Lago di Fedaia - Punta Penia (Marmolada)

Access to starting point:
First, we drive to Cortina d'Ampezzo (you can get here via the border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then on the highway in the direction of Udine to the exit Tolmezzo. From Tolmezzo we follow the road in the direction of the village Ampezzo and mountain pass Passo della Mauria. The road then descends and brings us to an intersection, where we continue left (possible also right) in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all following intersections we follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo and then follow the signs for alpine pass Passo di Falzarego. Already in the first part of the ascent towards pass Falzarego we will come to an intersection, where the signs for pass Passo di Giau (2233 m) and Marmolada direct us left. The road after pass Giau starts descending, and we follow it through the settlements in the lower part in the direction of Marmolada or pass Passo di Fedaia. The road, which then starts ascending again, brings us higher to pass Fedaia, and we follow it to the other side of the lake, where we park on the parking lot near the hut Rifugio Castiglioni Marmolada.
Access from Primorska: We drive on the highway in the direction of Padova, but only to the highway junction, where we continue in the direction of Veneto and Belluno. Near Belluno the highway ends, and we follow the road ahead in the direction of Belluno, where at the larger intersection we continue right in the direction of the town Agordo. From the mentioned town onwards we follow the frequent signs for Marmolada or pass Passo di Fedaia. When we arrive at the mentioned pass we follow the road to the west side of the lake, where we turn left onto the road which runs over the dam and then park on the upper large parking lot.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we head on path 606 following the signs “Punta Penia, Rif. Pian dei Fiacconi”. The path first ascends through sparse scrub and bushes a little left of the cableway which leads towards the hut Pian dei Fiacconi. The path then brings us out of the scrub and soon turns right and brings us to the west side of the cableway. Here the path starts ascending below the sheer walls of peak Col di Bousc (2494 m) towards the south. A few more ascents in zigzags follow and we are already at saddle Col de Bous (2438 m). At the saddle where there is a junction we continue left in the direction of hut Pian dei Fiacconi.
Further on, we ascend on rocky terrain towards the southeast. From the path by which we ascend wonderful views continually open towards Marmolada and also towards the north where Piz Boè stands out. When we approach the cableway again, the path turns slightly right and to the hut where there is usually a lot of people only a short undemanding ascent follows.
From the hut we then continue towards the south in the direction of the glacier. The poorly marked path runs a little right of hut Capanna al Ghiacciaio and soon brings us to the glacier.
On the glacier in the lower part we keep to the somewhat more left side, in the upper part, when the slope is already somewhat steeper, we then cross to the right all the way to the steep rocky slope, where we leave the glacier. In summertime this is a quite visited path, so over the glacier already leads a well-trodden track. For the ascent on the glacier the use of crampons and ice axe is mandatory. Because on the glacier there are also some dangerous crevasses, it is highly recommended to do the ascent roped.
When we leave the glacier a steep ascent follows on the well-secured rocky slope. The steep path along the steel cable then soon brings us to the ridge on the north side of the mountain. From here on we will again need ice axe and crampons. We ascend on the right side of the ridge on the snowfield upwards. A little before the shelter the snow ends and to the highest peak of the Dolomites we have only a few steps of easy walking.

On the way: Col de Bous (2438m), Rifugio Pian dei Fiacconi (2626m)