Monte Castellermo 1092m, P337m  - photo Filippo Ceragioli

Bagging the Roots of the Alps

In north-west Italy, between Piedmont and Liguria, the Alps meet the Apennines at Colle di Cadibona (or "Bocchetta di Altare").  The first part of the Alpine chain, named "the Ligurian Prealps" or "Eastern Ligurian Alps" (in Italian “Prealpi Liguri” or “Alpi Liguri Orientali”), is quite unusual, when compared with the rest of the Alps.

Squeezed between the Italian Riviera and the Po Plain, from almost every summit the Mediterranean Sea can be seen, and even during the coldest winters snow is not likely to last more than a few weeks.  The Ligurian Prealps stretch from Colle di Cadibona (459m) to Colle di Nava (934m), two mountain passes a little less than 50 km away as the crow flies.  The highest summit is Monte Armetta (1739m, P805m), and just a handful of peaks are higher than 1500m.  Many of the summits are crossed by footpaths, and only a few of them involve a tricky scramble to be reached.  In short, these mountains are a very interesting playground for peak-baggers without great mountaineering skills, but eager for pleasant walks in a beautiful natural environment.

While the Italian Riviera is an overcrowded area, just a few km from the coast starts a realm of woodland and meadows, sparsely dotted by small villages and isolated farmhouses.  Besides hikers, the area is very popular among mushroom-hunters, and is quite rich in good B&B and small traditional restaurants. 

The Ligurian Prealps count around thirty summits higher than 1000m, with a prominence of at least 100m.  The best times of the year to bag them are spring and autumn, while in winter too it is possible to reach most of the peaks, carrying small crampons or snowshoes in case of snow.  Full summer is instead usually too warm to ensure pleasant hikes in this area.

In the table below I have tried to list all the P100m+ peaks above 1000m in elevation, also reporting some less prominent summits around them.   Almost all the peaks can be reached from the coast with a day-long hike, using a car to reach the trail-head.  

Another good way to bag many of these summits is to walk for a few days on the Prealps’ section of the “Alta Via dei Monti Liguri” (A.V.M.L.), a long trekking route which runs through the Ligurian mountains (Alps and Apennines) from Ventimiglia to La Spezia.  The itinerary is usually well way-marked, and passes over many of the most prominent Pre-alpine summits, also allowing you to reach other mountains with brief diversions. 

Filippo Ceragioli