I combine the description for these two climbs up the Valle di Viù as I guess most are likely to either do one of them or both at once. The climb to either starts in Fucine (718m) at the road going to Colle del Lys/Col del Lis (1310m). The is a small drop down here from the Viù village if coming from the Lanzo Torinese or down from the nice Colle della Dieta (1452m).

The road is long and winding and it only climbs a bit more just before reaching Usseglio (1293m). The turn-off for Alpe Bessanetto you have to know on your own as there are no signs at all here. The road also becomes a private road after reaching a few houses (Castello), and the few locals did not seem too happy to see me, nor did they protest. As you reach Alpe Barnas the road starts climbing the mountainside and here is a bar across the road that you have to climb over. Only from here the road is in a quite agreeable condition, quite unlike the miserable road up the Valle di Viù, but it is also steep now, but with splendid views until you reach the end of the asphalt all too soon as it promises to be even nicer higher up. Unfortunately the gravel is just a bit too stony to be okay for a road bike and even if I continued up to 2084m above the remnants (?) of Alpe Bessanetto the road continued in the same fashion and it was not worth risking the tyres.

The climb to Lago di Malciaussia, a lot steeper and irregularly so now, continues up the main valley and should also offer fine views when reaching the lake.

On the last part up to Alpe Bessenetto one overlooks a flat road contouring the mountain just opposite and there was apparently a railway going in earlier days that brought down material from the mine up by the Lago Dietro La Torre (2369m) to which the road to Alpe Bessanetto goes. It looks spectacular with the waterfall going down over that road, but the gravel road there is likely too bad for a road bike. On the way up to Lago di Malciaussia there was also a high going railway up the mountain. On the gravel continuation up to Lago Dietro La Torre one will eventually arrive at a somewhat long tunnel that is likely quite dark.

This valley is the first valley going toward France above the Susa valley, which is the last one with a road crossing the border until the Petit St-Bernard pass high up in the Aosta valley. I will have to go back for the Lago di Malciaussia myself, as my interest turned to Alpe Bessanetto when seeing it was the highest paved road here and also a very little known climb. The charming big old hotel in Usseglio is worth a visit too.