Ossario del Pordoi - Cresta Strenta (Lichtenfels)

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Via the border crossings Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then on the highway in the direction of Vidma / Udine to the Tolmezzo exit. 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 the mentioned pass. At the pass we arrive at a crossroad, where we continue on the left road in the direction of Marmolada and settlement Arabba (right Alta Badia). The road ahead descends for quite some time, then brings us to a crossroad, where we continue right in the direction of pass Passo Pordoi (left Marmolada). We follow the relatively wide and ascending road all the way to the mentioned pass. At the pass we then turn right onto the narrow asphalted road towards the ossuary of German soldiers (Cimitero Militare Germanico). We park on the parking lot at the end of the mentioned road.
From Primorska: We drive on the highway towards Venice / Venezia. At 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 at the following crossroads we continue in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Further we follow the above description.

Path description:
From the parking lot we continue on a well-maintained path towards the ossuary where 8582 German soldiers who fell in the First World War and 849 soldiers who fell in the Second World War are buried. At the ossuary we then continue left where the signposts for the via ferrata Cesare Piazzetta direct us. The path then leads us across a panoramic grassy slope and soon begins to ascend somewhat more steeply. For a short time the path then crosses a steeper slope to the right, then resumes ascending the slope upwards. The path, which is mostly marked with red arrows, then ascends until we get completely close to the mighty crag where we join path 626.
Here we continue right and after a short traverse the path brings us to a sign marking the start of the extremely demanding path Via Ferrata Cesare Piazzetta. We continue further on the easy path which traverses the slopes below vertical walls towards the east. The path then traverses such a slope for quite some time, slightly ascending and descending a few times. From the path a view towards the hut Ütia Franz Kostner soon opens up and after a short descent we reach a marked junction.
To the left uphill path 638 branches off, which via the gully Rissa di Pigolerz leads towards the summit Piz Boe. At the junction we continue on path 626, which continues to traverse the slopes below sheer walls. Along the path we will also notice some ruins from the time of the First World War, and the path also leads past a smaller lake. The path then turns slightly left and after a short descent brings us to another junction.
To the right it is only a few minutes' walk to the hut Ütia Franz Kostner. If we also visit the hut, we return to the junction and continue left on the Lichtenfels path (path 672). From the junction the path begins to ascend the scree and runs up the right side of the valley. At the end of the valley the path turns right into the rocks and becomes more demanding. The path, which is well protected with a steel cable, here runs across a steep rocky slope and ascends somewhat more steeply a few times. More experienced mountaineers will manage the ascent even without self-belaying. The relatively short protected section then ends and the path becomes less demanding.
Further on the path then turns left and then for some time mostly in a gentle ascent traverses steep slopes on the eastern side of the summit Pizes dl Valun. After the traverse the path brings us to less steep slopes where we reach a marked junction.
At the junction we continue right on path 672 (Lichtenfels), straight ahead the path leads which later joins path 638. Our path then ascends somewhat to the left of the wide and relatively gentle valley and runs towards the west. When we reach the southwest side of summit Pizes dl Valun the path turns even more to the left and brings us to a wide ridge from which a fine view opens towards summit Piz Boe. We continue further towards the west and soon reach below the slope of summit Piz Lech Dlace. Here the path withdraws from the ridge to the right side and after a short ascent on scree the protected path Via Ferrata Vallon joins us from the right.
At the junction the path turns left and ascends a steeper rocky slope. On the short section some steel cables assist us. On the ridge we then continue right and soon reach summit Piz Lech Dlace on which a larger cairn stands.
From the summit we continue along the ridge and after a short descent we reach a saddle where there is a junction. From the right another path from the protected path Via Ferrata Vallon joins here. Likewise to the right a transversal path to hut Rifugio Boe branches off, from the left an unmarked trail past lake Eissee joins.
We continue straight and begin ascending the rocky slope again. Slightly higher the path slowly turns left and brings us to the ridge from where a view opens towards the west. We continue along the ridge towards the south and then traverse steeper slopes along the ridge. On the short section a steel cable assists us. When we reach the ridge again we attain the somewhat less known summit Cresta Strenta, which with 3124 m is the second highest summit in the Sella group.

On the way: Ütia Franz Kostner (2500m), Piz Lech Dlace (3009m)

Trip can be extended to: Piz Boe