What will the summer look like for mountain enthusiasts? Will they be able to safely use footpaths and mountain huts? We asked the managers of three mountain huts in Val Seriana, the area worst affected by the virus and a region of great natural beauty.
"Le montagne sanno aspettare" ("The mountains can wait") is the campaign that the Cai, Club Alpino Italiano, launched at the start of the coronavirus emergency to "persuade" its more than 300,000 members not to go to the mountains during Phase 1 of the lockdown that has just ended. Before, it was clear what was not permitted; now, however, with the latest Dpcm of 26 April 2020, even the top brass at Cai do not know what to tell their members — and, worse still, the mountain hut keepers scattered across the country. We asked the managers of three mountain huts in the area worst affected by coronavirus — which is also a gem of the Bergamo Orobie, namely Val Seriana — about the current situation and the information they have received.
The president of Cai, Vincenzo Torti wrote a few days ago to the President of the Council of Ministers Giuseppe Conte seeking urgent clarification on the correct application of the latest Dpcm, which will mark the start of the so-called phase 2. Those are the facts. As things stand, all Italian hikers do not know how to behave in the mountains. The questions to be resolved are far from trivial: is trekking a leisure and recreational activity — and therefore not permitted — or a sporting or physical activity, which would give it the green light? And can mountain huts be counted among the establishments permitted to offer takeaway food and drink? These are the main doubts, but not the only ones.
Alongside the need to get these answers, the club's most senior figure, speaking live on Gr1 Rai on 1 May, issued an appeal: "The mountains need us. All the footpaths have been abandoned for nearly two months now." Too long, especially with nature coming back into bloom. No one has tended them. The doubt is whether returning to the mountains is actually lawful or not. Mountain areas now need, like the whole country, to come back to life — both practically and economically: walking the footpaths again would mean providing genuine sustenance to the businesses connected to these areas, and giving enthusiasts the chance to unwind after many weeks of enforced inactivity.
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One of the areas in Italy worst hit by coronavirus is Val Seriana. Before it became sadly known for the enormous number of victims claimed by the pandemic, it was above all a paradise for hikers and mountain lovers. A place far from the fashionable circuits, which in recent years has nonetheless seen its tourism grow considerably, capable of offering tranquillity, footpaths and wonderful views suitable for everyone. We returned here to ask three managers of equally well-known mountain huts about the current situation and the prospects for the immediate future — the summer season, which for the people here is also the most important one and the lifeblood of the local economy.
It is a well-known spot in the valley, situated at the foot of the Queen of the Orobie, the Presolana, at 1,568 metres above sea level. Owned by the municipality of Castione della Presolana, Rifugio Baita Cassinelli has been managed for four years by Claudio Trentani, with whom we spoke. "We are under the spotlight — every day there is talk about mountain huts. But there are more than 300 of us across the whole of Italy and, first and foremost, it needs to be borne in mind that each one has its own story. We constantly receive information from central Cai — almost every day we hold videoconference meetings.
In my opinion it would be important for each of us, together with our municipality, to decide on our own opening (the huts are not owned by Cai but by the local subsections to which they belong), also because we have different needs and services: for instance, some have running water, others do not; some have mains electricity, others only solar panels. The hut keeper should speak with their section, and then the section with the relevant public health authority and the municipality. Right now there is a great deal of confusion: some say we will probably need to sanitise, others say we will simply never open at all."
"The proposal that made the news regarding the possibility of giving the go-ahead to tents — I think that would be extremely difficult: it might work for mountaineers, but if you open to them, the whole world will turn up here. With inevitable safety issues — those related to the terrain and the dangers of the mountains — on top of which come the health ones. For some years now the mountains have become a mass phenomenon; everyone goes there and we were already struggling to accommodate everyone. We are not ready, the mountains are not built for the masses.
So you cannot open to everyone. And if you do, you need to enforce distancing. Even if we managed to open alongside bars and restaurants, it would still be necessary for the footpaths to be open too. We will certainly modify our catering offering — it will be faster and leaner, with takeaway and compostable materials that then need to be brought back to the hut. In any case, everything is still to be decided. We are optimistic. The valley needs it — trust and optimism."
The valley needs it — trust and optimism.Claudio Trentani, manager of Rifugio Baita Cassinelli
Elia Iseni has only been the manager of Rifugio Rino Olmo for a year: "Last season was excellent, I was very pleased; now, with this situation, everything is uncertain." Rino Olmo is located in the municipality of Castione della Presolana, in the upper Val Seriana at 1,819 metres above sea level. "We still have no definite news; Cai cannot give us any because they don't know any more than we do. We are usually open all year round, but at the beginning of March we had to close because the snow came. Within a week of that, the Government's shutdown would have arrived anyway. Even though the footpaths have been 'abandoned' since then, in our valley they are in good shape, I would say, so from that point of view we are not worried. We are ready.
People here are deeply shaken, there is no doubt about that, but they also have a desire to start again. Elia Iseni, manager of Rifugio Rino Olmo
We need to understand, though, what services we can offer: my hut has a lot of space outside too, so if the weather is good, people could do a sort of takeaway and eat outdoors, on the grass or at the tables. Inside there are only large communal tables, so with distancing we could only accommodate 5 or 6 people. For overnight stays it will be even harder: at the Olmo there is just one dormitory with 18 beds. Everything is shared. Everything is being discussed, yet nothing is at the same time. We are waiting for the guidelines. From the State we have received, like all self-employed workers, the 600-euro contribution, while Cai — in my case the Clusone section to which we belong — has halved the rent to help us out. People here are deeply shaken, there is no doubt about that, but they also have a desire to start again."
The Rifugio Mario Merelli al Coca at 1,891 metres is built in one of the most striking and wild corners of the Orobie: we are near the locality known as the "Conca dei giganti", where all the major peaks of the group rise up. A couple with two children run it; we spoke with Silvana Rodigari: "We actually know no more than the enthusiasts do: the government hasn't given us any firm information yet. We assume we'll have to follow the protocols they give to hotels and restaurants, but those are just our own guesses. It seems the Cai will provide us with an ozone generator to sanitise the spaces, and as for the restaurant service and overnight stays, for the former the only option is takeaway – without becoming a McDonald's, one hopes – while to guarantee safe sleeping arrangements we're thinking of dedicating the rooms to family groups that are already formed. But it's all still up in the air.
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"The idea of tents here is really unlikely, because it's a particularly rugged place, but I think it would be the same elsewhere too: take the case where the hut is full and a storm breaks out — we still have to be able to take in anyone who is in a tent if there's danger, but in doing so we'd create overcrowding, so what do you do? It's not simple. I can't leave a hiker out in the storm, a mountain hut has to continue to be exactly that. People around here can't wait to get back to walking in the mountains, even if they still have to fully overcome the fear. For us it will be a different kind of work and an unknown quantity in many respects: we've lost so many foreign customers, now we'll see what happens, whether Italians and Lombards will come. What is certain, despite everything, is that we hut keepers all want to reopen."
So there are few certainties. Both the Cai and hut keepers across Italy are waiting for clarification to prepare as well and as safely as possible for reopening — which is necessary for the economy, for the local area and for morale.
What is certain, despite everything, is that we hut keepers all want to reopen.Silvana Rodigari, manager of Rifugio Mario Merelli al Coca