Now that we're expert snowshoers and own all our own gear, we're going to the mountains whenever the weather's good. Last weekend we went to Pontebernardo in the Stura Valley. Even though it had snowed the night before, the roads were very clean. We had been worried that we wouldn't be able to get all the way up to Pontebernardo, but it was no problem at all. The roads in Stura Valley are better than in some of the other valleys because it's a main driving route to & from France. In fact, we saw a lot of trucks and plows.
Pontebernardo from above
Anyway, it was us, the pup, our adventure couple friends and their dog again. We parked off the road in Pontebernardo and then we headed up, up, up. One thing you have to know about Pontebernardo: It is up a VERY STEEP hill from the road. Now they are up in the mountains, so the people there know what they're doing. The hill was pretty much clear of snow, but I think it was still the hardest part of our trek.
The snow was perfect. Very soft and fresh. It was at least 2 feet of snow. We followed what, in the summer, is a paved road snaking up the mountain. There is always a concern about avalanche's, but sticking to the road kept us safe. That and we were in the woods pretty much the entire time.
Last time we went we didn't see much wildlife. No animals and only a bird or two. This time was exciting because we saw 7
mountain deer called comoscio in Italian. They were across the valley from us walking straight up the steep, snow covered mountain without problems. I'm sure Davide's fancy camera caught a better picture than this, so I'll exchange it when we get those pictures from him. I also saw some cute little chick-a-dee-type birds. They were flitting around the tops of some pine trees probably eating seeds from the pine cones.
At one point I fell behind everyone else. I'm probably in the worst shape, but also I'm a slow hiker/walker. I like to look around a lot. I was the only one who saw all 5 comoscio in the second group. In the summer I'm always stopping to collect insects & in the winter I'm stopping to look around for deer and birds. But Fabri & Olney waited for me and we all caught up at what must be a summer restaurant and took some photos. That was after about 2 hours of snowshoeing. From there we turned back and headed down to Pontebernardo which took a little less than an hour. Then we went to lunch at the only restaurant in Pontebernardo, the Osteria al Pecora Nera.
Fabri and I had been wanting to try the
Osteria al Pecora Nera since we hiked up there this summer. We made reservations for 4 plus 2 dogs for lunch. They're famous for their Sambuco lamb. Sambuco is a sheep that comes from the Stura Valley and after lunch we got to see them in their barn being sheered. We wanted to try the place because they have an American chef! I don't know how this poor American guy ended up cooking Italian food in the middle of nowhere, but he did a good job. We'll be going back! Then I'll get the chance to ask him how he ended up there.
3 comments:
If you don't get the Adventures in Italy emails check your spam folder, then contact Jess.
Those are really great pictures. You are a very cute family.
We could use some snowshoes around here these days! Of course we don't have those pretty mountains to enjoy.
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