Passo di Giau - Rifugio Averau (via Nuvolau)

Access to starting point:
First, we drive to Cortina d'Ampezzo (to get here, you can go 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 a crossroads, where we continue left (possible also right) in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all next crossroads, we follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo. Or from the Primorska side, where we drive on the highway in the direction of Trst / Trieste. Further, we drive on the Italian 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 at the next crossroads we continue in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo and then we follow the signs for the alpine pass Passo di Falzarego. We then follow this ascending road to a crossroads at an altitude of approximately 1400 m. At the crossroads, we continue left in the direction of the alpine pass Passo di Giau and Marmolada. We park on a large parking lot on the mentioned alpine pass.

Path description:
From the pass, we continue on a wide path past the hut Rifugio Passo Giau. After a short ascent on the wide path we come to a junction, where we turn right onto path 443 following the signs »Rif. Nuvolau Ferrata«. The path then starts to descend slightly and crosses the slopes below the summit Ragusela (2595 m). Soon an unmarked path will branch off to the left, leading towards the ridge of the summit Ra Gusela. We continue slightly descending towards the east and then come to a marked junction. We continue left following the signs »438« and »Via Ferrata«. The path here starts ascending over scree on the eastern side of Mount Ragusela and brings us to a small notch. From the notch we descend a few meters and then the path becomes more demanding. First, we ascend along the steel cable in a wide gully, then follows an ascent over a short ladder. The demanding part of the path is very short and soon we are on the gentle slopes below the summit Nuvolau. The path then turns slightly left and soon we come to a poorly visible junction where an unmarked path branches off to the left towards the summit Ra Gusela. We continue crossing the gentle slopes towards the south ridge of the summit Nuvolau. When we reach the ridge, the path becomes demanding again. First, we ascend along the steel cable on a slightly exposed ridge, then we ascend again over a short ladder. A few meters of walking along the steep ridge follow and we are already at the hut Rifugio Nuvolau.

We continue past the hut and head towards the signs for Rifugio Averau. The path starts descending along a wide ridge towards the north. Soon we come to a junction, where we turn left towards the hut, which we have been seeing in front of us for some time.

On the way: Rifugio Nuvolau (2575m)

Trip can be extended to: Averau