Val Pianella, Rifugio Benigni

A long, scenic mountain bike ride, with plenty of time spent pushing or carrying your bike, but also featuring a beautiful, very long descent through Val Pianella—which, despite its name, has very little that’s actually flat. It’s a very comprehensive route: a long initial climb that’s almost entirely rideable, the Ponteranica Lakes, the Salmurano Pass, a portage through the ravine toward the Benigni Refuge, the climb to the panoramic Cima Piazzotti, and finally the long traverse and descent through the Val Pianella down to Ornica. This isn’t the ride to choose if you want to maximize the percentage of rideable terrain. Here, you’ll have to accept several sections where you’ll need to push your bike, and some sections where you’ll have to carry it on your shoulders. On the other hand, the scenery along the way is truly remarkable, and the second half of the route offers a long, varied, and technical descent that gradually transitions from high-mountain terrain to smoother trails above Ornica.

Ornica - Piani dell’Avaro

The route starts in Ornica, a charming village in the Upper Brembana Valley, where you can easily park your car near the village. The first part is entirely on paved roads and allows you to gain elevation while cycling, with beautiful views of the valley and the surrounding mountains.

Continue until you reach the road to Piani dell’Avaro. Once you arrive at Piani, in front of the Ristorobie, there is a water fountain: it’s a good idea to take advantage of it and stock up on water, because there won’t be any reliable water sources until you reach the Benigni Mountain Hut.

Piani dell’Avaro – Ponteranica Lakes

Leaving the paved road behind, the climb continues first on concrete and then on a dirt road. You can generally stay in the saddle up to an elevation of approximately 1,850 m, although some sections require strong legs and become quite challenging on a mountain bike.

From here, the nature of the ride changes: you start pedaling harder and then carry your bike more often, gradually entering the open high-mountain landscape.

This brings you to the beautiful basin of the Ponteranica Lakes, one of the most scenic spots on the entire route. The lakes lie beneath the cliffs of Monte Valletto, in an open landscape typical of the Orobic Alps.

From here, the route continues toward the Bocchetta di Triomen, at around 2,200 m.

• Triomen Summit: The summit of Triomen can only be reached on foot and offers no particular interest from a cycling perspective.
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• Alternative route to reduce carrying distance: Those wishing to slightly reduce the carrying distance can instead take the trail that bypasses Triomen on the southwestern slope, staying at an elevation of approximately 2,050 m. This allows you to save about 150 meters of uphill carrying.
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Triomen Pass – Salmurano Pass

From the Bocchetta di Triomen, a beautiful view of the Ponteranica Lakes opens up, and the first descent finally begins. The trail isn’t particularly difficult, but it has a lot of loose, gravelly terrain.

Once this first descent is over, continue toward the Salmurano Pass along a traverse that’s not very rideable—you’ll have to push your bike quite a bit again, and there are also some exposed sections.

The short descent leading to the pass starts with difficulty rated roughly S3, then ends with a couple of significantly more challenging sections, rated around S5.

Salmurano Pass – Benigni Gully

From the Salmurano Pass, the trail that stays at the same elevation is difficult to ride and not particularly suitable for MTBs.

A better option is to initially descend about 50 meters along a nice S3 section and then connect to a much easier trail—roughly S1—which allows you to resume riding westward.

However, this respite is short-lived.

Once you reach the base of the distinctive Piazzotti Gully, you’ll face an approximately 80-meter climb with your bike on your shoulder.

The gully isn’t particularly exposed, and the rock is generally solid, but in a couple of spots you’ll need to use your hands as well. With a mountain bike on your shoulders, your movements inevitably become more awkward and require caution.

Even the official hiking guides mark this rocky gully as a section to be traversed with caution, especially when it’s wet. ?cite?turn0search2?

Once you’ve passed through the gully, you can continue directly along the route or add the climb to the Benigni Mountain Hut, tackling another 120 meters of elevation gain, mostly by pushing the bike or carrying it on your shoulders.

Benigni Mountain Hut and Cima Piazzotti

Once you’ve made it this far, it’s definitely worth heading to the Benigni Mountain Hut at 2,222 m.

And, above all, I recommend not stopping at the refuge.

Just above it lies Cima Piazzotti Occidentale (2,349 m), which can be reached via a short detour.

From the refuge, head toward Lago Piazzotti and follow the trail that climbs toward the cross. It’s only about 127 meters of additional elevation gain, and the summit can be reached on foot without any particular difficulty.

Cima Piazzotti is truly well worth the effort.

After all the effort it took to get this far, it would be a shame to skip it just to save a few minutes.

The view from the summit is exceptional and much more expansive than one might expect based on the elevation alone: on clear days, the view stretches across the Orobie Alps and toward the great Alpine ranges of Valtellina. The Benigni area offers views toward Masino-Bregaglia, Disgrazia, and Valmalenco, as well as, of course, the surrounding mountains. ?cite?turn0search1?turn0search4?

It’s a detour that adds little to the hike in terms of effort but a great deal in terms of experience.

