Passo della Crocetta (1,267 m), between the Colle di Zambla and the Conca dell'Alben

On its pages for trails 501 and 526B, CAI Bergamo says to park at the Colle di Zambla and continue on foot: follow via Prealpina towards the Al Trapper bar-restaurant and the cross-country track signs, then the forest road heading south, which reaches the Crocetta after about a kilometre. It is an agro-sylvo-pastoral road with a barrier at the start: that is how it is described both by CAI barrier-free route 104 and by the climbing reports of Sass Balòss, which in 2011 also mentioned a no-entry sign.

Some tourist pages, such as those of VisitBrembo and Escursionismo.it on the Baita Nembrini, say instead that you can drive to the Crocetta: go by the barrier and the signs you find on the spot. If you want to drive closer to the Conca dell'Alben, you can go up from Oltre il Colle along via Drago, about 3 kilometres, to the Pian della Palla, where there is plenty of parking (B&B Sotto l'Alben).

The road is CAI Bergamo's barrier-free route 104, graded AT, accessible to tourists, from the Colle di Zambla to the Conca dell'Alben: the description gives 5.6 kilometres in length, 45 minutes out and the same back, only 30 metres of ascent, a maximum gradient of 10 per cent, an average width of 3 metres and a minimum of 2, with no steps and no exposed sections. It lists water along the route, places to eat, an accessible toilet and good shade from the sun.

On the way to the Crocetta you pass a small rest area with benches and tables (CAI Bergamo); at the Crocetta is the spring. From the Pian della Palla, B&B Sotto l'Alben describes a loop of about 5.5 kilometres and 200 metres of ascent via the Pian della Mussa and the Conca dell'Alben, with views of the Menna, the Arera and the Grem: starting from the Passo di Zambla the full round comes to about 11 kilometres. A little further on, coming down trail 501 towards the Conca dell'Alben, VieFerrate.it uses the «old lime kilns» as the landmark where the level path to the Conca begins.

From the Crocetta you can choose four directions of very different difficulty, from a level stroll to the ridge of the Alben.

The Oltre il Colle cross-country track runs from Zambla Alta to Valpiana below the north face of the Alben, which keeps it snow-covered until late spring; VisitBrembo gives its length as 16 kilometres on one page and 13 on another. The stretch from Zambla Alta to the Crocetta has night lighting.

Describing route 104 in January 2024, the CAI mentions a temporary barrier along the road that protects the track: walkers keep to the side, off the groomed trail.

The Crocetta lies at the foot of the north side of the Alben: trail 501, which climbs from here, faces north (CAI Bergamo), and Lo Scarpone, the CAI's magazine, recommends the nearby Torrione Brassamonti precisely for hot summer days. Along the road to the Conca dell'Alben the CAI rates the shade from the sun as good (barrier-free route 104).