Rifugio Padova - Cima Montanel (via Forcella di Crodon)

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Through the border crossing at Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then on the highway in the direction of Vidma / Udine to the Tolmezzo exit. 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 crossroad, where we continue left in the direction of Belluno. We follow the main road, which runs through the valley of the Piave River, only to the settlement Domegge di Cadore. In the mentioned settlement we turn left downhill and then follow the signs for the mountain hut Rifugio Padova. The road after the descent crosses the Piave River, then soon starts ascending. The road which leads to the mentioned mountain hut is quite steep and very narrow. We follow this road all the way to the parking lot in front of the gate near the mountain hut Rifugio Padova.
From the Primorska side: We drive on the highway towards Venice / Venezia. At 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 the settlement Auronzo and the mountain pass Passo Mauria. We follow this road to the settlement Domegge di Cadore. In the mentioned settlement we turn right downhill and then follow the signs for the mountain hut Rifugio Padova. The road after the descent crosses the Piave River, then soon starts ascending. The road which leads to the mentioned mountain hut is quite steep and very narrow. We follow this road all the way to the parking lot in front of the gate near the mountain hut Rifugio Padova.

Path description:
At the gate where there is a junction we head left onto the grassy slope and ascend along the path that runs along the edge of the forest. The path quickly brings us to a marked junction. Straight ahead leads the path to bivouac Perugini, and we head left into the forest where the signs direct us to mountain hut Rifugio Giaf.
From the junction the path ascends through the forest and mostly runs towards the northeast. Later the path slightly descends and brings us into a sparser forest mixed with dwarf pines. Here from the path nicer views of the surrounding peaks begin to open. Such a path then brings us to signposts by the path where there is also a junction.
On the signposts only path 346 is marked towards mountain hut Rifugio Giaf and mountain hut Rifugio Padova. At the signposts we leave path 346 and head left into the forest on a poorly trodden path. The beginning of the path is marked with a cairn.
From the junction the path slowly turns slightly left and brings us from the forest into dwarf pines. A short traverse follows, then we come to a narrow scree strip. In continuation we then ascend the mentioned narrow scree strip, which is surrounded by dense dwarf pines, for quite some time. Higher as we approach steep walls and the scree turns into a steep torrent gully, the blazes direct us left into dwarf pines.
The path then ascends quite steeply and for quite some time runs through quite overgrown dwarf pines. When we come out of the dwarf pines the path levels slightly for a short time and brings us to scree. The path in continuation runs along the left side of the scree under the eastern slopes of peak Crodon di Scodavacca. The trail here is occasionally somewhat less visible and is marked with red dots. The increasingly panoramic path continues across the scree and higher turns slightly left. The last ascent to saddle Forcella di Crodon follows.
At the saddle we continue to the north side and descend slightly down the gully. The path here for a short time runs along the right edge of the gully then turns right onto a ledge. Along the ledge we then cross the exposed slope towards the northeast for some time. The ledge is fairly wide but some caution is still needed because there is a lot of scree on the path. From the ledge the path then brings us to scree fields down which we descend. The path here turns left and across terrain partly covered with grass soon brings us to a junction.
At the junction where the path from bivouac Montanel joins from the left we continue right where the inscription on the rock also directs us. From the junction the path runs north and brings us to grassy slopes below peak Montanel. Here the path turns right and begins steeply ascending the panoramic grassy slope. The trail on this section is less visible but cairns assist us so orientation is not demanding. When we arrive below the rocky slopes of the peak the path becomes more demanding. Inscription »cima« directs us right onto a narrow ledge along which we cross the precipitous slope. The path then turns left and some easy climbing follows to a narrow saddle. From the saddle a very short more demanding ascent follows which is not exposed. The path then turns left and to the summit only some very easy climbing follows.
We can descend along the ascent path or past bivouac Montanel towards mountain hut Rifugio Cercena. From the mentioned hut we then have to the starting point at mountain hut Rifugio Padova approximately one hour of walking along the road.

On the way: Pra di Toro (1300m), Forcella di Crodon (2340m)