Cable Car to the Heatwave at 3000m a.s.l.

Last weekend (a.k.a. June 29th, 2025), I decided to go on a hike with some relatives. I live at the valley floor of the Adige Valley, and the heat these days has been almost unbearable — so we thought, why not escape to the mountains? We chose the Tonale Pass, which sits at around 1800 meters, and planned a descent to Ponte di Legno, a charming village in Lombardy. Since the route was downhill, we assumed it would be an easy and refreshing walk… but we were wrong! The trail was almost entirely exposed to the sun, with barely any shade along the way.

When we finally reached Ponte di Legno, we had a surprise waiting for us: no buses run on Sundays. So we had to take the cable car back up to Tonale Pass — definitely more expensive than a bus ride! Once there, we decided to go even higher to get some fresh air and hopefully cool down : we took the second and third cable cars up to Passo Presena, reaching an altitude of 3000 meters above sea level. The view was spectacular. On the opposite side from Tonale, we could admire the Mandron Glacier. Compared to last year (around the same time, when I hiked from the Sentiero del Materot tp rifugio ai Caduti dell’Adamello, returning via the glacier), I noticed a dramatic (it seems to me) difference: last year the glacier was still entirely covered in snow — now, much of it is bare and exposed.

Despite the altitude, it was extremely hot. I could comfortably stay at Passo Presena in just a t-shirt — not even a hint of a chill. The heatwave was truly intense; I don’t remember experiencing anything like this in June before. We then returned to Passo Paradiso, where we visited some World War I ruins near the cable car station and climbed a nearby peak. The day ended back down in the hot valley, where we rewarded ourselves with the hottest pizza in town — topped with spicy salami, of course.