Starting point: Borgata Chesta 1,369 m – Municipality of San Damiano

Highest point: Colle Birrone 1,700 m

Walking time: 2.5–3 hours

Exposure: South / Southwest

Route type: out and back

Route

Start by leaving your car in the small parking lot in the hamlet of Chesta (altitude 1369 m). Parking is quite limited and can accommodate about ten cars.

From the parking lot, take the small road that climbs through the village. Follow it until you turn right, passing near a votive pillar. From here, continue climbing for about fifty meters through the open meadows ahead until you reach the forest road used for hiking in the summer.

Once you reach the road, turn right and follow it as it climbs at a very gentle gradient through the woods. The track continues gradually uphill through a beautiful mixed forest of broadleaf and coniferous trees. You then reach a section where the road makes a sharp left turn and, shortly after, passes to the right of a small group of well-maintained huts (about 1500 m altitude). From this point, you can start to catch a glimpse of the col that is the destination of the hike.

After passing the huts, the road makes another sharp right turn. You need to keep following the main road, even though the open ridges ahead might tempt you to go straight: these actually lead toward the Rio Chesta.

After another sharp left turn, Colle Birrone appears clearly ahead of you. Reach it by continuing to follow the road, which keeps climbing at a moderate gradient.

From the col, the view suddenly opens up wide and spectacular. Ahead, the scene is dominated by the imposing silhouette of Monviso, rising isolated with its characteristic rocky pyramid, offering one of the most evocative viewpoints in the area. On clear days, the view stretches across much of the head of the valley, the peaks of Val Varaita, and the gentle wooded slopes descending toward the valley floor. In winter, with the snowy slopes and high-altitude silence, Colle Birrone becomes a particularly rewarding panoramic balcony.

Return via the same route as the ascent back to the hamlet of Chesta.

ATTENZIONE: L’escursionismo invernale, come tutte le attività outdoor, è potenzialmente pericoloso.

Occorre essere adeguatamente attrezzati e saper utilizzare il dispositivo di ricerca ARTVA.

For information on snow conditions and avalanche risk, please consult the AINEVA bulletin: https://bollettini.aineva.it/bulletin/latest

Per le previsioni meteo: www.arpa.piemonte.it/bollettino/previsioni-meteorologiche