Passo Gardena - Gran Cir / Große Cirspitze

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 Alta Badia valley. Continue along the valley and turn right at La Villa towards Passo Gardena. Continue along the ascending road until you reach the Passo Gardena Pass, where you park in the pay parking area (4€ - June 2012).
b) From Nova Gorica, drive into 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 driving towards 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 towards Alta Badia and ascend the neighbouring Passo Valparola (2192 m) before descending into the valley. At La Villa, turn left towards Passo Gardena. Follow the ascending road until you reach the Passo Gardena pass, where you park in the pay parking area (4€ - June 2012).

Path description:
From the Passo Gardena pass, head north on the footpath following the signs "Vie Ferrate Grande e Piccola Cir". The path leads along grassy slopes with a magnificent view of the Sella mountain range to the south and Sassolungo to the west. The path along the grassy slopes soon leads to the road. The road to the right leads to the Jimmy Hütte hut, and we continue slightly to the left and rejoin the footpath after the 'Cir' signs. The path then continues to climb over grassy slopes towards the cliffs of Gran Cir. Higher up, the path leads to a crossroads where we enter the Puez Odle Nature Park. Here, the path also joins us from the right, passing the Jimmy Hütte hut.
Continue slightly to the left and start to climb towards a wide ravine on the west side of Gran Cir. The grassy slopes give way to scree, which you follow up to the start of the gully.
Before entering the gully, equip yourself with a helmet and then climb up the gully. Continue climbing up the gully for a while and then you will see the start of the protected path on your right. A fairly short and not too difficult protected path leads to the southern slopes of the mountain.
We then climb up the mostly quite steep slope, which is mostly not protected and therefore requires some caution. Later, there is a shorter protected climb along the steel cable, and then, on an unprotected slope, the summit is soon reached.

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