Lago della Ruota - at 2372 m - is set like a diamond in granite, 300 metres below the Calcagnolo ridge to the south of the Rifugio Chiavenna. We are in the Campodolcino area, in Valle Spluga, not far from the mountain pastures of Angeloga. What I&´m proposing in this article is an excursion for the connoisseur, not particularly demanding physically but bear in mind that you will be tackling a height differential of 1100 metres and that orientation is not always a simple matter. The fact is that from the valle dei Mortè to the lago della Ruota the signposting is scarce or indeed absent and except for the occasional stones in cairn form, you have to rely on a "sensitivity" towards orientation and your altimeter.

Leaving the car near the cemetery at Fraciscio, you can walk to the Rifugio Chiavenna all’Alpe Angeloga in around an hour and a half, involving about 700 metres in altitude. From the refuge head south: circumventing the lake at Angeloga, a downhill path takes you to Val dei Mortè (1980 m), a rough stretch of basin on the western side of pizzo Stella. Fording a series of streams whilst crossing the valley, you reach the foot of the first of the rocky spurs that characterise the north side of the Calcagnolo ridge. We leave the path that shifts decidedly to the west, and climb instinctively to the south, following hints of trails between natural ledges and meagre pastures.
 

From here the altimeter comes into play. Always keeping the Calcagnolo ridge to the front, we can identify a rocky spur at the base of which, invisible until the last moment, the silent waters of the Lago della Ruota sparkle. Given the exposed position and the altitude you might however discover it frozen, or at least partially. But free from any wintry conditions it throws up superb reflections of pizzo Groppera and pizzo Stella, not to mention the magnificent panorama over the entire valley and the Lepontine Alps.