DATASHEET:
Cycle path 15%
Paved road 21%
Paved/gravel road 20%
White/steep road 14%.
Mule track 0%
Trail 30%
Route style: FREE RIDE
Period of riding: ALL YEAR ROUTE
Coordinates Start/finish point: N 45 43.177 E 9 53.609
Maximum altitude: 1323 m Monte Gremalto
Positive altitude difference: 1380 m
Distance covered: 28.3 km
Walking time: half a day
Technical difficulty: 4 out of 5
Physical effort: 3 out of 5
100% cyclable uphill
100% cyclable downhill
e-bike: YES
B&B and/or support points Colle di San Fermo: Berzo San Fermo refuges, Colle di San Fermo
BORGO DI TERZO – SAN FERMO – MONTE GREMALTO – MONTE BALLERINO
Wonderful loop ride along the slopes of the Colli di San Fermo, overlooking the Val Cavallina. The descent from the Ballerino trail is part of the poker of trails that every biker must have ridden: Sicolo trail, Valle d’Adrara trail, and Bronzone trail. The tour, as a whole, can be divided into three parts. After a tough climb from Berzo up the slopes of Monte di Grone on steep cemented roads comes Foppa di Fra, where a long diagonal begins, which on dirt tracks, paths, and finally on asphalt, leads to San Fermo and Colle di Caf. From here, we continue with an easy and scenic ride along paths and dirt tracks, along the ridges overlooking Lake Endine, passing the peaks of Monte Gremalto and Monte Ballerino. At this point begins a descent that will offer you every type of terrain: from the smooth and soft to the technical and hard, with obstacles and steep sections. Not to be missed.
ITINERARY DESCRIPTION
When you reach Borgo di Terzo (1) turn right following the signs for Berzo San Fermo (2) and after crossing the bridge over the Cherio River turn right to park near the cemetery. Start on the asphalt road going up towards Berzo, following via Bergamo which, after a bend to the right, begins to climb (do not continue straight along the cycle path). At the parish church, cross the village: via Bergamo and via Sant’Anna; at the shrine, turn left via Monsignor Trapletti and at its end continue along via Cesare Battisti; at the little church of the Immacolata, leave the village, still on level ground, along via Bescasolo which, at the junction with via Balconata, begins to climb. After a hairpin bend to the right, where the road flattens out, leave the asphalt via Bescasolo (3) and turn left onto a steep, narrow road with a cemented bottom, following the CAI (Italian Alpine Club) signpost 615. From this point on, you will have no respite; the small road continues steeply through meadows and woods, hundred-year-old chestnut trees, and beautifully restored farmsteads. Climb up to an altitude of 850 metres, where, after a steep stretch passing by two farmsteads, two dirt roads branch off to the left at a hairpin bend on the right. Here the steep uphill section ends; now take the second road up and around the ridge, taking you to Fienili Foppa di Fra (4). Continue along the dirt track that, on a level surface, cuts across the western slope of Monte di Grone and enters the Faeto Wood, following the CAI signpost 701 – 619. Here the road ends and a beautiful single track begins, which, slightly uphill and with very short pushing passages, takes you to the locality of Fienili Cà Nova (5), where you return to the dirt road. At the crossroads, take the small road that climbs to the right, marked CAI 614, in the direction of the Valico di San Fermo. When you reach the ridge, at Stalla Faeto (6), follow the path that crosses the meadows between two dry-stone walls until you reach a small road that faithfully follows the ridge, climbing up to the Valico and the small church of San Fermo (7).
Here, the three asphalted roads that climb from Grone, Adrara, and Vigolo converge. Go up Viale dei Fiori and after not even 300 metres turn right into via Torrezz, following the signs for “Monumento Partigiani”. The road climbs without any particular gradient, first reaching Colle di Caf (8) and immediately afterwards the Partisans Monument, just below the summit of Monte Torrezzo.At Colle di Caf, turn left and follow the dirt road (CAI signpost 612A) that follows the ridge in the direction of Gremalto, characterised by a forest of repeaters and antennas. The dirt road ends near the well at Foppelle (9). On the right-hand side of the puddle, below the round of a roccolo, take a rideable path that climbs the southern slopes of Monte Gremalto (10) and when you reach the southern ridge, turn right and you will shortly reach the summit. To the north, the Torrezzo Valley plunges towards the waters of Lake Endine, and in the distance, the entire Orobie arc unfolds, which, beyond the peak of Monte Torrezzo, gives way to the peaks of the Adamello group. Continue along the grassy ridge and ascend to the arrival station of a ski lift that has long since been abandoned, a vestige of the Colli di San Fermo ski resort. Descend along the ridge, under the ski lift, towards Val Cavallina, until you come out on a cemented road that you follow downhill until it ends at a barrier and joins a road that climbs from the right.
Turn left and with a slight ascent you reach the pass between Gremalto and Ballerino, at the square renamed Virgo Fidelis and dedicated to the small chapel on its south side. Turn right, in the direction of the hump of Monte Ballerino (11), follow the dirt and then cemented road; turn left at the fork and left again at the next fork. A last short dirt track leads near the repeater, beyond which, on the left, near the cross, you once again overlook the lower Val Cavallina and the plain. Return to the Piazzale Virgo Fidelis (12) following the path down through the meadows. From the square, on the right, follow the CAI 613 signpost for Cummia, Colognola, and Casazza. You begin by descending a small asphalted road serving some small buildings; after two hairpin bends, you leave the road, following a path through the meadows on the left, which is fast and fun. You come to a rock-climbing path, which you go around to the right, still following CAI trail marker 613, to descend a steep section with a rocky, obstacle-rich bottom. At the arrival of a cemented road, the path descends to the right and begins to cut across the western slope dominated by the Corne di Colognola, in the direction of Cummia. Fast sections alternate with short sections with rocky obstacles, until you come to a cemented dirt road at Cummia (13), which you follow to the first hairpin bend on the left. Take the path to the right that cuts across the steep slopes of the Bosco Scalvada dell’Angelo wood, following CAI trail sign 613A. The path has some pushing stretches and ends on the ridge characterised by high-tension pylons. Here, it crosses the Murlansì path (14), which directly climbs to the summit of Monte Ballerino: follow it to the left. The descent is technical and demanding with narrow hairpin bends and stone steps. In the final part, you pass near the Murlansì rock cliff. The path continues sunken between two high escarpments and ends on the cemented road abandoned in the hamlet of Cummia. Follow the road down to the hamlet of Molini di Colognola (15). When you reach the church, enter the flat lane between the houses. Beyond the village, cross a small valley and descend along the path parallel to it to the Fornaci locality (16). After a stretch of road to the right, turn left along the Val Cavallina cycle track, which, a little on minor roads and for the most part on its road, takes you back to the starting point.
GPX TRACK- MONTE BALLERINO MTB ROUTE
Credits: bibliography “MTB from Bergamo to the Endine and Iseo Lakes” Versante Sud Editions
