Lech da Sompunt - Col de Puez / Puezkofel (path 15)

Access to starting point:
A) Access from Gorenjska: Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards Spittal and further towards Lienz (a little after Spittal the highway ends). Further, we drive on a relatively nice and wide road through the Drau Valley, which brings us to Italy. The road further leads past Dobbiaco / Toblach and Brunico / Bruneck. Only a little after the last-mentioned town, past which a bypass road leads, we turn left into the Val Badia valley. Further, we drive through the mentioned valley to La Villa where only a few meters after the sign, which marks the settlement, we turn right towards the lake Lech da Sompunt. Then we follow the ascending road to Hotel Sompunt, which is located by the mentioned lake.
B) From the Primorska side: From Nova Gorica, we drive to Italy and then continue on the highway to Portogruaro, where at the highway junction we turn in the direction of the town Belluno. We follow the highway to its end (we don't turn in the direction towards the town Belluno), and then we continue driving towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. When we arrive in Cortina d'Ampezzo, we follow the signs for the alpine pass Passo Falzarego. On the pass Passo Falzarego (2105 m) we turn right towards the neighbouring pass Passo Valparola (2192 m), from there we descend into the Val Badia valley. In La Villa we turn right towards Brunico / Bruneck. Only a few meters before the sign, which marks the end of the settlement La Villa, we turn left towards the lake Lech da Sompunt. Then we follow the ascending road to Hotel Sompunt, which is located by the mentioned lake.

Path description:
At the parking lot by the lake we go left on a footpath following the signs »Sponata, Ütia de Puez«. The path quickly brings us to the road where there is a marked junction. We go right and continue on the road which leads up the ski slope. Further, we ascend the ski slope from which increasingly beautiful views open up towards the Val Badia valley and the Lavarella mountain group. Higher up, a mountain bike trail joins us for a short time, which is also indicated by signs along the path. We continue ascending the ski slope and soon spot the Rifugio Sponata hut, followed by only a short ascent.
From the hut where a view towards Marmolada opens up, we continue for a short time on a gently sloping macadam road, then signposts direct us right upwards onto the ski slope. After a short ascent the marked path leaves the ski slope and follows the ascent through the forest to the right of the ski slope. The path then brings us to a junction where the path from the upper cable car station joins. At the marked junction where the mountain bike trail also begins, we continue on path number 5 towards the Rifugio Gherdenacia hut.
Here we enter the Puez-Odle nature park and the well-maintained path begins to ascend steeply through the increasingly sparse forest. The path then turns slightly to the left and begins crossing fairly steep slopes towards the south. During the crossing the path initially still ascends, later it becomes gentler and slightly descends in a few places. The path then brings us out of the forest onto the Munt de Gherdenacia pasture where the Gherdenacia hut is also located.
At the hut where there are signposts we continue westwards following the signs »Ütia de Puez«. The path soon begins to ascend and turns slightly to the right into the sparse larch forest and brings us to a marked junction. Left leads the path to the Sassongher summit, we continue straight ahead and continue ascending beside the increasingly sparse larches. For a short time we then gently ascend a scenic grassy slope, then we reach a narrow valley where there is another junction.
Right through the mentioned valley leads path number 11 towards the Puez hut, we continue left on path number 15, which also leads to the Puez hut. From the junction the path mostly crosses the slopes in a gentle ascent towards the southwest. Later the path turns slightly to the right and brings us to a marked junction where the path to the Para dai Giai summit branches off to the left.
At the junction we continue right on path 15 and ascend somewhat more steeply a few times. The path then runs westwards and ascends all the way to the Forcella de Gherdenacia saddle where there is a junction.
Left leads path 15A to the Sassongher summit, we continue slightly right on path 15 and then descend slightly. The path then brings us below the slope of the Col da la Sone summit, which we bypass on the left southern side. From the path increasingly beautiful views begin to open towards the Sella mountain group and soon another path to the Sassongher summit branches off to the left. At the junction we continue towards the west, the gentle path then mostly gently descends all the way to the junction where we join the path from the Passo Gardena pass and Colfosco village.
At the junction we continue right towards the Puez hut. The path from the junction is gentle and soon turns slightly to the left and crosses steep slopes. Soon we will see a flag in front of us, which is located near the hut. The scenic path remains gentle and soon brings us to the hut, which is located on grassy slopes below the Col de Puez summit.
At the hut we continue westwards following the signs »Pizes de Puez, Puezspitz«. After a few tens of meters we reach another junction where path number 2 to the Langental valley branches off to the left. We continue slightly right and begin to ascend more steeply. The path brings us to a short ridge which brings us below the southern slopes of the Col de Puez summit. Here the path turns left and then crosses steep slopes towards the northwest for some time. The slopes are quite steep in some places, there is also some scree on the path so some caution is needed on this section. Such a path then brings us to the western side of the Col de Puez summit where there is also a somewhat less visible junction.
Left leads a marked path to the Piz de Puez summit, we head right onto the unmarked path to the Col de Puez summit. The path here runs along the western slope of the mountain, which is not overly steep. The path is not particularly well-trodden but we can follow it without difficulty all the way to the summit.

On the way: Rifugio Sponata (1730m), Rifugio Gherdenacia (2050m), Forcella de Gherdenacia (2548m), Rifugio Puez (2475m)