Passo Tre Croci - Cima di Mezzo (Via ferrata Marino Bianchi)

Access to the starting point:
Via Border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then follow the motorway towards Udine to the Tolmezzo exit. From Tolmezzo, follow the road towards Ampezzo and the Passo della Mauria mountain pass. The road then descends and leads to a crossroads where you turn right towards Auronzo. Follow the signs for the Tre Croci Pass.

Path description:
From the Tre Croci pass, turn right onto the narrow, initially asphalted road (route 203). There are also signs at the beginning of the road directing you to the road. The tarmac ends quickly and you continue past the barrier and start climbing up the dirt road, which is closed to traffic. The road through the forest then soon leads to a crossroads where a path branches off to the right towards the Forcella del Cristallo notch, and we continue along the forest road. When we emerge from the forest, we are joined on the left by a path from the parking lot at the Monte Cristallo ski resort. We continue up the road for a while and then signs point us to the right onto a footpath.
The path starts to climb a little steeper and the views of the surrounding peaks start to get better and better. The path continues to ascend, crossing the slopes to the north-west and passing mostly along the rare dwarf pines. Higher up, the path leads to the Sonforcia saddle, where it rejoins the dirt road.
At the saddle, continue to the right along the road, which is then followed all the way to the Son Forca hut.
From the hut, continue towards the cable car. Signposts at the bottom of the cable car station will then direct you to the ski slope below the cable car. The trail continues along the ski slope below the cable car and starts to climb quite steeply. In the last part, the path climbs up a steep scree slope, which leads to the top station of the cable car. From here, it's just a walk to the hut.
From the hut, continue along the protected Via ferrata Marino Bianchi. The path follows the ridge in a south-easterly direction. The initial part of the trail starts with a gentle climb along the ridge, followed by a short descent into the stubble. Then the path starts to climb a little steeper along the barbed wire. There is a climb up a ladder and then the path soon leads to a crossroads.
Continue left along the more difficult path along the ridge, and descend the slightly easier path on the right. From the crossroads, the path first climbs a vertical ladder and then climbs very steeply along the ridge a few more times by the steel cable. In the last part, the path becomes a little less steep and leads us along a scenic ridge to the top. Descend along the path that runs along the south side of the ridge.

On the way: Passo Sonforcia (2110m), Rifugio Son Forca (2215m), Rifugio Guido Lorenzi (3000m)

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