2-Tagestour T4, Steinbockweg -Scalettahütte-Fuorcla da Lavaz

Day 1: We enjoy the morning freshness and distract ourselves in Val Cristallina with conversations about "God and the world" from the monotony of the first four kilometers of road. At the water catchment in Val Uffiern we change to the hiking trail towards Lago Retico and the landscape begins to become more and more interesting. We pass the hut Stavel dil Laiets, where sheep and goats graze, a little later we cope with the upswing up to the Laiets. A little later we reach Lago Retico, whose shore is interspersed with sanded rocks.  

On a grass ridge we continue uphill to the rocky ridge of the Sasso Lanzone. We are located on the Sentiero Stambecchi, the Capricorn Way. Before we reach the ridge, it becomes quite steep, the path is partly secured with chains. On the ridge we are surprised by the deep view of the other side of the valley, the Val Uffiern with the Lago Uffiern. Carefully we put our feet over the ridge until it goes back down to the side towards Passo Uffiern. We can already see the Scalettahütte on the opposite side of the valley, but there are still a few hundred meters of altitude difference to the valley floor. Once at the bottom, we mobilize the last forces for the counter-ascent to the hut. The anticipation of a fine dinner inspires us enormously. After dinner we are visited by Capricorns. The animals dare almost to the terrace in front of the hut.

Day 2: Behind the hut we cross the rushing Brenno della Greina and follow it on a white/blue marked path to the Piano della Greina. The stony path is still in the shade and again and again large boulders block the direct passage until we come back to the sun and a signpost points us to the right on the Arco Greina, a 15 meter long natural stone arch. After a photo stop, we continue our tour on the opposite bank of the stream. For a while we still have fragrant soil, flowers and grasses under and next to our shoes but soon it becomes barren and rocky. At point 2496, the mountain range is reflected in a small lake, when we look north we see that we have to hike over larger snowfields to Fuorcla Sura da Lavaz.

Once at the top, a cool wind blows around our noses, we are close to glaciers. When descending over the glacier, white/blue markings on large stones indicate the direction. We always keep slightly to the left of the center of the glacier. Knee-friendly, we quickly lose altitude on summer ridge, and we head for the emerald green glacier lake at the lower end of the glacier. It is a nice place to take a break. The following section over larger and smaller boulders requires a lot of sure-footedness and concentration until we reach the Val Lavaz. Here, too, a counter-ascent of 350 meters in altitude to the Medelserhütte awaits us. Step by step we approach the hut where we treat ourselves to another break.

The last section of the tour we master on the first still stony hut access. At Alp Sura it gets more leisurely and we can let our soul and legs dangle a little until we reach Curaglia.

If you have parked the car in Val Cristallina at the beginning, take the Postbus in the direction of lukmanierpass to the stop in Pardatsch.

Take binoculars with you. We hike through Capricorn territory.

Day 1: From the Postbus stop Pardatsch in Val Medel we follow the road into Val Cristallina. At the end of the road, a signpost points us uphill to Passo Cristallina and Lago Retico. It has no branches on the way. On the southern side of the lake we find the next signpost. Now we follow the markings in an easterly direction. The Sentiero Stambecchi was marked white/blue until a few years ago. But now it is painted white/red and the path corresponds to a T3 on the trekking scale.  The path leads us up to the stony ridge Sasso Lanzone and back down to the Passo Uffiern. From there it goes over meadows to Pian Geireth. As soon as we have reached the valley floor we follow the hut access to the Scalettahütte

Day 2: Behind the hut, after the stream, we find a signpost. A blue sign points us along the stream to a plain where the Greina arch is located on the right. Here we cross the stream in a northerly direction.  In the upper area, the path is less and less visible, which is why we always focus on the white/blue markings. This is how we reach the Fuorcla sura da lavaz. Continuing to follow the markings, we descend to about point 2200. Through a small valley we now ascend towards Medelserhütte. After the first ascent follows a flatter part, after which it goes steeply upwards again. From the hut we follow the well-marked hut access to Curaglia.