Rifugio Primula - Forcella Marmarole

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: Via the border crossing at Rateče, drive to Trbiž / Tarvisio, where we head onto the motorway in the direction of Vidma / Udine. Leave the motorway at the Tolmezzo exit and follow the road to the aforementioned town. From Tolmezzo, continue towards the town of Ampezzo and the mountain pass Passo della Mauria. The road then starts descending and brings us into the Cadore valley, where we continue right (left Belluno and Cortina d'Ampezzo) towards the town of Auronzo. Towards the end of the town of Auronzo di Cadore, turn slightly left downhill onto a narrow road towards the Val da Rin valley. The road then turns left and crosses the bridge over the Ansiei river. We then follow the narrow ascending road to the Rifugio Primula di Pais hut. From the hut, continue approximately 200 meters along the road to the junction with the macadam road. Turn left onto the macadam road and park on the smaller parking lot at the beginning of the mentioned macadam road.
From the Primorska side: Drive on the motorway towards Venice / Venezia. At Portogruaro, leave the motorway towards Venice and continue right on the motorway towards Pordenone. At the next motorway junction near Conegliano, continue right towards Belluno. Near Belluno, the motorway ends, and we continue towards Cortina d'Ampezzo and Auronzo. Towards the end of the town of Auronzo di Cadore, turn slightly left downhill onto a narrow road towards the Val da Rin valley. The road then turns left and crosses the bridge over the Ansiei river. We then follow the narrow ascending road to the Rifugio Primula di Pais hut. From the hut, continue approximately 200 meters along the road to the junction with the macadam road. Turn left onto the macadam road and park on the smaller parking lot at the beginning of the mentioned macadam road.

Path description:
From the starting point, continue on the macadam road, where signposts at the beginning of the mentioned road also direct us. The road quickly turns left, crosses a stream, and brings us to a junction.
Left leads path 273 towards the Rifugio Ciareido hut; we continue right on path 270. For a short time, we still walk through the forest, then the road brings us to the wide bed of a torrent. We continue for several tens of meters along the torrent bed, then a signpost directs us right onto a cart track located on the other side of the bed. The cart track begins to ascend gently through the forest and for a short time runs above the stream. The cart track then turns left and thereafter runs southwards, slightly ascending. When we approach the torrent bed again, the cart track turns into a footpath. Further on, we walk for some time along the right edge of the torrent bed, where the footpath is not visible. For orientation, blazes and numerous cairns help us. Soon, the blazes direct us left, followed by a short ascent through dwarf pines and sparse forest on the left side of the torrent bed. The path then crosses the bed again to the right side and brings us into the forest.
Further on, we ascend somewhat more steeply through the forest for a long time. Higher up, the path turns slightly left, and the forest gradually transitions into dwarf pines. A relatively narrow footpath then brings us to a junction.
Left leads the path to bivouac Fanton; we continue right towards the Forcella Marmarole notch, as indicated by the inscription on the rock. From the junction, we ascend through dwarf pines for some time; the footpath becomes increasingly less trodden and soon disappears completely. Since there is mostly no footpath on the further ascent, we must pay somewhat more attention to the blazes and cairns that guide us up the slope. Here, we ascend along the edge of the dwarf pines up the slope. The path runs parallel to the torrent bed, which is on our right side. The dwarf pines then end, and we ascend for some time on the grassy slope on the left side of the torrent bed. Higher up, we cross a smaller branch of the bed to the right side and then ascend again on an increasingly steep slope. When we reach the rock face, we continue right and cross the steep slope. From the grassy slope, we pass onto rocky terrain, and the ascent becomes more demanding. Here, the path turns left steeply upwards and ascends a short gully. The slope is very steep here, but the narrow gully has many footholds and handholds, so climbing is not overly difficult. After the short steep ascent, the slope becomes somewhat less steep. The path then ascends the slope slightly to the right and brings us to a stream.
A short ascent along the stream to the spring follows, then the path turns slightly right and continues ascending up the valley below the precipitous rock faces of the surrounding mountains. Somewhat higher, the slope becomes steeper, and the blazes direct us sharply left.
The ascent here becomes more demanding again. First, we ascend diagonally along a somewhat exposed ledge, then the path brings us to the steel cables. Here, the path ascends very steeply right upwards, followed by a short exposed crossing to the right. The demanding section of the path, secured with a steel cable, is relatively short, and further on, an ascent follows on a slope that is somewhat less steep. Although the ascent in this section is not technically overly demanding, we must be very attentive to the blazes, as the footpath is mostly not visible. In fog, orientation can be very demanding.
Further on, we ascend the left part of the valley upwards; somewhat later, the path turns right and then ascends an indistinct ridge running through the middle of the valley. Here, the footpath occasionally becomes somewhat more visible again. Along the increasingly panoramic path, we soon reach the Forcella Marmarole notch.
The most suitable descent is via the ascent path. If not bound by transport, we can continue over the Forcella Froppa notch and then descend to the south side via paths 260 and 280. The section towards the Forcella Froppa notch, where we cross steep scree that is not trodden, can be quite dangerous for slipping. The descent to the south side directly from the Forcella Marmarole notch via the gully is also demanding.
The described path is solitary and poorly trodden. Even in peak season, it is very likely that we will not meet anyone on the path. The entire Marmarole mountain group is known for having no high alpine roads or cable cars. Marked paths do not lead to the mostly difficult-to-access summits. Accesses from the north side also have no mountain huts, only bivouacs. A new modern bivouac is also planned at the Forcella Marmarole notch.