Passo Tre Croci - Cristallino d'Ampezzo

Access to the starting point:
Via Border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then follow 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 right towards Auronzo. Follow the signs for the Tre Croci Pass.

Path description:
From the Tre Croci pass, turn right onto the narrow, initially asphalted road (route 203). There are also signs at the beginning of the road directing you to the road. The tarmac ends quickly and you continue past the barrier and start climbing up the dirt road, which is closed to traffic. The road through the forest then soon leads to a crossroads where a path branches off to the right towards the Forcella del Cristallo notch, and we continue along the forest road. When we emerge from the forest, we are joined on the left by a path from the parking lot at the Monte Cristallo ski resort. We continue up the road for a while and then signs point us to the right onto a footpath.
The path starts to climb a little steeper and the views of the surrounding peaks start to get better and better. The path continues to ascend, crossing the slopes to the north-west and passing mostly along the rare dwarf pines. Higher up, the path leads to the Sonforcia saddle where it rejoins the dirt road.
At the saddle, continue right along the road, which you then follow all the way to the Son Forca hut.
From the hut, continue towards the cable car. Signposts at the bottom of the cable car station will then direct you to the ski slope below the cable car. The trail continues along the ski slope below the cable car and starts to climb quite steeply. In the last part, the path climbs up a steep scree slope, which leads to the top station of the cable car.
At the upper cable car station, continue left and first climb the metal steps. Here begins the protected path of Sentiero Ferrato Ivano Dibona, where you can see many remains from the First World War. The path climbs up a steep ladder in the initial part and then passes through several tunnels dating back to the First World War. Then, for a short distance, you climb along a cable-stayed bridge, which leads to the longest suspension bridge in the Dolomites. After crossing the bridge, there is a climb up a ladder and then a short walk along a ridge. The path along the ridge leads us to a crossroads at which we continue to the left towards the Cristallino d'Ampezzo summit, and to the right the Ivano Dibona path leads on. From the crossroads, the path first crosses slightly to the left and then climbs slightly more steeply up the ridge. In the last part, the path leads to a small notch, where the path branches off to the right again, joining the path of Ivano Dibona towards the summit of Cresta Bianca and the Buffa bivouac.
From the stump there is only a short steep climb to the summit.

On the way: Passo Sonforcia (2110m), Rifugio Son Forca (2215m), Rifugio Guido Lorenzi (3000m)

We recommend: trips from the same starting point, similar trips