Passo Gardena - Rifugio Pisciadu

Access to starting point:
A) From Kranjska Gora over Korensko sedlo to Austria, where at the first major intersection we continue left towards Podklošter / Arnoldstein and Trbiž / Tarvisio. At the end of the settlement Podklošter signs for Šmohor / Hermagor point us right onto a regional road, along which past the mentioned settlement we drive to the end of the Gailtal valley, or more precisely to the settlement Kötschach-Mauthen, where we turn right towards the settlement Oberdrauburg. The route ahead leads us over the Alpine pass Gailbergsattel (982 m), after which we descend into the mentioned settlement. After crossing the bridge over the river Drau, we continue left towards the settlement Lienz. In the main roundabout in Lienz we continue "left" in the direction of the settlement Sillian and Italy. Further, we cross the border between Austria and Italy, and we follow the main road past the settlements Dobbiaco / Toblach, Villabassa / Niederdorf, Monguelfo - Tesido / Welsberg - Taisten, Brunico / Bruneck. Only a little after the last-mentioned settlement, past which a bypass runs, we turn left into the Alta Badia valley. Further, we drive through the mentioned valley and in the settlement La Villa we turn right towards the pass Passo Gardena. Further, we follow the ascending road to a large parking lot a few turns before the pass Passo Gardena. At the parking lot there is also a large sign with the inscription »Via Ferrata – Klettersteig«.
B) From Nova Gorica we drive into Italy and continue on the highway to the settlement Portogruaro, where at the highway junction we turn in the direction of the settlement Belluno. We follow the highway to its end (we do not turn towards Belluno), then we continue the drive towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. When we arrive in Cortina d'Ampezzo, we follow the signs for the Alpine pass Passo Falzarego. At the pass Passo Falzarego (2105 m) we turn right in the direction of Alta Badia and first ascend to the neighbouring pass Passo Valparola (2192 m), from there we descend into the mentioned valley. In the settlement La Villa we turn left towards the pass Passo Gardena. Further, we follow the ascending road to a large parking lot a few turns before the pass Passo Gardena. At the parking lot there is also a large sign with the inscription »Via Ferrata – Klettersteig«.

Route description:
From the parking lot, we head south following the signs »Utia de Pisciadu«. The path ascends quite steeply and brings us to a junction where a path branches off to the left towards the via ferrata Via Ferrata Tridentina. We continue straight ahead and continue ascending towards the precipitous walls of the peaks in the Sella group.
To the right then branches the path towards the pass Passo Gardena, but we continue straight upwards and begin to ascend the narrow valley named Val Setus, which is surrounded by precipitous walls. Here the path ascends over scree and runs below the cargo cableway. Higher up the slope becomes increasingly steep and in the final section the path is also secured with a steel cable and pegs. Here the path ascends steeply several times and some caution is required. If we are not accustomed to such paths, self-belaying is highly recommended. The secured section soon ends and brings us to gentler slopes where there is a junction.
To the right the path leads towards the notch Forcela dei Camosci, while we continue left towards the hut Rifugio Pisciadu. From the junction the path first ascends gently, then follows a short descent towards the hut, which we can already see ahead.

The trip can be extended to the following destinations: Rifugio Boe, Cima Pisciadu, Piz Boe

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