juice on the skin can already cause symptoms of poisoning. The Hellebore, Veratrum album is his ecological brother in this nutrient-rich, moist biotope, an equally stately but also dangerous plant, which used to make a lot of people quite ill. The mistakenly harvesting of the Sneeroot instead of the innocent Yellow gentian was often the cause of these poisonings. The result was that we received a poisonous liqueur, which is much less beneficial for the stomach and intestines.

But we are still in the Gran Paradiso, still not sick or sick and on our way to Pont. A group of heavily loaded Dutchmen starts this heavy climb and as much as I like to tour the mountains myself, yet I'm glad I don't have to go upstairs. In Pont we enjoy a nice beer, always a heavenly delight after a good effort. Would we only make these heavy physical efforts to enjoy the extra?


Back to the Savoia Hut
And 'enjoy' we can and must soon again, because after descending it rises to reach our place of residence the Savoia Hut. It is a beautiful, wide and familiar path, at first still in the shade of trees and shrubs, but then above the tree line in the heat of the open plain. Halfway the climb we keep our break at the Jesus Cross with on the other side the real Mr Gran Paradiso in his own form. The mountains are sacred to me, but as far as I'm concerned they do not become more sacred by the placing of crystal crosses and madonna statues.

The second part of the climb is less steep, you already walk on the plateau of Nivolet, zigzagging between rocks and wetlands covered with the fairytale, fluffy woolgrass. The biotope is not only suitable for hikers, but especially the ideal terrain for chubby marmots, who have eaten up to start their hibernation. At the end our home base is already looming, a little more effort and then we can do our good again with the tasty, greasy cuisine of the Savoia. We will hopefully not be as fat as marmots and we will not hibernate here either. Though hibernating here, I'd like to try.

#bergen #wandelen #Alpen #wandelenmetmaurice #mauriceindebergen