Vallone di Lourousa: The Highest Walls of Marittime
- Trail Conditions: On foot
- Departure: Terme di Valdieri (1,368m)
- Arrival: Colle del Chiapous (2,526m)
- Duration: 3 hour/s 45 minutes
- Difference in height: 1,150m
Itinerary giving the opportunity to enjoy a spectacular panorama on the north-eastern slope of Corno Stella: a 600m high vertical gneiss wall. Along the foot of the wall, Lourousa glacier, a long gully climbed in 1879 by the American Reverend W.A.B. Coolidge during the first climb to Argentera. Morelli Mountain Hut, an ideal departure point, faces the north-eastern wall of Mt. Stella, that with its one thousand meters is the highest wall of Alpi Marittime. From the Mountain Hut, you can shortly reach Colle del Chiapous, along the watershed with Valle della Rovina, where you can see the big artificial lake of Chiotas.
From the car park downstream the Terme, take the marked mule track crossing rio Lourousa and climbing across the woodland with long and regular hairpin bends. Once you reach the rests of Gias Lagarot (1,917m) and beyond a short projection, you will reach Lagarot di Lourousa. After the junction leading to Varrone bivouac, climb following the trail until you reach Morelli-Buzzi Mountain Hut (2,350m). If you go ahead, you will reach in about half an hour Colle del Chiapous (2,526m).
