Searching for wolves

After leaving our car in the Praviod Dèsot car park, where the track for Rifugio Chabod starts, we continue on the main road for about 100m towards the first bridge that crosses the Savara torrent on the left. We are in the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park, in Valsavaranche , one km from Pont, destination well-known to mountaineers or ordinary excursionists who are looking for adventure and glory of the climb towards the summit of Gran Paradiso, the highest mountain in Italy at 4061m.

Before crossing the bridge to start our “ciaspolata”, we can admire the north wall of this important summit towering high above us, shaped like a pyramid and so different from the classical view we are used to seeing in postcards. After crossing the river we turn right towards a little abandoned village called Le Pessey that was once lived in all year round. Here we can still see the characteristic building techniques of these valleys, with a ground floor dedicated to domestic animals, usually only a few for each family, a first floor for the living area and the area under the roof as a hay loft. This sequence of floors took advantage of the warmth produced by the animals down below, which, especially during the winter months, rose to the floors above and thanks to the hay remained in the central living area of the house. Stone and wood were the most common materials used, being easily found locally, but also the best for keeping the building warm in winter and cool in summer. In the same way local rocks were used for roofing.  Larch was preferred for woodwork taking advantage of its strength to support the weight of heavy, winter snow falls on the rooves.

Continuing  towards the wood , a little corner of paradise, it’s easy to meet up with foxes, chamois, squirrels and tracks of invisible animals like the white mountain hare or the marten, and with a bit of luck and patience, looking up into the blue sky, see the shape of a golden eagle or  even a bearded vulture! The track will now begin to descend along the side of the mountain as far as the bed of the river passing a little pond on the left that is very often full of red frogs. From here, once having crossed a little meadow, we have the last climb of the day before arriving at Pont Djuan. In front there is the bridge across the Savara in a spectacular position allowing us to return to the other side from where the return journey starts. In about 40 minutes we are back to our starting place, ending our wonderful round circle trip in the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park searching for wolves!