Passo Pordoi - Sas Ciapel

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Through the border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then continue 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 crossroad, 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 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, where we park on a large parking lot.
From Primorska: We drive on the highway towards Venice / Venezia. Near the 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 above description.

Path description:
From the parking lot on the pass we continue towards the southeast past the Savoia hut, behind which we will notice signposts. The signposts direct us to the footpath towards the Rifugio Fredarola hut. The wide path initially runs towards the southeast and brings us to the chapel. Here the path turns right and then slightly ascends below the eastern slopes of the peak Sas Bece. From the path we have a very nice view mainly on the nearby peaks in the Sella mountain group. The path then soon brings us to the saddle on the north side of the peak Sas Bece, from where a view towards Marmolada also opens up.
At the saddle where there is a junction we continue straight ahead, while to the left along the ski slope the path leads to the Rifugio Sass Bece hut. The path from the saddle first crosses grassy slopes towards the south and then brings us to a macadam road.
At the junction we continue slightly left and then head onto the footpath that crosses a short grassy slope. To the left ahead along the road the path leads to the Sass Bece hut, to the right downward to the Belvedere hut and further to the Col di Rosc peak. After a short crossing the path brings us to a wider macadam path, where we continue left.
The wide path then runs towards the east and slightly ascends along somewhat steeper grassy slopes with beautiful views towards Marmolada. Along such a path we soon reach the Rifugio Fredarola hut.
At the hut where there is a junction we continue along the macadam road towards the east following the signs »Viel del Pan«. The road then quickly brings us to another marked junction.
At the junction we continue slightly left onto the ridge path (Sentiero Attrezzato delle Creste), while to the right an easier path named Bindelweg leads to the Rifugio Viel del Pan hut and further to the Porta Vescovo saddle. The path from the junction runs along the northern side of the ridge and quickly brings us to somewhat steeper slopes from which we have a very nice view towards the Sella mountain group and towards Alta Badia. The path from the northern slopes soon turns right and climbs towards the ridge. We then continue ascending along the ridge for some time, after which the path brings us to the 2563 m high peak Col da Cuch from which a view opens onto the entire Padon ridge and towards Lago di Fedaia lake.
From the peak we continue along the ridge and begin to descend mostly over grassy terrain. The path, continuing to descend, runs along the southern side of the ridge and brings us to a smaller saddle. To the right an unmarked trail branches off here, crossing grassy slopes towards the Viel del Pan hut, while we continue along the ridge and begin to ascend more steeply again.
The path then leads us over an unnamed peak on which a larger cairn stands and then descends to the saddle below the western slopes of the Sas Ciapel peak. There is also a junction at this saddle where to the right across the grassy slope a trail branches off towards the Bindelweg path and Viel del Pan hut.
We continue along the ridge towards the east and the path brings us below the steeper slopes of the Sas Ciapel peak. The marked path here begins to cross the slopes on the southern side of the peak, while on the left side we will notice some trails leading towards the peak. We head onto one of the trails, which ascend over a fairly steep slope for a short time, requiring some caution during the ascent. The path then quickly brings us to the ridge, followed by a short easy ascent to the panoramic peak.

On the way: Rifugio Fredarola (2370m), Col da Cuch (2563m)

Trip can be extended to: Porta Vescovo (1 h 40 min) , Belvedere (1 h 10 min)