Monte Bue

Mount Bue stands in the Ligurian Apennines as the second-highest peak in the range, just below nearby Mount Maggiorasca. It rises on the watershed between the Aveto, Ceno and Nure valleys, marking the border between Genoa province and the Parma and Piacenza provinces. The Ligurian slope lies inside the Aveto Natural Regional Park, while the Emilian side belongs to the SCI Monte Nero, Monte Maggiorasca, La Ciapa Liscia. The mountain’s smooth, grassy summit reaches the ridge that divides the Aveto valley from the Ceno valley and gives rise to the Nure valley. The mountain once had a cable car built in the 1960s, reaching from Rocca d’Aveto to the summit with an intermediate stop at Prato della Cipolla. After years of snowless winters, the lifts closed in 1993 and the summit hut shut with them. In 2008 a new two-seater chairlift was built from Rocca d’Aveto to Prato Cipolla, extended to the top by 2010, and the hut reopened in 2011. Paolo Emilio Taviani, then Interior Minister, attended the first lift’s inauguration in 1965. Visitors now find a ski area on the Aveto side with two chairlifts, a ski lift and a treadmill serving a school camp. A cross-country loop is also available. In summer the slopes attract hikers and rock climbers to crags such as Rocca del Prete, Mount Maggiorasca, Waiting for Fred and Dente delle Ali. The Sacchi bivouac and the short Mazzocchi ferrata lie on the Ferriere side, while Prato della Cipolla offers a refuge. The mountain’s ophiolitic rock gives the crags a crumbly texture that climbers must respect.