Rifugio Dibona - Tofana di Rozes (Via Ferrata Lipella)

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Through the border crossing at 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 junction, where we continue left (also right possible) in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all following junctions 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 in the direction of the hut rifugio Dibona (the branch-off is at approx. 1700 m). The initially asphalted road then takes us higher to a junction, where we continue on the lower left 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. 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 we continue at the following junctions in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Further we follow the above description.

Path description:
From the parking lot we continue on a macadam road past a gate. We follow this road to a junction with signposts, where we turn left onto the footpath following the signs »Via Ferrata Lipella«, while right leads path 403 towards the hut Rifugio Giussani. Already after a few meters we are again at a junction. This time we turn right, also following the signs »Via Ferrata Lipella«. The path then crosses the slopes below the mighty south wall of Tofana towards the west in ascent. Initially we ascend through dwarf pines, which are soon replaced by scree. When we approach the wall completely we are again at a junction. We turn left and continue crossing scree towards the west. Right leads the path towards the hut Rifugio Giussani, straight ahead the secured path »Grotta della Tofana«.

After crossing the scree we will be again at a junction, where we turn right following the signs »Via Ferrata Lipella«. Here the path turns slightly towards the north and then we soon enter the climbing section of the path. With the help of brackets and a ladder we ascend almost vertically upwards. Then follows another ascent on the ladder, which brings us to the military tunnel (Galleria del Castelletto). The path then leads for some time through military tunnels, through which we ascend quite steeply a few times. The military tunnel is approximately 500 meters long and ascends 120 meters. From the tunnel we then descend with the help of steel cables onto a somewhat less steep slope below the summit Il Castelletto. Follows crossing on narrow ledges towards the north, after which the path becomes very demanding. A few times we ascend almost vertically with only the steel cable for assistance. Later a bracket assists us on a short overhanging section. The path then continues crossing the west wall towards the north. Mostly we walk on narrow ledges, occasionally ascending steeply. On the path we also descend slightly a few times. Such a path continues all the way to the junction just before the summit Tre Dita (three fingers). It should also be noted that while crossing narrow ledges, water often flows from the vertical walls above us. When snow is still melting higher up, these are real small waterfalls that can thoroughly soak us.

At the junction the path to the summit Tre Dita and further to the hut Rifugio Giussani branches off left, while we turn right where the sign »Cima« directs us. From the junction follows a somewhat longer crossing on the ledge, then the path turns left steeply upwards. A few times we ascend almost vertically along the steel cable, after which the steepness eases slightly. Continuing, the path runs slightly to the right and continues ascending along the steel cable. In between there are also some more demanding almost vertical ascents. The path continues slightly to the right and then brings us to the scree where the secured path ends.

After the ascent over scree we soon reach the ridge where we join the easier path that runs along the eastern side of the mountain.
At the junction we continue right along the ridge, on which we then ascend for some time. In the final section the path moves away from the ridge to the right onto the west side. Here some caution is needed at a few spots as there is quite a lot of scree on the path. Such a path soon brings us to the very panoramic summit.

We descend along the easier path that we joined at the end of the secured path.