Passo Giau - Monte Formin

Access to the starting point:
a) Access from Gorenjska: Via Border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then along 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 left (possibly right) towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all subsequent junctions, follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo.

In Cortina d'Ampezzo, follow the signs for the Passo di Falzarego Alpine pass. Follow this ascending road to a crossroads at about 1400m. At the crossroads, turn left towards the Passo di Giau and the Marmolada. Park in the large parking lot on the Passo di Giau.

b) From the coastal side: Take the motorway towards 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. Continue as described above.

Path description:
From the pass, continue left (south) on the path that passes the chapel on the left. The path marked 436 initially leads through rolling meadows with fine views of the surrounding peaks, and then leads to a small notch called Forcella Zonia. Descend a little from the notch and then cross the steep slopes above the Valle di Zonia. After crossing, the path leads to the Forcella Col Piombin notch where there is another crossroads.

To the right, the slightly less beaten path Sentiero Alpinistico del Cernera branches off, leading to the Monte Cernera and Monte Verdal peaks. We continue left from the stumps along the well-trodden 436 route. The path from the notch begins to descend and initially crosses slightly steeper slopes. The slopes then become flatter and the path turns left to the east and continues gently downhill. The trail then begins to climb again and leads to a crossroads below the precipitous walls of peak Monte Formin.

At the crossroads, where the path from the slightly lower starting point joins us on the left, continue right towards the Forcella Giau notch. Here the path starts to climb a little steeper and the views of the Tofana and Sella mountain groups start to get better and better. This path then leads us to the aforementioned stumps, where we can see Monte Pelmo to the south.

At the fork, the less well-trodden path 465 branches off to the right, and we continue to the left along the well-trodden path 436 towards the Forcella Ambrizola. Our route then continues down the grassy slopes to the east. From the trail we have a very nice view of the nearby precipitous walls of Monte Formin and the other peaks in the vicinity. The path continues to descend gently and then crosses a small stream at a slightly lower level. This path then leads to a crossroads where an archaeological path branches off to the right towards mountain pasture Malga Mondeval di sopra and the Mesolithic archaeological site.

We continue on the left along the better-beaten path, which soon starts to climb again. The path then climbs up the grassy slopes to a crossroads where we join the path from the Forcella Ambrizola notch.

At the crossroads, continue left towards the Forcella Rossa notch and the path soon starts to climb steeply. The path here follows the valley below the precipitous cliffs of the Cima Ambrizola. The increasingly scenic route then continues to climb quite steeply up to the Forcella Rossa notch, where a view opens up towards the Tofana mountain group.

At the notch, leave the marked trail and head left on the relatively gentle slopes towards the summit of Monte Formin. Here you walk on a pathless path, but the ascent is not difficult and the cairns along the way are helpful. When you reach the unmarked headland, on which a number of cairns and obelisks are erected, the view opens up towards the summit of Monte Formin.

From the summit, descend a little and then continue ascending the slopes, which become more and more visible. In the last part of the ascent, turn slightly to the right to reach the summit from the north side. On the left (south) side there are some cracks or narrow ravines in the last part, which can be dangerous if covered with snow.

On the way: Forcella Zonia (2229m), Forcella Col Piombin (2239m), Forcella Giau (2360m), Forcella Rossa (2462m)

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