Trail 7B starts from Stafal, just before the grocery store, see photo from Google Street View:
The departure of 7B from Stafal
I have not (yet) walked Trail 7B starting from Stafal: this page will describe a route from Lake Gabiet, initially along Trail 6A/6B. and which joins 7B after about 100 meters of elevation gain.
After parking in Stafal, take the gondola up to the right to Lake Gabiet(here for information on schedule and fares).
At Lake Gabiet, go up the dirt road for a very short distance until you reach Adler’s Nest (formerly Lys Refuge): follow the signs for Trail 6A or 6B.
The marker at Adler’s Nest
Go up a few dozen meters along a marked trail until you reach belowAlbergo Del Ponte, where you take a left across the ski slope. Continue along a wide dirt road until you reach a nice little stone bridge that crosses the Endrebach stream .
The bridge over the Endrebach stream from the top of trail 6A/6B
Shortly after the bridge, the 6A/6B trail we are on is joined from the left by trail 7B, which climbs from Stafal. From here on, the trail is shared between 6A, 6B and 7B .
The trail passes a small rocky rise, and reaches a small dam at 2511m.
The dam as seen from the top of trail 7B, the trail comes to it from the right
At the dam, the trail forks: 6B continues straight to the Orestes Hutte, we abandon it and continue on 6A/7B to the left. Just ahead is another fork in the road: the 6A trail we are on continues straight ahead, toward the Mantua refuge. We again take the road to the left, along 7B, now no longer shared with other trails.
The junction between trail 6A and 7B
As soon as you take the left fork you will find a first unnamed pond (no, this is not the Blue Lake) , next to which on a boulder is a small wooden rooster, the homologue of the one we will find on the cairn at the top of Punta Telcio.
A first rooster is found near the anonymous pond
You contour around the pond on the left and climb a steep gully that finally leads to the Blue Lake (2687m) on the right. On clear days the Vincent Pyramid is reflected there.
The Blue Lake
At this point, Trail 7B, to reach Punta Telcio (which is about a kilometer as the crow flies to the west), would dictate momentarily lowering in elevation toward Green Lake (2634m) and then resuming climbing.
Green Lake, as seen from the Blue Lake elevation
Instead, when I go to Punta Telcio, I always prefer to continue along Blue Lake, pointing west and climbing, never losing altitude. There are faint traces of an unnamed trail that can be followed until, at an elevation of about 2740 meters, we rejoin trail 7B coming in from the left. At this point Punta Telcio is finally visible in the distance.
The ridge with Punta Telcio: to the right, the col which is reached from the traverse
The trail at this point turns to the northeast, traversing a long stony traverse (annoying because it is rather uneven), until it reaches the final ridge on a small pass at 2769 meters where one can finally cast an eye across to the other side, along the Salza valley, beyond which the Alta Luce stands out.
High Light from the pass to Punta Telcio
Once the pass is reached, Punta Telcio and the cockerel on the summit cairn are quickly reached by climbing the simple grassy ridge, staying to the left (to the right the mountain drops steeply).
Overview from Punta Telcio northward
From the summit you can’t see (thankfully) the avalanche barrages; on the other hand, you really are spoiled for choice: the 4000-meter peaks of Monte Rosa, the sources of the Lys, Testa Grigia, the Rothorn, Punta di Netscio, Punta Ciampono, Mont Nery, Stafal: on clear days everything is perfectly visible, thanks to the very central location of this, unfortunately, rather underrated peak.
Overview from Punta Telcio southward
In this 3D image the highlights of the last section of the route:
Trail 7B starts from Stafal and arrives at Punta Telcio (2833m). It is 8361m long and the total positive elevation gain is 1139m.
