Introduction: A hike for summit collectors who want to combine bagging a summit with a short hike for children. A simple ascent, far more rewarding in the winter season than in the summer. A mountain ravaged by a ski area that is by now being abandoned. All the more reason to start coming back to these places, which were originally very gentle and pleasant.
Route features: No path, no traces, waymarking absent and confusing, a place on the fringes of common civic sense. A mountain fought over by nature and man.
The summit that dominates the view is Monte Viglio, which you can climb by the route from Serra Sant'Antonio.
Route description
At the risk of repeating ourselves, we have to say that Monte Cotento is not a beautiful mountain in itself; the balcony overlooking Monte Viglio, on the other hand, is. In this sense Monte Cotento has a privileged position, looking straight onto the most scenic side of the Val Granara. Spectacular in summer as in winter. You reach Campo Staffi, just before the buildings of the ski area (what a sorry sight, ladies and gentlemen): it is like seeing Marsia in all its decay. There isn't even the dignity left to repaint the façades of the buildings. You leave the car and set off across the meadows below, where we find old chairlift cabins and abandoned, disused equipment. Leaving the lifts on our right, we move left towards the nearby beech wood. Among the trees we follow the obvious signs of ski pistes, now abandoned. You carry on, staying in the shade of the trees, until you come out on the ridge onto flowery meadows. Slowly we bear right (east) to follow the line of a broad, gentle ridge. Behind us the view opens up onto Monte Viglio (the happy note of this potentially disappointing hike). On our left, as we keep climbing, a wide grassy valley reveals a saddle in its upper part; here we turn towards the nearby summit, which we soon reach with a short steep pull. The summit is bleak and rounded, but from here you get a unique view over the most wooded and lush heights of the whole Simbruini range.
If on the one hand, as we have said, the hike can be disappointing, it should be seen from the point of view of children, who cannot always manage big height gains to conquer little summits of 2000 metres. Bagging a summit (as a kind of recognition, a kind of medal) can be an extraordinary incentive for children to spend a few hours in the mountains, working a little... and then cheering at the finishing line.
Variants and alternatives
Going down to the north-east you can reach the nearby Colle delle Lisce, a viewpoint over the Tarino and the spectacular Campo Ceraso below.
Notes on effort and difficulty
Visitor centres and accommodation
Frequently asked questions
Is Monte Cotento suitable for children?
Yes, it is an E- hike (E = Escursionistico, hiking path; the - marks the lower end of the grade) with a modest height gain and a short route, suitable even for children aged 5 to 7 on their first outings. For them, reaching a summit of over 2000 metres can be a great incentive to walk for a few hours.
Where does the ascent of Monte Cotento start?
You start from Campo Staffi, leaving the car before the buildings of the ski area. You cross the meadows with the old chairlifts, go into the beech wood along the disused pistes and come out on the ridge. There is no path and no waymarking.
