Valdobbiola Pass (2635m), trail 9A

from Schenébiel to Valdobbiola pass

The memorial stone with date 1767 at Valdobbiola Pass, 2636m

Trail 9A starts from Schenébiel and arrives at Valdobbiola Pass (2635m). It is 1603m long and the total positive elevation gain is 318m.
The approximate time for the climb is 0h58. The trail is rated EE difficulty.

The Valdobbiola and Alpetto passes are located at the end of a valley above the hamlet of Rong that forks in a Y shape, culminating in these two passes that are separated from each other by the long rocky spur of the Cresta Rossa (2986m)

They are both little-used passes from ancient times, because to get to Valsesia it was much more convenient to go over the Valdobbia Pass along Trail 11.

The path up to the two passes is number 9, at first in common between the two destinations: having reached the hut of Schenébiel (2318 meters), Trail 9 continues to the left and leads to Alpetto Pass, while the short Trail 9A, which is described on this page, starts to the right.

For directions to the Schenébiel hut, read the page on Trail 9.

Both 9 and 9A are almost always well-traveled but very little-used trails: the little valley of Valdobbiola is very isolated, cramped and precipitous, and the feeling of openness you get as soon as you get to Valdobbiola Pass, which, on the other hand, is very wide, is remarkable. There is a memorial stone there with a date of 1767, identical to the one found at the Valdobbia Pass (which can be reached from Valdobbiola via a direct trail-not yet described on this site-which is part of the Valsesian trails).

From Valdobbiola Pass you can continue towards the Cresta Rossa following the Valsesia Trail 1B, ascending to a vent at 2860m, from which you can descend to Alpetto Pass, and from there continue downhill to Schenébiel, from where you return on Trail 9 of the outward journey. The connection between the two passes is nontrivial, although well marked: you have to know your way around steep, crumbling slopes.

More information on level of difficulty, ascent times, maps and GPX tracks

Photo Gallery

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One of the streams encountered in Schenébiel

The junction of 9 and 9A at Schenébiel, 2318m

The trail ascends to the left side of the valley

Valdobbiola Pass, looking toward the Valsesian side

The beginning of the route to the Bocchetta, you go up this valley by standing on the left

The Bocchetta now close, and the ridge continuing to the Cresta Rossa

From the Bocchetta we descend to the Alpettto Pass.

1. Start and finish

Trail 9A starts from the Schenébiel alpine pasture, the elevation is 2318m.
See on Google Maps.

Latitudine e longitudine (WGS84 - EPSG 4326): 45.7988206429, 7.84926239312

The arrival location is Valdobbiola Pass. The altitude is 2635m.
See on Google Maps.

Latitudine e longitudine (WGS84 - EPSG 4326): 45.795695226, 7.86342918743

2. The route

Arriving at the secluded Schenébiel hut via trail 9…

Schenébiel hut, 2318m

….si is just beyond a fork in the road: to the left, Trail 9 continues to Alpetto Pass, going straight up instead to Valdobbiola Pass .

The junction of 9 and 9A at Schenébiel, 2318m

The two passes and the small valleys leading to them are separated by the rocky spur that descends from the Cresta Rossa.

The trail first heads to the right, ascending a secondary ridge.

The beginning of the trail 9a

After that it turns to the left, crossing an isolated little valley…

The trail ascends to the left side of the valley

…passing several rather gentle steps interspersed with glacial lakes.

One of the glacial lakes encountered on the way up

In a short time, and rather unexpectedly, the environment opens up and thus we arrive at Valdobbiola Pass (2365m).

The Valdobbiola Pass, 2635m

(It always strikes me to see that they went to the head in writing “Valdobbiola.”)

Valdobbiola Pass, looking toward the Valsesian side

Junction with Alpetto Pass (2774m)

Instead of returning along the outward path, an interesting variation is the return from Alpetto Pass, which is reached by ascending from Valdobbiola Pass to a Bocchetta at 2860m. The route is well marked but not trivial: you must know your way around steep, crumbling slopes, and expect to cross isolated snowfields present even in late June (the following photos were taken in mid-June 2021).

The following image, from Google Earth, schematizes the route one needs to take to reach the connecting vent with Alpetto Pass.

The connecting trail is 1B and is part of the Piedmont trails, so it is marked with yellow and red bolts. The vignettes are frequent and quite obvious, although they blend in very well among the rocks of the place, so great care must be taken to always spot the next one before continuing. In this extremely rocky environment, it is not so easy to find a path on your own, so it is better to rely on the safe trail indicated by the colored vignettes.

The beginning of the trail, you go up this valley by standing on the left

It happens to where we climb decidedly landslidey rocky gullies, but we never have vertiginous precipices behind us, so they can be tackled without too much worry.

One of the rocky gullies to be climbed

You soon come in sight of the vent notch.

The nozzle now close, and the ridge continuing to the Cresta Rossa

Upon reaching the vent (2860m), a signpost indicates the direction to descend to Alpetto Pass.

La Bocchetta, 2860m

From the Bocchetta, the descent to Alpetto Pass is direct and well-plotted. The following image, from Google Earth, gives an idea of the route to be taken.

The path downhill is fairly smooth, but it is very friable in places, so you have to keep paying attention to where you put your feet.

Downhill to the Alpetto Pass

After several turns and stone crunches (be careful in case someone is climbing), we finally arrive at Alpetto Pass (2774m), which is much more cramped than the wide Valdobbiola Pass.

Alpetto Pass, 2774m

From Alpetto Pass, we then return to the valley following trail 9.

3. The GPX track

This is the map of the trail, according to the SCT Trail Cadastre of the Aosta Valley.

Download the trail in GPX format

4. A recent hike

26/6/2021

I walked this trail on June 26, 2021, going up to Valdobbiola Pass and coming down from Alpetto Pass.

The only thing to note is that I lost my way at the beginning, at a point I indicate in the GPX track below. You have to be extremely careful at that point, because there is an arrow on the path that you can hardly make out, and if you don’t see it, you are headed for an old path that ends in nothingness. I returned to the “normal” trail by trudging up very steep grassy slopes, searching for it via the map loaded on my phone (which unfortunately I had checked too late).

The inconspicuous arrow to the left (I went straight!).

Although it was late June, as can be seen from the photos on this page I still found snowfields in the passage from Valdobbiola Pass to Alpetto Pass. No particular problem, they crossed without too much trouble.

Download the trail in GPX format