Lech da Sompunt - Piz de Puez / Puezspitz (path 15)

Access to the starting point:
a) Access from Gorenjska: Drive through the Karavanke Tunnel into Austria, then continue to Spittal and on to Lienz (the motorway ends a little after Spittal). We continue along a relatively nice and wide road through the Drava Valley, which leads us into Itali. The road continues past Dobbiaco/Toblach and 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 to La Villa, where, a few metres after the signpost indicating the village, turn right towards Lake Lech da Sompunt. Follow the ascending road to the Hotel Sompunt, which is located on the shores of the lake.
b) From the coastal side: From Nova Gorica, take the exit for Itali and follow the motorway to Portogruaro, where at the motorway junction turn towards Belluno. Follow the motorway to its end (do not turn towards Belluno) and then continue to Cortina d'Ampezzo. When you arrive in Cortina d'Ampezzo, follow the signs for the Passo Falzarego Alpine Pass. At the Passo Falzarego (2105 m), turn right into the neighbouring Passo Valparola (2192 m), and from there descend into the Val Badia valley. At La Villa turn right towards Brunico/Bruneck. Just a few metres before the sign marking the end of La Villa, turn left towards Lech da Sompunt. Follow the ascending road to the Hotel Sompunt, which is located on the shores of the lake.

Path description:
At the lakeside parking lot, turn left onto the footpath after the signs "Sponata, Ütia de Puez". The path quickly leads to a road where there is a marked crossroads. Turn right and follow the road leading up the ski slope. Continue up the ski slope, from which you will have increasingly beautiful views of the Val Badia valley and the Lavarella mountain group. Higher up, we briefly join a mountain bike track, which we are reminded of by signs along the way. We continue to climb up the ski slope and soon see the Rifugio Sponata hut, which is then only a short climb away.
From the hut, where the view opens up towards Marmolada, we continue for a short time along a sloping macadam road, and then signs direct us right up the ski slope. After a short climb, the marked path leaves the ski slope and then climbs through the forest to the right of the ski slope. The path then leads to a crossroads where we join the path from the upper cable car station. At the marked crossroads, where the mountain bike trail also starts, continue along trail number 5 towards the Rifugio Gherdenacia hut.
Here you enter the Puez-Odle Nature Park and the well-maintained trail begins to climb steeply through increasingly sparse forest. The trail then turns slightly to the left and starts to cross quite steep slopes to the south. As it crosses, the trail initially continues to climb, but later becomes more level and in a few places descends slightly. The path then leads out of the forest to the mountain pasture Munt de Gherdenacia, where the Gherdenacia hut is also located.
At the hut where there are signs, continue westwards following the signs "Ütia de Puez". The path soon begins to climb and turns slightly right into a sparse larch forest and leads to a marked crossroads. The path to the left leads to the Sassongher summit, while we continue straight ahead and keep climbing along the increasingly sparse larch trees. For a short time we then climb gently up a grassy slope, and then we reach a narrow valley where there is another crossroads.
To the right along the valley is route number 11 towards the Puez hut, and we continue to the left along route number 15, which also leads towards the Puez hut. From the crossroads, the path crosses the slopes to the south-west, mostly in a gentle ascent. Later, the trail turns slightly to the right and leads to a marked crossroads where the trail branches off to the left towards the summit of Para dai Giai.
At the crossroads, we continue to the right along route 15 and climb a few times a little steeper. The trail then heads west and climbs all the way to the Forcella de Gherdenacia notch where the crossroads are.
To the left, route 15A leads to the top of Sassongher, and we continue slightly right on route 15, descending a little further. The trail then leads to the foot of the Col da la Sone, which you pass on your left on the south side. From the path, we start to get better and better views towards the Sella mountain group and soon another path branches off to the left towards the summit of Sassongher. At the crossroads we continue westwards, and the gentle path continues to descend gently for the most part until we reach a crossroads where we join the trail from the Passo Gardena pass and Colfosco.
At the crossroads continue right towards the Puez hut. The path from the crossroads is gentle and soon turns slightly to the left and crosses steep slopes. Soon you will see a flag in front of you, which is located near the hut. The scenic route continues to be gentle and soon leads to the hut, which is situated on the grassy slopes below the Col de Puez peak.
At the hut, continue westwards following the signs 'Pizes de Puez, Puezspitz'. After a few dozen metres, you come to a crossroads again, where the number 2 trail to the Langental Valley branches off to the left. We continue slightly to the right and start climbing steeply. The path leads us to a short ridge which leads us under the southern slopes of the Col de Puez peak. Here the path turns left and then crosses steep slopes to the north-west for some time. The slopes are quite steep in places, and there is also some rubble on the way, so some caution is needed in this part. This route then leads us to the west side of the Col de Puez peak where there is also a slightly less visible crossroads.
An unmarked trail leads to the right towards the Col de Puez summit, and we continue to the left on the marked trail towards the summit of Piz de Puez. The trail continues up the steep slopes of the mountain, which is not difficult overland. Just below the summit we reach a small saddle from where we also have a view to the north. Continue left here and quickly reach the summit along the ridge.

Descend back to the Puez hut and then you can return either by the ascent route or by route number 11. Both routes are approximately the same length.

On the way: Rifugio Sponata (1730m), Rifugio Gherdenacia (2050m), Forcella de Gherdenacia (2548m), Rifugio Puez (2475m)

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