Conca di By

Aosta Est motorway exit. Follow the directions for the Great St Bernard tunnel. Turn off towards Valpellinee and just after the village turn left towards Ollomont. Continue as far as Glassier.

Leave your car near the signs for the C.V.A. (Giri d’Energia) and take the summer path following the directions on a series of signposts showing the routes passing through the Conca di By. Climb the slope, which is normally well-beaten, following the clear fencing which accompanies the summer path making it easy to follow. When you reach a hump, you go downhill briefly and gently climb towards the Alpine pasture of Pont. Once past the Alpine pasture and the characteristic “aquaduct” (a metal pipe supported by imposing stone columns) you follow the directions towards By, going downhill briefly until you reach a small bridge over an almost frozen stream. From here you start climbing again, going through a short section of larch trees; you continue on, following the winding pathway which leads you to the foot of the Alpine pastures of Crottes. Once past the Alpine pastures (you actually walk below them) you continue on, cutting diagonally towards the left until you reach the sparse larch-tree wood again; from here you start to climb steeply again with a long series of turns until you cut across the ridge again, this time to the right, until you come to a small rocky promontory. You walk past it and following the fence, you come to a small balcony beneath the Conca di By: with a final effort, you climb up the barren ridge until you reach the small Chapel of the Madonna degli Alpini situated near the By basin.
You now continue on passing between the little church and a farm building in the direction of Farinet which you reach after a few minutes. After a brief stop, you continue on until you come to a signpost, which is just visible from the house: you now turn left in the direction of the village of By. make your way along the summer lane, which is clearly visible in winter, going in a northerly/north-westerly direction crossing a ridge which is very insidious, when the snow is not perfectly stable. Once past this diagonal, the tiny village of By appears before you, immersed in the splendid By hollow and surrounded by the imposing peaks from the Molaires du Valsorey to the Tête Blanche.