Our visit to Medelserhütte is definitely not the first and last. Its proximity to the alluvial site ‘Plaun la Greina’ means it’s a natural stop over for a multi day hike taking in the Pass Greina and Plaun la Greina. But not this time. This time the aim of our walk was mainly a case of exploring a new area. Medelserhütte (Camona da Medel) chosen because of the restrictions in numbers allowed at huts due to Covid-19 meaning that there is little accommodation available in huts this summer season. And what a delightful choice it turned out to be!
We opted for the approach from Curaglia along the Val Plattas to the Medelserhütte. The hut itself being situated at the Fuorcla da Lavaz (Lavaz Sattel would be the German equivalent) between the valleys of Val Plattas and Val Lavaz. The views from the hut, the hospitality of the new hosts and the quality of the food all makes this hut a perfect spot to spend an evening.
The walk itself takes about three-and-a-half-hours gaining about 1200 vertical metres in the process. We decided to set out in the afternoon aiming to arrive at the hut about 16.30-ish, which meant we did not have to be out of bed too early… The first 600 or so metres height gain went by almost unnoticed and soon we were on an alluvial plain which was super wet, where we had to jump across many streams, and even a fast flowing river at some point. Then you start heading up the pass. If the first 600 metres height gain went by unnoticed the next 600 definitely made up for it… The upward trajectory from the valley plain to the Medelserhütte being short and steep. Both of us were more than happy when the hut came into view above us with a 100 or so vertical metres to go.
Our lovely hostess Verena welcomed us with a cup of mountain tea, then showed us to our bunks. Barbara and I shared a space normally allocated to three people – which meant there was plenty of space to spread out and put our spare gear and toiletries next to us. Between ourselves and the next couple there was a divider. We think that the dividers have been added this year to comply with Covid-19 social distancing requirements. Almost all the huts have had to add dividers between beds and even dining tables in some smaller huts in order to get as many people in as possible.
I shared the dinner table with not one but two delightful Barbaras! One was my ‘travelling companion’, and the other one we discovered sitting at our dinner table reading magazines. Bar Bera as she calls herself on Instagram had been hiking for a few days and was full of useful information about the area. She highly recommended the Plaun la Greina and claims it is one of her favourite spots in the Alps.
Our return journey on Sunday took us from Medelserhütte to the valley plain and across the Fuorcla dalla Buora to Fuorns Medel. A drop of about 600 metres followed by a climb of a few hundred metres and then a sometimes jarring 900 vertical metres down from the saddle (Fuorcla) to Fuorns where we got a bus back to Disentis.
Romansh – Switzerland’s fourth official language
The word ‘camona’ which rolls easily off the tongue intrigued me. We thought it must be a Romansh word; Romansh being an official language of the Graubünden region in which the hut is situated. I was largely unsuccessful in discovering the meaning of the word (there doesn’t seem to be much Romansh literature on the web), though I did come across a discussion on a forum for language learners where one participant confirmed our suspicion that ‘camona’ means hut (specifically mentioned was ‘Sursilvan‘ – one of the five Romansh idioms). Great was my disappointment that this lovely word was also slang for ‘child-prostitute’ in Spanish. Ouch! We learn something new every day!
I ended up getting sidetracked while trying to find a correct translation for the word ‘camona’ and ended up reading about the Romansh language. When I have heard it in the past I have often thought that there was a ring to it that was distantly similar to Italian. Turns out I was not far from the truth. Both languages (along with a few others) having originated from Vulgar Latin, the spoken form of Latin which the Roman Empire brought with them when they invaded various parts of the world. In the Graubünden (Grisson) region of Switzerland, Romansh replaced the original Celtic and Raetic languages of the area in about the fifth century. Romansh is sometimes grouped with the Ladin and Friulian languages. Ladin being spoken mainly in the Dolomites region in Northern Italy and Friulian in the Friuli region of North-Eastern Italy. Today about 15% of Graubünden’s inhabitants use the language as their main language and about twice that number speaks it regularly.
Getting to Camona da Medel (Medelserhütte)…
The Disentis Sedrun Tourism website contains a wealth of information about the region including information about the Medelserhütte. The Medelserhütte website has useful additional information including possible approaches, prices, and link to hut booking site.
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