LarioLago di Como

What to See · Mountains

Monte Legnone

Alto Lario

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At 2,609 metres the Legnone is the highest peak of the Lecco Orobie: its pyramidal horn-like outline can be recognised from the Brianza and, on clear days, from Milan, and it dominates the northern end of the Lario and the lower Valtellina.

History

The name is one of the oldest on the lake. The La Valsassina portal reconstructs the sequence: Lineo in pre-Roman times, from lin, “water”, for the snow that melts into streams along its flanks in spring; Tricuspide for the Romans, because to those arriving by boat from Mandello it seemed to have three peaks; then Lineone in the Middle Ages, from which Legnone derives. A document of 879 already cites it in that last form.

Another chapter of its history is the First World War. For the Northern Frontier the military engineers built from Dervio the road that climbs the Valvarrone and then kilometres of trenches, shelters, caves and small barracks; on the east side the military roads are still visible, and the defensive barrier also included the Legnoncino and the Bocchetta di Trona pass. In the Valorga gully a glacier survived for centuries, from which until the 1950s ice was taken to preserve food in summer; today nothing is left of it, only accumulations of snow that last even in midsummer.

What to see

The summit cross was replaced in 2003; the old one, repaired, has stood since August 2005 near the Roccoli Lorla hut. On top a stone marker shows the distances to the peaks that can be recognised: the view takes in the Valtellina, Lake Como, the Val Masino, the Grigne and the Pizzo dei Tre Signori. There are no mountains of similar height for sixteen kilometres, and the north side drops over Delebio (230 m) by almost 2,400 metres. Groups of ibex, used to hikers, were met along the normal route by a CAI Merate outing in June 2021. A local saying reads the weather from the summit: when the Legnone wears its cloud “hat”, put down the scythe and pick up the rake, because a storm is coming.

Getting there

The normal route starts from the Roccoli Lorla hut (1,463 m), in the Val Varrone, which you reach by car from Dervio, and follows the long west ridge. You cross a wood, climb to a large alpine pasture and then to the Ca’ de Legn bivouac, restored in 1984 and near a repeater mast, at about 2,150 metres. Higher up the rocky ridge is at times exposed on the north side: on the last five hundred metres there are ropes and chains. The CAI sign at the start gives 3 hours 30 minutes for the climb; the report of a CAI Merate outing (June 2021) gives 11.2 kilometres, 1,170 metres of ascent and 6 hours, graded EE (for experienced hikers). In winter snow and ice make the climb more complicated.

From the Valtellina side CAI Morbegno describes the climb from Delebio, from 230 to 2,609 metres (2,379 of ascent, 6-7 hours, July to October): you pass Osiccio di Sopra, Piazza Calda and the Piodi dairy hut up to the Legnone hut (1,696 m), where it is worth staying overnight, and then along the military mule track to the Bocchetta di Legnone (2,360 m) and the south-east ridge. Times, difficulty and trail conditions change with the season and should be checked before setting out (CAI, hut managers, weather forecast).

Practical information

  • Height: 2,609 metres (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, La Valsassina portal); some sources round to 2,610. According to La Valsassina and OpenStreetMap the summit is in the municipality of Pagnona; this page is linked to Colico, the lakeside municipality with a page on the site closest to the summit.
  • Huts on the flanks: Roccoli Lorla (1,463 m, CAI Dervio, see its page), Griera (1,734 m, Municipality of Pagnona), Alpe Scoggione (1,575 m, CAI Colico) and Alpe Legnone (1,696 m, Delebio). We have not verified opening days and services on an official source.
  • In storms the mountain is exposed to lightning: the Wikipedia entry notes it, and it is best to avoid the climb if instability is forecast.

Sources

On the map

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