Rifugio Pederü - L'Ciaval / Kreuzkofel (path 7)

Access to the starting point:
a) From Kranjska Gora via the Koren saddle to Austria, where at the first major junction continue left towards Podkloštro / Arnoldstein and Trbiz / Tarvisio. At the end of Podklošter, signs for Šmohor / Hermagor direct you to the right on the regional road, which takes you past the town to the end of the Ziljska Valley, or more precisely to Kötschach-Mauthen, where you turn right towards Oberdrauburg. The road continues over the Gailbergsattel Alpine pass (982 m), after which you descend into the above-mentioned town. After crossing a bridge over the River Drava, turn left towards Lienz. At the main roundabout in Lienz, turn left towards Sillian and Itali. Next we cross the national border between Austria and Itali, and we follow the main road past Dobbiaco / Toblach, Villabassa / Niederdorf, Monguelfo - Tesido / Welsberg - Taisten, Brunico / Bruneck. Just after the last mentioned town, which is passed by a bypass road, we turn left into the Val Badia valley. Continue along the valley and turn left at Longega towards San Vigilio. In San Vigilio, turn left at the crossroads after the "Pederü" signs. After about 200 metres, turn right, also after the 'Pederü' signs. Follow this road until you reach the large parking lot in front of the Rifugio Pederü.
b) From Nova Gorica, exit into Itali and follow the motorway to Venice/Venezia. At Portogruaro, leave the motorway towards Venice and turn right on the motorway towards Pordenone. At the next motorway junction near Conegliano, turn right towards Belluno. The motorway ends near Belluno and we continue towards Cortina d'Ampezzo at the next junctions. When you arrive in Cortina d'Ampezzo, follow the signs for the Passo Falzarego Alpine pass. At the Passo Falzarego (2105 m), turn right towards the Valparola Pass and continue towards Alta Badia. At La Villa turn right towards Brunico. Follow the road to Longega and turn right towards San Vigilio. In San Vigilio, turn left at the crossroads after the "Pederü" signs. After about 200 metres, turn right, also after the "Pederü" signs. Follow this road until you reach the large parking lot in front of the Rifugio Pederü.

Path description:
From the parking lot, continue to the crossroads behind the cottage. Signposts point slightly right on the footpath towards the Lavarela and Fanes huts, while the path to the left leads to the Fodara Vedla hut. The level path first crosses a stream and a road, then begins a slightly steeper climb through dwarf pines. After an initial slightly steeper section, the path becomes flatter further on, and also descends slightly for a short section. The path briefly joins the road a few times, and then rejoins the road, passing mainly through dwarf pines on the right side of the valley.
The path then turns slightly to the right and the views of the surrounding peaks start to open up. Later, we rejoin the mountain road, which runs along the Rü dal Plan stream. The road then climbs gently and leads to a crossroads.
The road to the left leads to the Rifugio Fanes hut (5 minutes) and we continue to the right towards the Rifugio Lavarela hut. The road continues along the stream and pasture and soon leads to the hut.
At the hut, continue to the right and after a short climb up a grassy slope you will reach a crossroads. We continue to the right on the upper path (path No 7), which leads to the Ju dla Crusc and Forcela de Medesc saddles, and to the left on the lower path (path No 12), which later joins the upper path and also leads to the two saddles.
From the crossroads, the path continues northwards up the grassy slope to another crossroads, where the path to the right branches off towards the Ju de Sant Antone saddle.
We continue to the left and the path begins to open up to more and more beautiful views of the surrounding peaks. Later the path becomes more level and runs on partly grassy and scree terrain. The path then begins to climb again and leads to an undistinguished saddle from which we can see the peaks of Sasso delle Dieci and Sasso delle Nove. Here the path begins to descend slightly and then turns left, crossing grassy slopes on which marmots can often be seen. It then climbs up a narrow valley and then descends to a crossroads where the lower path (route No 12) joins from the left.
Continue right along the grassy valley and you are quickly back at the crossroads. To the left, the path leads to the Forcela de Medesc and on to the Lavarella and Piz dles Conturines peaks, while we continue straight on towards the Ju dla Crusc saddle. The trail continues to climb on increasingly rocky terrain and we will also see some potholes along the way. This path then leads us all the way to the Ju dla Crusc saddle, where there is also a crossroads.
At the saddle, where we can see the Puez, Sella and Marmolada mountain groups to the west, we continue to the right and climb up the eastern, flatter side of the ridge. The path climbs cross-cuttingly here and leads us past the indistinct summit of Piz dl Zubr. The path opens up a few more times to views of the vertical western walls of the ridge, before the ridge gives way to the right and climbs up the eastern slopes of the L'Ciaval (Kreuzkofel) peak to reach a crossroads at the top.

Straight ahead the trail leads to the summit of Sasso delle Dieci (Zehnerspitze), and we continue to the left and after a short climb soon reach the summit.

On the way: Rifugio Lavarella (2042m), Ju dla Crusc (2612m), Piz dl Zubr (2718m)

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