Passo Giau - Monte Cernera

Access to starting point:
A) Access from Gorenjska: From Rateče or Predel we cross the border to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then on the highway in the direction of Videm / Udine to exit Tolmezzo. From Tolmezzo we follow the road in the direction of village Ampezzo and mountain pass Passo Mauria. The road then descends and it brings us to a crossroad, 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.
In Cortina d'Ampezzo then we follow the signs for Alpine mountain pass Passo di Falzarego. This ascending road we then follow to a crossroad at an altitude of approximately 1400m. At the crossroad, we continue left in the direction of Alpine mountain pass Passo di Giau and Marmolada. We park on a large parking lot on the mountain pass Passo di Giau.
B) From Primorska: We drive on the highway towards Venice / Venezia. At town 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 next crossroads we continue in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Further, we follow the description above.

Path description:
From the mountain pass, we continue left (towards the south) on the path which on the left side bypasses the chapel. The path with mark 436 at first leads us on gently sloping meadows with beautiful views on surrounding peaks, and then it brings us on a smaller notch named Forcella Zonia. From the notch, we descend a little and then we cross steep slopes above the valley Valle di Zonia. After the crossing, the path brings us to the notch Forcella Col Piombin where there is another crossing.
Left leads the path 436 towards the notch Forcella Giau, and we go right on a little less beaten path following the signs »Sentiero Alpinistico del Cernera«.
Further, we continue on the path which at first crosses gentle and then steeper and steeper slopes of the mountain Monte Cernera. The path from which nice views are opening up mainly on the west side, quickly brings us to first exposed traverse. We get over a short rocky slope with the help of steel cables, which is because of wet terrain quite welcomed. Steepness for a short time decreases and the path brings us to a steep rocky section on which with the help of fixed safety gear we ascend steep upwards. Fixed safety gear quickly ends and the path brings us on relatively steep grassy slopes. Further steepness slightly decreases and the path brings us to a poorly visible crossing where unmarked footpath branches off to the right. We go straight and continue to ascend on grassy slopes. When we get closer to rocky slopes at first we cross a shorter torrent gully and then the path brings us to a marked crossing.
To the right leads the path towards the summit Monte Verdal and further into a valley Valle di Zonia, and we continue left towards the summit Monte Cernera. From the crossing, the path becomes again demanding and with the help of steel cables steeply ascends on a rocky slope. Secured part of the path is again relatively short and it quickly brings us to the grassy slopes on the western side of the peak Monte Cernera. Here for a short time, a view opens up towards the summit Monte Civetta, and then the path turns to the left and is further ascending on a slope on the southwest side of the peak. The path here isn't very demanding and runs on a rocky slope on which there is also some gravel. The path further is mostly ascending diagonally towards the east and soon also a view opens up towards the cross on the top of the mountain. When we reach the northern side of the mountain, the path turns to the right and follows an ascent on the upper slope of the mountain to the top.
We descend on the ascent route.

On the way: Forcella Zonia (2229m), Forcella Col Piombin (2239m)