From Benigni toward Val Pianella

Back in the area of the mountain hut, follow the suggested route and take the trail heading west.

The first part still requires a few sections where you’ll have to push your bike, and in the central section, rideability remains limited.

However, you’ll also encounter some beautiful rock sections—some of them exposed—that foreshadow the technical nature of the second half of the route.

A possible alternative is to descend via the trail used during the ascent: it offers some nice technical sections and then allows you to climb back up about 100 meters using an easier trail on the western slope.

In both cases, expect a few more short sections where you’ll have to push your bike.

You’ll pass beneath the Bocchetta di Val Pianella and finally reach the start of the long descent.

From here, the day changes completely.

First part of Val Pianella ? S3/S4

The first 250 meters or so of descent are probably not the most exciting part of the run.

The terrain is very uneven, making it difficult to maintain a smooth ride.

S3 and S4 sections alternate, with unstable terrain that requires caution and a good ability to read the line.

Once you’ve lost a bit of elevation, however, the trail quality improves significantly.

The surface becomes more compact, and a nice mix begins between technical sections—including several S4 sections—and much smoother stretches where you can finally let the bike roll.

It’s here that Val Pianella truly begins to make all the portage from the first half of the day worthwhile.

Baita Val Pianella and technical traverse

Once you reach the Baita Val Pianella area, you’ll cross a few streams.

Under normal conditions, these streams also offer the first opportunity to find water again after the Benigni area, although the availability and quality of the water naturally depend on the season.

The trail then continues along the hillside.

The difficulty generally remains aroundS3, with numerous technical sections spread out along the traverse.

These challenges are fairly continuous but never overwhelming: a great All-Mountain ride where you need to work with your bike without venturing into the extreme terrain found on other routes.

Continue in this manner until you reach a major fork in the trail.

Alternatives toward Ornica

From this point, there are several options.

One option allows you to connect to the beautiful descent from the Salmurano Pass.

If you follow the suggested route instead, you’ll continue on a trail that’s initially loose and technical.

You’ll need a little more patience.

As you lose more elevation, the terrain changes completely, and a spectacular “superflow” section begins.

After hours of climbing, portages, and technical trails, this is probably one of the most enjoyable moments of the day: the route becomes fast, intuitive, and finally allows you to ride with great continuity.

Over the final 400–500 meters of elevation loss, the difficulty gradually decreases to S2/S1, making the finish much more relaxing than the upper section.

Return to Ornica

Above Ornica, there are several options for finishing the ride.

The route taken by this trail descends along the classic mule trail.

It’s a pleasant and practical way to head straight back to the village, even if it’s probably not the part of the day that will leave the strongest impression.

You finally reach Ornica and return comfortably to the parking lot.

Val d’Inferno Alternative Route

A very interesting variation on this same loop is the return route through Val d’Inferno.

It allows you to completely change the character of the final section while keeping much of the spectacular upper route the same.

It’s therefore worth considering as an alternative to Val Pianella for those who are already familiar with that descent or want to create a second version of the route.

In summary

This is an all-mountain/mountain biking route where you’ll need to factor in a significant amount of time on foot.

From Ornica, you can gain a significant amount of elevation by biking, first on asphalt to Piani dell’Avaro and then on concrete and dirt roads up to about 1,850 m.

From there begins a long sequence of pushing, carrying the bike, and short descents through the Ponteranica Lakes, Bocchetta di Triomen, and Salmurano Pass.

The gully leading toward Benigni forces you to carry your bike on your shoulders once again and, in some spots, even requires using your hands.

Once you reach the Benigni Refuge, the short climb to Cima Piazzotti is a detour I highly recommend: it involves little additional elevation gain and offers one of the most beautiful views of the entire ride.

Then, finally, you reach Val Pianella.

The first 250 meters are rough and technical, but afterward the descent improves significantly, alternating between S3/S4 sections, fast-flowing stretches, and finally a beautiful superflow section.

It’s therefore a ride where you have to be willing to earn the descent, but the scenery you pass through and the variety of the route more than make up for the amount of time spent pushing or carrying your bike.

And one thing is certain: Val Pianella isn’t exactly flat.

Technical Details

Trail style: AM / Mountain biking

Duration: about 7 hours

MTB: Yes

E-MTB: Not recommended

Carrying/Pushing: Very high; several mandatory sections where you must carry your bike

Climb difficulty: Generally comfortable, with some very challenging sections above Piani dell'Avaro

Downhill difficulty: Primarily S3/S4; the final 400–500 m of descent are mostly S2/S1

Most challenging sections: A few short S5 sections, particularly toward Passo di Salmurano

Exposure: Present in some sections; generally manageable by getting off the bike

Drainage: Very good based on the described experience; the route was completed after a rainy day, with the ground found to be essentially dry

Water sources: Piani dell’Avaro; Benigni Mountain Hut when open; several streams in Val Pianella

Recommended side trip: Cima Piazzotti Occidentale, 2,349 m