From Costabrunella Lake to Forcella Magna

Hiking from Costabrunella Lake to Forcella Magna

During this week, I took advantage of a weekday break to go hiking in the mountains.

My goal was to complete my personal exploration of the orographic right side of Val Malene. The hike starts from Malga Sorgazza. The first stop is at Lake Costabrunella, then we continue to Forcella delle Buse Todesche and finally to Forcella Magna.

I had already done most of the route, but I was missing the section between the lake and Forcella delle Buse Todesche. There are two trails connecting Forcella Orsera to Buse Todesche: one easier, which we followed, and a more interesting but possibly more challenging one (the Sentiero delle Trincee), which I’ve saved for next time.

As I’ve already written in other posts, these places are important for several reasons related to the First and Second World Wars.

At Costabrunella, there was resistance during WWII, while the rest of the route holds memories of WWI. Traces of the war can still be seen: from the path itself—built by soldiers during the conflict—to the ruins of various military buildings.

The trail does not present any particular difficulties. Most of the elevation gain is concentrated in the first part; afterward, the path becomes nearly flat (unless you choose to climb to the summit).

I especially enjoyed the second half of the trail: the flatter section allows for a brisk, effortless walk and offers stunning views—on one side toward the Cima d’Asta group, and on the other side over Val Campelle.

Track

Here is the GPX track of the hike:

gpx

Some Notes on the Dam

Technical details are available here. This document, provided by the Civil Protection of the Trentino Province, also includes a picture of the lake at full capacity. I’ve visited the lake several times during the summer, and I’ve always seen it with a water level below the base of the dam. More details about the entire hydropower system of the valley are available (in Italian) here.