Rifugio Dibona - Tofana di Mezzo (Via Ferrata Formenton)

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Through the border crossings at Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then continue on the highway in the direction of Vidma / Udine to the exit Tolmezzo. From Tolmezzo we follow the road in the direction of the settlement Ampezzo and the mountain pass Passo della Mauria. The road then descends and brings us to a crossroads, where we continue left (right also possible) in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. In all subsequent 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 place where the road branches off to the right towards the hut Rifugio Dibona (the turn-off is at an altitude of approx. 1700 m). The initially asphalted road brings us higher to a crossroads, where we continue on the left lower road (right hut Duca d'Aosta) and follow it to the parking lot for the hut Dibona.
From the Primorska side: We drive on the highway towards Venice / Venezia. At the place 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 in the next junctions we continue in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Further we follow the above description.

Path description:
From the parking lot at the hut Dibona we continue right on path 421. The path first crosses scree and begins to ascend slightly. The path here runs east and soon brings us to a somewhat wider torrent gully. At the gully the path turns left and begins to ascend more steeply beside the gully. Due to the slippery sand some caution is needed on this section. The path then crosses the gully and continues ascending quite steeply.
Later a direct path to the hut Rifugio Duca d'Aosta branches off quite unnoticeably to the right, and shortly after the secured path Via ferrata Astaldi joins from the left. From the junction the path ascends for some time through dwarf pines and soon brings us to the hut Rifugio Pomedes.
At the hut we continue north following the signs «Sentiero Attrezzato Giuseppe Olivieri» and first descend slightly, then cross scree above the ski slope. The path then brings us below the crags on the eastern side of the peak Punta Anna and ascends several times along the steel cable. In continuation the path ascends diagonally above somewhat steeper slopes and also crosses some exposed gullies.
Later the path becomes somewhat more demanding and ascends over a vertical ladder and then steeply ascends several times along the steel cable. The path then turns slightly left and ascends a less steep slope. From the path we have a very nice view all the time mainly on the peaks above Cortina d'Ampezzo, and to the south views towards Monte Pelmo and Civetta begin to open. In continuation a somewhat steeper section of the path follows, where a ladder and some steel cables assist us again. The path then becomes less demanding and brings us to the ski slope from which a view towards Tofana di Mezzo opens.
At the marked junction we continue right downhill towards the hut Rifugio Ra Valles, left the path leads towards the peaks Punta Anna and Tofana di Mezzo. The path then mostly descends slightly and brings us to the hut Ra Valles where there is also the cable car station.
From the hut we continue north, descend slightly, then continue left below the crags of the peaks Tofana di Mezzo and Tofana di Dentro. The path then ascends diagonally for some time and soon we enter the natural park Parco Naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo. The path then continues north for some time and brings us to a marked junction.
Right the path leads downhill through the valley Canalon de Ra Ola, we continue slightly left and ascend the scree under the walls of the peak Tofana di Dentro. The path through the scree brings us to military ruins from the First World War. Here we continue slightly right and the path through a window brings us to steeper slopes. The path then turns slightly left and mostly ascends in steep zigzags up the steep slope. The slope is quite steep here and occasionally a steel cable assists. The path then turns right and a somewhat exposed traverse follows, which brings us to the saddle on the south side of the peak Cima Formenton.
On the saddle where a view to the west opens we continue left and then ascend the slope along the ridge. At some places a steel cable assists, then the path turns slightly left and after crossing brings us to the bivouac Baracca degli Alpini.
From the bivouac after a short traverse the path soon brings us to the ridge along which we then ascend for some time. In continuation the path from the ridge brings us to scree on the eastern side of the peak Tofana di Dentro. First we cross scree southwards in ascent, then the path turns right and an ascent follows on relatively steep scree all the way to the very panoramic summit Tofana di Dentro.
From the summit we continue south and begin descending quite steeply with the aid of steel cables. Along the path we will notice some military ruins and tunnels from the First World War. The path then runs on the left side of the ridge and continues descending. Later the path brings us to a ridge from which a view towards Tofana di Rozes and Marmolada opens again. A short descent follows on the exposed but well secured ridge to the notch Forcella Tofana, located between Tofana di Dentro and Tofana di Mezzo.
From the saddle the path ascends again and runs on the right (western) side of the ridge. The path is quite steep here and mostly a steel cable assists. Due to the scree on the path more caution is needed. Later we join the wide path from the cable car and to the summit only a short easy ascent follows.
The descent is relatively long, but can be shortened considerably with the cable car. First option is to take the gondola to the hut Ra Valles (August 2012 – 6€) and then along the ascent path past the hut Pomedes back to the starting point. Second option is to take the gondola to the hut Col Druscie, then descend on foot to the restaurant Pietofana and then by chairlift to the hut Pomedes from which we descend back to the starting point. If not tied to the starting point we can take the cable car all the way to Cortina d'Ampezzo.

On the way: Rifugio Pomedes (2203m), Rifugio Ra Valles (2470m), Bivacco Baracca degli Alpini (2922m), Tofana di Dentro (3238m), Forcella Tofana (3084m)