It is a bit unusual, the Ferrata del Lago, but definitely a good example of how cross-border cooperation can work. The via ferrata was built by Saaser mountain guides, but is located on Piedmont (Italian) soil. It connects the Rifugio Andolla (2052 m) with the Almagellerhütte (2894 m) and is part of a large two-day tour that leads from Gondo to the Saas Valley. A lago, or lake in the area of ​​the via ferrata will be looked for in vain; the name comes from a much larger, distant Lago: the Maggiore. From the Sonnigpass (3147 m), where the ferrata ends, the view - as long as clouds don't obscure it - stretches all the way east, across the Tocetal (valley) to the sparkling waters of Langensee (German name). This view must first be earned on the broad and sometimes rocky path through the Zwischbergental that leads over Passo d'Andolla. It is not until the second day of hiking that you will reach for the foot of the "iron way", which is more of a tertiary attraction for this tour. For the one thing that stands out above all during this crossing from Gondo to the Almagellertal has got to be the nature: up to 4 kilometres high and with a thousand facets. You are far away here from the Saas Fee region with its tourists; there are no lifts whirring, no cars blowing their exhaust into the air. Its an almost hidden world, here behind the Weissmies. The via ferrata has no special requirements, apart from its altitude; it passes the rock barrier on the Italian east side of the Sonnigpass (Bocchetta del Bottarello) in much dignified manner. At the end of the climb, the huge cauldron of the innermost Almageller valley, shaped by the action of ice, opens up. On the way to the Almagellerhütte you have the stark outline of the Portjengrat to the right, and the mighty bulk of the Weissmies (4017 m) ahead. The rocky, steep flanks can be heard in mid- to late summer; it's the constant rumble of rockfall caused by the rise in the permafrost boundary. The fact that this danger must not be underestimated is proven by the presence of fresh rockslide debris on the white-blue-white marked route.