Monte Melma

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Prealpi Lombarde
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Monte Melma

Page Type:	Mountain/Rock
Lat/Lon:	45.88093°N / 9.42421°E
County:	Lombardia
Activities:	Hiking
Season:	Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Elevation:	2999 ft / 914 m
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Overview

Some months (years) ago a SP member (sorry, forgot his name) commenting one photo or page of mine in the range of Lecco mountains (Grigne, Resegone, Due mani, Campelli ... ) told me he had climbed the Monte Melma ... : at first I thought to a joke : in Italian language melma means mire, mud, slime, mire, filth and we used to talk about melma instead of saying merda (shit) when scrambling on horrible rocks : we also had a difficulty rating for it : M4 (merda/melma 4) was the worst difficulty on very loose rock, like climbing on a biscuits wall.

But one simple doubt made me give a look to a detailed map (1:20000) of the area ... I found a Monte Melma 914m that grows, like a wooden big spur (or boil), in the southernmost part of the Valsassina dividing the two streams descending toward Lecco: the Gerenzone and the Grigna.

I've been climbing for about 45 years in that area in any season, I've spent hundreds of days climbing on the routes of Medale, the ridges and pinnacles of Grignetta, the channels of Resegone, hiking here and there on Campelli, Due Mani and destroying my fingertips on the slabs of Angelone, Introbio etc. ... and only at that moment I knew that that horrible woody spur with an antennas culture on its top was named Monte Melma ; I HAD TO CLIMB IT (it was a MUST)

One sunday morning my wife asked me where we were going, I answered "Monte Melma", she laughed out loud, but she trusts me so no more hesitations and go

Getting There

There are 2 different ways to arrive to the starting point of the normal path to the summit :

from Map+ by TIDAC ch

by car/on foot from Lecco-Laorca - passing through the narrow streets of this hamlet, trying to find signs for Ristorante Belvedere Monte Albano - once found the dirt road leading there you can even drive along it up to the external car parking of the Restaurant ...
I could tell to all the ones who don't live in Lecco or surroundings to avoid this choice - no benefits at all

by car/on foot from the 1st hairpin bend of the old road descending from Ballabio to Lecco, here, on the left side of the road there's a not small dirt square - at its limit starts a flat dirt narrow road that, crossing a very fine wood, arrives to the parking place of the Restaurant.
To get the hairpin bend is really easy : from SS36 (Spluga) exit to "Valsassina" and drive the new fast road that runs the Grigna stream valley, passes along and under the W slopes of Resegone and, after the last tunnel arrives at the Ballabio roundabout : 270° left to get the old road to Lecco.

Route

From the car parking in front of the access of the restaurant there's a narrow track/path starting immediatly steep in the wood (don't take the dirt roads) The path goes on always steep, and, after a stretch in the wood, comes out to a small rock (the Sass Queder - Square Stone) with a handrail and a Cross. Here is the first very panoramic site upon Lecco and the ridge of Monte san Martino (from Medale wall up to Coltignone).
Now the path runs along a sparse woody ridge leading to the woody W summit and, after few meters, to the E summit full of aerials Here and there you can also find, in the vegetation, some breaks that allow you to give a glance all round and down the cliff toward the road Ballabio-Lecco and the road to Morterone, running along the steep slopes of Monte Due Mani The hike is not tiring because the difference in elevation is relatively small (~300m). and, of course, better come here in a fresh autumn or winter day with clean air ... Other paths/tracks lead to the summit, but in some points they disappear (hunters tracks) and sometimes end upon cliffs of bad rock .. avoid them if not in company of a real knower of the site ... see what i told here