Ossario del Pordoi - Pizes dl Valun (path 672)

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Via the border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then on the highway in the direction of Videm / 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 crossroads, where we continue left (also possible right) 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 come to a crossroads, 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 crossroads, 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 a 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 are buried, who fell in the First World War and 849 soldiers who fell in the Second World War. At the ossuary we then continue left where signposts for the climbing path Via Ferrata Cesare Piazzetta direct us. The path then leads us on a panoramic grassy slope and soon starts to ascend a little more steeply. For a short time the path then crosses a steeper slope to the right, then starts ascending the slope upwards again. The path, which is mostly marked with red arrows, then ascends until we approach the mighty wall where we join path 626.
Here we continue right and after a short crossing the path brings us to a sign that marks the beginning of the extremely demanding path Via Ferrata Cesare Piazzetta. We continue on the easy path that crosses slopes below vertical walls towards the east. The path then crosses such a slope for quite some time and in doing so slightly ascends and descends a few times. From the path a view soon opens towards the hut Ütia Franz Kostner and after a short descent we reach a marked junction.
To the left upwards branches path 638, which through the gully Rissa di Pigolerz leads towards the summit Piz Boè. At the junction we continue on path 626, which further crosses 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 to the 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 starts ascending on scree and runs on the right side of the valley upwards. At the end of the valley the path turns right into rocks and becomes more demanding. The path, which is well secured with a steel cable, here runs on 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 secured 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 crosses steep slopes on the eastern side of the peak Pizes dl Valun. After crossing, 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 leads the path 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 the peak Pizes dl Valun we will notice a distinct saddle below the western slopes. Here we leave the marked path and head off-path towards the mentioned saddle. From the saddle a relatively easy passage is also clearly visible, which runs on the slope above the scree towards the ridge. At the saddle we turn right and start ascending pathless scree and then along the mentioned passage slightly right to the ridge. The ascent is not overly demanding but due to the scree some caution is still needed. When we reach the ridge we continue left and along the gentle slope soon reach the summit where a small cairn is built. From the summit there is a wonderful view of most of the Sella mountain group.

On the way: Ütia Franz Kostner (2500m)