There is a point where Val Formazza stops being a valley
And it simply becomes a mountain.
Rock shaped by the wind, spires, water, glaciers and large spaces where the presence of man seems almost a detail. This is the Val Formazza we seek in the new tour of Mingus Matera: the highest, most severe and fascinating, where the Walser culture has left a mark that can still be seen today in the houses, the mountain pastures and in an ancient way of inhabiting the mountains.
And then there is it, companion of a thousand adventures: the two-wheeler.
Whether you're powered or assisted, it doesn't matter. There are days when the bicycle is primarily a tool for going further, gaining altitude and reaching places where nature seems to have had fun overdoing it with its charms.
Alpe Vannino is one of these.
You climb from Canza, slowly leave the valley floor behind you and enter an environment that changes bend after bend, until the blue appears.
It's Lake Vannino.
And at that point it comes naturally to stop.
From Canza upwards
Our journey begins at Sing, at around 1.400 metres above sea level, one of the highest settlements in the Formazza Valley and one of the testimonies of the Walser presence in the valley.
Here, the ancient larch wood buildings still testify to man's adaptation to a land where, for centuries, living meant intimate knowledge of snow, forests, pastures, and the seasons. The village also bears a painful legacy from its recent history: in 1951, an avalanche struck the town, causing several deaths.
It is from here that we set off on the long track that climbs towards the Vannino.
The direction is that of Alpe Vannino and the Margaroli Refuge.
It's not a climb to be taken lightly.
The first switchbacks gain altitude through the woods, and the slopes, in some places, require a lot of endurance and control. With an e-bike, they become more accessible, but not trivial: the terrain, gradient, and endurance still recommend riding experience and good battery management.
Once you get past the first part, the landscape begins to open up.
The forest gradually gives way to the valley, and the mountain changes face. The trail crosses the long Vannino plateau, skirting the stream, and continues toward the upper part of the valley. It's one of those moments when you understand why we came all this way: the noise of the valley floor is now distant, and ahead remain water, pastures, and rock faces.
Margaroli and that feeling of having arrived elsewhere
Then the track rises again.
Just a little more effort and, 2.194 meters, we reach the Eugenio Margaroli Refuge.
Its location is extraordinary: it stands on a knoll overlooking the Vannino basin, in one of the magnificent scenery of the upper Formazza. The current refuge was built by volunteers from the Domodossola CAI section and inaugurated in 1980; it is dedicated to the memory of mountain guide Eugenio Margaroli.
It's a point of arrival, certainly.
But looking at the map you immediately understand that it can above all be a starting point.
From here, the mountains continue in every direction. Towards lakes, passes, alpine pastures, and itineraries that push even higher, into that middle ground typical of the upper Formazza region where distances seem to expand and, often, only nothingness remains to accompany us.
A nothingness that is anything but empty.
It is made of wind, water, silence and light.
And in front of the refuge there is the Vannino.
Lake Vannino, a blue lake at 2.177 meters
Lake Vannino is located in 2.177 meters of altitude and is dominated by the Vannino Towers.
The view is powerful.
The water changes color with the sky: azure, deep blue, sometimes almost metallic when clouds roll in. The irregular geometry of the mountains encloses the basin and evokes that sensation typical of great Alpine lakes: having arrived in a place separated from the rest of the world.
But what we see today is not just the result of nature.
The Vannino was originally a natural lake. At the beginning of the twentieth century it was transformed into a hydroelectric reservoir through the construction of a dam, built between the 1917 and 1921According to available historical data, the dam is approximately 120 meters long and 23 meters high, bringing the reservoir's capacity to approximately 9,54 million cubic meters of water.
When mountain water became energy
To truly understand Vannino, we must also look at it through the eyes of those who, more than a century ago, saw a gigantic reserve of energy in the water of the Alpine valleys.
The dam transformed the natural lake into a reservoir for hydroelectric production.
Its waters feed the system connected to the Ponte power plant and water from other high-altitude lakes, including the Sruer, also known as Obersee, and the Busin Inferiore, are also conveyed into the basin.
It is one of the most interesting aspects of the Formazza landscape.
Up here, nature and engineering have coexisted for over a hundred years. The design of the reservoirs, conduits, and dams recounts a period in which Alpine water became a fundamental resource for energy production.
And Vannino perfectly preserves this double soul.
On one side the mountains and glaciers of the Arbola group, whose waters feed this system of lakes and glacial shelves; on the other one of the great works with which man has learned to use that same water.
You don't go around the lake. And it's almost better that way.
Once you reach Vannino, the temptation is to complete the loop around the basin.
By bike, however, a true complete tour of the lake is not the goal of this excursion.
Our trail instead continues along the path that allows us to change perspective and get closer to the wildest part of the basin.
It's time to slow down.
Here, the bike once again ceases to be just a means of covering miles. It becomes a pretext for exploration.
As we move away from the dam, the Margaroli changes position behind us, and the lake takes on new shapes. Moving just a few hundred meters is enough for the photograph to be completely different.
And this is perhaps the best way to get to know Vannino.
Don't conquer it.
Look at it.
The Vannino stream and the long water road
There is also a geographical detail that is worth focusing on.
The watercourse which takes the name of Vannino stream is the lake's emissary, not its main tributary. From the basin, it flows downstream until it joins the Toce River at Valdo. The lake instead collects water from the upper basin, including that flowing from the overlying Lake Sruer/Obersee.
It's a small detail, but it tells the whole journey well.
The water we see motionless in front of the Vannino Towers is, in fact, only apparently still.
It comes from the snow, glaciers, and upper lakes. It enters the great hydroelectric system. It resumes its course toward the valley floor.
And the journey continues.
Then you have to go back
Sooner or later the time comes to turn the bike around.
We return to Margaroli, find the trail again and begin to lose all the altitude gained during the climb.
But the descent is not simply the journey in reverse.
The perspective constantly shifts. What was behind us during the climb now fills our gaze. The valley opens up before the wheel, the forest draws closer again, and, bend after bend, signs of human presence reappear.
Up to Canza.
The same one we started from.
Yet something has changed.
Because there are hikes we remember for their kilometers, others for their elevation gain, and still others for their difficulty.
Vannino belongs to another category.
It's one of those places we remember for a color.
That blue encountered at over two thousand meters, after a long climb, when in front of the wheel the Val Formazza stopped being a valley and became, simply, a mountain.
Route sheet
Itinerary: Canza – Alpe Vannino – Margaroli Refuge – Lake Vannino – Return to Canza
Departure: Canza, Formazza Valley
Margaroli Refuge altitude: 2.194 m
Lake Vannino altitude: 2.177 m
Type: roundtrip
Background: mainly agricultural-forestry-pastoral/dirt track on the main climb, with more challenging sections
Recommended bike: e-MTB; possible with a full-suspension MTB for trained cyclists
Features: long climb, significant gradients in some areas, high mountain environment
Panoramic point: Lake Vannino and the Margaroli Refuge area
Attention: Ground and weather conditions in the high mountains can change rapidly. The route requires adequate equipment, autonomy, and riding skills.
