Departure for a night out, 3 of us in the refuge, 2 in tents. I’m in the tent group. We organize a round trip, then we leave a car in Ornica and with the other one we go to Cusio from where we start hiking towards Benigni hut. The hike is not difficult but tiring for the 15 kg backpack, with tent and photographic equipment. The pace is slow but constant and for me the mountain is not a race. I take all the time I need to enjoy it. For lunch, some sandwiches brought from home, a beer from the hut and, having recovered the energy, we leave for the Piazzotti peak, about twenty minutes from the hut. First attempt with the drone that does not go as planned, it has some problems and must therefore be replaced? brought the weight for nothing. Let’s go back to the shelter and look for a place to pitch a tent. It’s Saturday and it’s crowded, the shelter is full and there are already several tents mounted. Yet we find a panoramic terrace, flat and with soft grass. And other tents had been placed just beside the path on the rocks. We set up our tent and enjoy a bit of relaxation until dusk. Aperitif with spelled and dinner with ready risotto and some good wine, all in the clouds. We gather with the boys who were having dinner in the shelter, the grapevine and all out to see the stars after the clouds had gone away. A few shots at the shelter, a chat and then off to the tent. Almost no light pollution except towards the refuge and the bang, the milky way above the tent. Some photographs before going to sleep is a must. It’s about midnight and I put the alarm on to shoot the sunrise. I will wake up in a cloud, with infinite humidity and therefore no photo at dawn. Rest another half hour and then breakfast with sandwich and mortadella. We remove the tent, meet the boys at the shelter and leave for the lace three gentlemen. The boys wanted to take the long path that leads to going back down and up the valley of hell, I would have preferred the variant in altitude even if a little more exposed. None of them notice the crossroads and we take it for my choice. I shut up quietly and I will reveal the thing when it will be too late to go back but the boys will thank me at the end of the day! We arrive at the hellhole and from here we still find some snow, that snow that gives me the charge like a child and even when you can avoid it I pass over it. The snow is soft but already beaten therefore there are few steps that yield. With a slow but steady pace we will reach the summit, a great satisfaction. The descent will be for 106, towards Ornica. About 1500 meters of negative gradient that are felt, especially for heavy backpacks but even more so because the journey is ending and we are going downhill instead of proceeding with another trek.
