Motto della Scala e Dosso Toricla

A long-distance mountain bike ride on the Motto della Scala, 2,334 meters, between Valcamonica and Valtellina.

“Motto” derives from “motta,” a local term for a hill rising above the surrounding terrain.

It’s popular with ski mountaineers but rarely visited by hikers—so much so that there isn’t even a proper trail leading to the summit.

The ascent is mostly done by bike, with several fairly steep sections.

In the upper section, a long uphill traverse along a trail that is at times barely visible or completely hidden, with limited rideability, set in an extraordinary, wild landscape of woods and clearings that transforms into a palette of colors in the fall. The final stretch to the summit is done with the bike on your shoulder.

Starting from Edolo (BS), at 650 meters (parking lot near the municipal swimming pool), I climbed to Alpe Mola, at 1,710 meters. Via a very long traverse along a forest road, I reached the small lake of Guspessa, 1,825 meters, and the road that climbs from the Aprica Pass toward Mortirolo. At Alpe Troena, 1,910 meters, I took an old, rarely used trail—often hard to spot—that winds through magical woods and clearings and passes beneath the northwest ridge of Motto della Scala. There are no marked trails on the map leading from there to the summit. Using Google Earth from home, I spotted a trail that actually exists and allowed me to reach the flat summit.

Like Monte Pagano, though on a smaller scale, it is surrounded by the ruins of a dry-stone wall featuring a series of battlements.

The view stretches from the Brenta Dolomites to Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn, connecting mountains that are very far apart in a single glance. All around are the Baitone, the Presanella, the Bernina, the Orobie, and much more.

I descended freely through the grass to Alpe Mola, then made a short climb to Dosso Toricla. At 1,838 meters, I continued downhill entirely on the trail all the way to Edolo.

I’m not aware of anyone who has ridden up and down the Motto on a mountain bike.