Passo Campolongo - Cresta Strenta (Lichtenfels)

Access to the starting point:
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 past La Vila and Corvara. Then climb up to the Passo Campolongo. A few hundred metres before the pass, you will see a gravel parking area on your left. The parking lot is located behind the Hotel Laguscei, opposite the bus stop. The lower station of the chairlift is also along the road. There is also a smaller parking lot on the right hand side of the road in front of the bus station.

Path description:
From the parking lot, continue along the main road (south) to the Hotel Boe, which is on the right west side of the road. At the hotel, where there are also signs, turn right onto the dirt road after the signs "Rifugio Lago Boe". After the hotel, the road turns right and descends a little, then starts to climb and crosses the ski slope. The road then climbs briefly through the woods and then leads to mountain pasture Malga Plan Fisti.

Continue along the road via mountain pasture and just after mountain pasture you will reach a marked crossroads where a footpath branches off to the left towards the Kaiser Hütte hut. We continue to the right and continue to climb up the road. After a short climb, the 638A trail then branches off to the right towards the summit of Crep de Munt. We continue left along the road, which offers beautiful views towards the Marmolada and the mountains above the Val Badia valley. The road climbs a little steeper here and leads us back to the ski slopes. A little higher up, the road turns to the right and continues to climb along the mostly grassy slopes. The road then becomes flatter and soon leads to the Rifugio Lago Boe hut. The hut is also reached by a circular cable car from Corvara in Val Badia. Near the hut, there is also the lower station of the chairlift leading to the Vallon peak (2530 m). Both lifts are also in operation during the summer months.

Near the hut where there is a crossroads, continue left along the ski slope to the signs for Lech de Boe lake and hut Ütia Franz Kostner. The trail follows the right edge of the ski slope and after a short climb leads to the aforementioned lake, which is located to the right of the ski slope under a rocky ridge.

From the lake, continue along route 638, which turns left and crosses the ski resort. The trail then runs slightly to the left of the ski slope on partly grassy terrain. The path soon leads to a marked crossroads where path 636 branches off to the left towards the Kaiser Hütte (Rifugio Bec de Roces). We continue on the path as it climbs the slope parallel to the ski slope and soon path 646A branches off to the right towards the summit of Boeseekofel (Piz da Lech). We continue along the path to the left of the ski slope and slowly beautiful views begin to open up towards the Ütia Franz Kostner hut and the precipitous cliffs of the nearby peaks in the Sella mountain group. The slope becomes a little more gentle and the path leads to a marked crossroads.
The path to the right branches off towards the top station of the Vallon cable car and on to the top of Boeseekofel (Piz da Lech), and we continue left along the 638 towards the Ütia Franz Kostner hut. The wide and scenic trail runs westwards and quickly leads to another crossroads.

If you don't visit the hut, you can continue straight on to route 638 at the crossroads, otherwise turn left and after a short climb you will reach the Ütia Franz Kostner hut.

At the hut, turn right on 637 and after a short descent reach a crossroads. Trail 637 leads down to the left towards Arabba, and we continue to the right on trail 638. After a few dozen metres, a path forks off to the right towards the protected Via Ferrata Vallon and the Roda de Valun. This time we continue to the left and the path starts to climb crosswise on scree. After a short climb, we are back at the crossroads.

To the left, the path leads to the Passo Pordoi pass and the 638 path to the summit of Piz Boe. At the crossroads, we turn right up the 672 (Lichtenfels), which also leads to the summit of Piz Boe. From the crossroads, the path starts to climb on scree and follows the right side of the valley upwards. At the end of the valley the path turns right into the rocks and becomes more difficult. The trail, which is well protected by a steel cable, follows a steep rocky slope and climbs slightly steeper a few times. More experienced mountaineers will be able to manage the climb without self-propulsion. The relatively short protected part then ends and the route becomes less demanding.

The trail then turns left and then crosses the steep slopes on the eastern side of Pizes dl Valun for some time, mostly in a gentle ascent. After crossing, the path leads to less steep slopes where you reach a marked crossroads.

At the crossroads, we continue right along the 672 (Lichtenfels), and straight ahead is the path that later joins the 638. Our route then climbs slightly to the left of a wide and relatively flat valley and runs westwards. When we reach the south-west side of the Pizes dl Valun peak, the trail turns slightly to the left and leads to a broad ridge with a fine view towards the summit of Piz Boe. Continue westwards and you will soon reach the foot of the slope of Piz Lech Dlace. The path here follows the ridge to the right and after a short climb on scree, the protected Via Ferrata Vallon joins us from the right. At a crossroads, the path turns left and climbs a steeper rocky slope. In the shorter part, we are also helped by a few cable cars. On the ridge, continue to the right and soon reach the Piz Lech Dlace peak, where there is a larger cairn.

From the top continue along the ridge and after a short descent you will reach a saddle where there is a crossroads. A second path joins from the protected Via Ferrata Vallon on the right. Also to the right is a cross-route to hut Rifugio Boe, and to the left is an unmarked path past Lake Eissee.

We continue straight ahead and start climbing up the rocky slope again. A little higher up, the trail turns slowly to the left and leads us to a ridge from where the view to the west opens up. Continue south along the ridge and then cross the steeper slopes along the ridge. A short section of the ridge is also helped by a cable car. When we reach the ridge again, we reach the lesser-known peak Cresta Strenta, which at 3124 metres is the second highest peak in the Sella mountain group.

On the way: Malga Plan Fisti (1930m), Rifugio Lago Boe (2185m), Lago Boe (2252m), Ütia Franz Kostner (2500m), Piz Lech Dlace (3009m)

We can extend the trip to the following destinations: Piz Boe

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