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Pocket Switzerland

Basodino

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Summit · canton of Ticino · 3273 m

Glaciated summit in Ticino, one of the highest in the canton, overlooking the Val Bavona.

From the basket

At the very top of Ticino, on the edge of Italy, the Basodino is the highest summit of the Ticino Alps. It peaks at a little over 3,270 metres, on the border with Piedmont. From the balloon you recognise it by its glacier, lying on its north-east flank like a great white apron.

Wild, sparsely populated valleys open around it. To the south the gaze drops towards the valleys running down to Lake Maggiore; to the north the crests follow one another towards the Gotthard.

Hikers reach it from several huts, on the Swiss side as well as the Italian. The normal route crosses the glacier and then follows the east ridge to the summit. Other, steeper routes exist from the south, but they are rarely climbed.

The first known ascent dates from 3 September 1863, by a party that set out from Airolo, in the Gotthard valley. Fly over the glacier, then let yourself be carried towards the Ticino valleys, where Italian is spoken.

Sources: Wikipedia, “Basòdino” (in French and German).

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