Ristorante Pietofana - Cima Formenton (via Rifugio Pomedes)

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Through the border crossings Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then continue 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 a crossroad, where we continue left (also right possible) in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all following crossroads, we follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo.
In Cortina d'Ampezzo we then follow the signs for the alpine pass Passo di Falzarego. We follow this ascending road to a crossroad where a narrower road towards the restaurant Pietofana and hut Col Druscie branches off to the right. The crossroad is located in the lower part of the road towards the pass Passo Falzarego. At the mentioned crossroad, we continue right and follow the asphalt road all the way to the larger parking lot at the restaurant Pietofana.
From the Primorska side: We drive on the highway towards Venice / Venezia. At the town Portogruaro we leave the highway towards Venice and continue right on the highway towards Pordenone. At the next highway junction near Conegliano, we continue right towards Belluno. Near Belluno the highway ends, and we continue at the next crossroads in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Further, we follow the above description.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue on the asphalt road and then turn left onto the macadam road following the signs »Rifugio Pomedes, Forcella Ra Valles«. The macadam road, closed to traffic, starts to ascend and quickly brings us to a marked junction, where the path towards the notch Forcella Ra Valles branches off to the right.
At the junction, we continue straight on the road, which brings us out of the forest alongside the ski slope. Here we ascend alongside the cableway for some time, then the road turns left across the ski slope. When the road crosses the ski slope, pay attention as our path branches off to the right onto the ski slope. The trail on the ski slope is initially quite poorly visible and brings us back to the right side of the cableway. Further on, the path continues to ascend relatively steeply on the ski slope, running slightly to the right of the cableway the whole time. The fairly steep ski slope gradually turns left; later, when we approach the hut Rifugio Duca d'Aosta, it becomes gentler.
Here, from the ski slope, we turn left, and only a short easy walk remains to the hut, from which there is a nice view of the mountains above Cortina d'Ampezzo.
From the hut, we continue on the ski slope that runs along the left side of the cableway. To the left, a transverse path branches off towards the hut Dibona, but we continue ahead on the ski slope, which soon becomes quite steep. Grassy slopes are replaced by sand, requiring some caution in a few places. The path then becomes less steep, and a view opens towards the hut Pomedes. Here the path turns slightly right towards the cableway, followed by a short ascent to the hut.
We can also reach the hut Rifugio Pomedes by chairlift, saving 1h 45min of walking.
At the hut, we continue north following the signs »Sentiero Attrezzato Giuseppe Olivieri«, first descending slightly, then crossing the scree above the ski slope. The path then brings us below the walls on the eastern side of the peak Punta Anna and ascends several times along the steel cable. Further on, the path ascends traversely above somewhat steeper slopes and then crosses a few exposed gullies.
Later, the path becomes somewhat more demanding, ascending over a vertical ladder and then steeply several times along the steel cable. The path then turns slightly left and ascends a less steep slope. From the path we have a very nice view the whole time, mainly on the peaks above Cortina d'Ampezzo; to the south, views towards Monte Pelmo and Civetta begin to open. Further on follows another somewhat steeper section of the path, where a ladder and some steel cables assist us again. The path then becomes less demanding and brings us to the ski slope from which a view towards Tofana di Mezzo opens.
At the marked junction, we continue right downhill towards the hut Rifugio Ra Valles; to the left is the path towards the peaks Punta Anna and Tofana di Mezzo. The path then mostly descends gently and brings us to the hut Ra Valles, where there is also the cable car station.
From the hut, we continue north, descend slightly, then continue left below the walls of the peaks Tofana di Mezzo and Tofana di Dentro. The path then ascends traversely for some time and soon enters the nature park Parco Naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo. The path then continues north for some time and brings us to a marked junction.
To the right, the path descends through the valley Canalon de Ra Ola; we continue slightly left and ascend the scree below the walls of the peak Tofana di Dentro. The path on the scree brings us to military ruins from the First World War. Here we continue slightly right, and the path through a window brings us to steeper slopes. Further on, the path turns slightly left and mostly ascends in steep zigzags up the steep slope. The slope is quite steep here, and occasionally a steel cable assists us. The path then turns right, followed by a somewhat exposed traverse that brings us to the saddle on the south side of the peak Cima Formenton.
On the saddle, where a view opens to the west, we leave the marked path towards Tofana di Dentro and turn right towards the peak Cima Formenton. The path from the saddle is unmarked but relatively easy. We walk along the ridge past numerous military ruins from the time of the First World War. On this path, we soon reach the panoramic summit.
We can descend via path no. 407 through the notch Forcella Ra Valles or continue to Tofana di Mezzo and descend from there using the cable car.

On the way: Rifugio Duca d'Aosta (2098m), Rifugio Pomedes (2203m), Rifugio Ra Valles (2470m)