This stage marked the final section of my second tour on the Grande Traversata delle Alpi. I set off early in the morning from Rifugio Coda, where I had recovered overnight. At altitude, the cold was intense, and I had briefly struggled with mild hypothermia, but by morning I was fit again and ready to continue.
Unfortunately, the day began entirely shrouded in fog. While the route itself was not technically difficult, the conditions made it dangerous due to poor visibility and exposed sections along the ridge. The trail followed the ridgeline for a long stretch, constantly ascending and descending. At one point, the clouds briefly lifted, revealing a spectacular view of the Aosta Valley and the surrounding valleys.
From there, the path descended steeply, with rope-secured sections that required full concentration. The plan for the day was a massive descent of nearly 2,000 meters in altitude, reaching the Aosta Valley—the lowest point of the entire GTA. Instead of staying overnight at an agriturismo, I decided to continue all the way down to Pont-Saint-Martin.
At around 1,900 meters, I passed an alpine pasture where local Toma cheese was for sale. Knowing that the rest of the route would be downhill, I added five kilograms of cheese to my backpack for 50 euros—supplies that would last me for nearly two months.
The lower I descended, the warmer it became. The trail seemed endless, a reminder of how demanding a 2,000-meter descent truly is. The landscape changed dramatically: high above, traditional cattle farming dominated the slopes; further down, agriculture took over, with historic paved mule tracks winding through dense forests.
While it was still cold at 2,500 meters, the temperature in the valley reached a sweltering 30°C. Reaching the village, I was relieved to finally sleep in a proper bed again, even if the room was modest. Until then, accommodation had almost exclusively been in mountain refuges.