Ponte de Ru Curto - La Rocchetta

Access to the starting point:
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 Marmolade. From this junction, continue driving for another 4km, then park a few hundred metres before the Ponte de Ru Curto bridge in the parking lot on the left-hand side of the road.

From the coastal side. 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 parking lot, turn left onto the footpath after the signs "Rif. Croda da Lago". The footpath descends gently at first and crosses the Rio Costeana. The path then turns left and crosses the slopes to the east, mostly in a gentle ascent. The path passes through forest, but occasionally there are fine views towards Tofana. The trail then turns slightly to the right, crosses another stream and then begins to climb a little steeper through the forest. The path then leads to a marked crossroads.

The path from the Pezie de Paru bridge joins us on the left, the Val Formin valley path leads off to the right, and we continue straight ahead following the "Rifugio Croda da Lago" signs. From the crossroads, the path continues to climb through the forest and then turns slightly to the left, bringing us to the foot of the eastern slopes of the Ciadenes peak. From the path, views to the east also begin to open up, with the Cristallo, Sorapiss and Antelao mountain groups standing out. The path then becomes more level and crosses a pasture fence. We continue along the valley known as Val Negra, occasionally descending a little. This path then leads to Lago Federa. At the lake, the path from the Rifugio Lago de Aial joins from the left and there is a short, easy walk along the lake to the Rifugio Croda da Lago.

From the hut, continue along route 434 towards the Forcella Ambrizola notch. Here a wide and relatively gentle path runs southwards below the slopes of the Croda da Lago. Soon the last trees disappear and the path offers a magnificent view of the mountain ranges to the east of Cortina d'Ampezzo and of the nearby Croda da Lago and Becco di Mezzodi. The scenic route continues to climb gently up to the Forcella Ambrizola notch, located on the north-west side of the summit of Becco di Mezzodi.

At the saddle where there is a marked crossroads, continue left towards San Vito di Cadore, while to the right the trail leads to the Forcella Rossa notch and the Passo Giau pass. The path from the notch then crosses the slopes below the summit of Becco di Mezzodi and the view towards the summit of Monte Pelmo begins to open up. The trail then begins to descend gently and soon leads to the Forcella Col Duro notch where you cross the fence.

Leave the marked trail here and head left up a trackless path. Climb up the scree towards the southern base of the Becco di Mezzodi. The cairns will help you as you climb, and you will also notice a slightly less well-trodden path as you approach the walls of the summit. The path then leads from the southern slopes towards the saddle on the eastern side of the summit. The slope towards the saddle becomes quite steep, but does not cause any major problems on land.

When you reach the saddle, continue right along the easy ridge towards the summit of La Rocchetta. Here you keep walking along a very scenic ridge to the south-east. After the ridge, first reach the summit from which you continue along the ridge. The summit, on which there is also a small cross, is already visible in front of you. There is then only a short, easy climb to the top.

On the way: Cason di Formin (1845m), Lago Federa (2038m), Rifugio Croda da Lago (2046m), Forcella Ambrizola (2277m), Forcella Col Duro (2293m)

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