Via delle Creste Orientali del Resegone

Alessandro Manzoni, one of the most famous and beloved Italian authors, writes about the Resegone: "The ridge, formed by the confluence of three large streams, descends between two contiguous mountains, one called Saint Martin, the other, in Lombard dialect, the Resegone, with its many peaks lined up like the teeth of a saw, indeed resembling one: so much so that no one, upon first seeing it, provided they are facing it, such as from atop the walls of Milan facing north, fails to distinguish it immediately, by such a distinctive feature, along that long and vast ridge, from the other mountains with obscure names and more common shapes."

The easiest access route to the Resegone is trail 571 that ascends its northern slope (starting from Morterone, Forcella d'Olino, or Brumano). But to truly experience those many "peaks lined up," we must venture along the Crest Routes, western and eastern (here proposed is the Eastern Crest Route, with return via the classic ascent path).

The starting point is Brumano (911m), in the upper Imagna Valley. Park near the church. The trail begins right from the elevated square in front of the church and ascends behind it through beautiful pastures. Intercepting an asphalt road several times, we reach the edge of the forest. With somewhat unclear signs, we enter the woods and, in a few tens of minutes, reach the rocky shoulder of Passo La Porta (1126m, 0.45 hours). Another similar stretch separates us from Passata (1244m, 0.30 hours), an important pass between the provinces of Lecco and Bergamo, once crowded by commuters from Bergamo's Imagna Valley going to work in the steelworks of Lecco. But the pass tells an even older story: even today, we find a boundary stone inscribed with "State of Milan" on one side and "State of Venice" on the other.

Here begins the Crest Route. The path immediately becomes challenging: narrow and steep, it frequently encounters entertaining rocky slabs with chains. Upon reaching a first panoramic viewpoint over Lecco and the Imagna Valley, we are faced with the bastion of Cima Quarenghi, whose ascent constitutes the most strenuous and dangerous part of the entire traverse. The path (little more than a trace) climbs steeply among rocky spires and grassy slides, soon becoming exposed and airy.

Once we've conquered the spacious grassy plateau of Cima Quarenghi (1537m, 1.00 hour), the route becomes almost flat and free of danger, allowing us to enjoy increasingly expansive panoramas and views of the Resegone's towers. Some of these towers are climbed over, while others are bypassed on the northeast side, potentially leaving those expecting a path always along the crest somewhat disappointed.

The ascent is spectacular but still lengthy, and even the sight of Rifugio Azzoni, seemingly close, is deceptive. We reach it after a long diagonal descent to the right, then ascending by "climbing" a few short and easy rocks. The ultimate reward for the effort is the panorama of the Alps, Orobie, and Brianza enjoyed from Rifugio Azzoni and the summit of Resegone (1860m, 1.30 hours).

To descend, we take the classic ascent path on the northern slope of Resegone. After half an hour of descent on a unified path, we encounter a deviation in the woods, where we turn right towards Brumano. A few more deviations follow, all well indicated. After another half an hour of monotonous forest trail, we emerge into the meadows of Brumano, shortly reaching the asphalt road encountered earlier in the day. Following it, we quickly return to the church and the car (911m, 1.30 hours).