Rifugio Valparola - Col di Lana (path 21)

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 the pass and then turn right towards Passo Valparola. At the pass, park in one of the car parks near the Rifugio Valparola hut.
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 Rifugio Valparola continue south-west following the signs "Settsass, Col di Lana". The path then crosses the grassy slopes on the right side of Lake Lago di Valparola and leads to a crossroads. Continue left on route 23 and right on route 24 towards the top of Setsas.
From the crossroads, the path descends gently down a grassy slope and then leads to slightly steeper slopes on the south side of the ridge of the Setsas and Le Pale de Gerda peaks. The fixed safety gear are also helpful on the shorter part. The path then begins to climb gently and crosses the slopes to the west. From the trail we have a good view of the precipitous south face of Setsas all the time, and we can also see the ridge of Monte Sief and Col di Lana. The trail then soon leads to another crossroads, where an unmarked trail branches off to the right, leading under the precipitous cliffs towards the summit of Pico Setsas.
We continue slightly left along the lower path and continue to cross the slopes to the west, mostly in a gentle ascent. This path then leads us to the grassy slopes below the Pico Setsas peak, from which we have a magnificent view of the Sella mountain group. Here, continue left and follow the path along the fence down to the saddle Passo Sief.
At the saddle where the crossroads are, continue straight along the ridge towards the summit of Monte Sief. Here you will see a number of military tunnels and trenches along the way, which have been beautifully restored. Follow the trail along the military trenches all the way to the top of Monte Sief, which offers even better views to the south.
From the top, continue east along the ridge and descend into the crater, which was created during the First World War when the Austrian side mined the ridge with 45,005 kg of explosives. From the crater, we then climb back up the ridge with the help of ropes and a few staples. The trail continues along the south side of the ridge, and the fixed safety gear are a few helpful signs. From the trail we have a nice view of the mountains to the south of us all the time, but along the way we will see many remains from the First World War. Later, there is a slightly steeper climb up some steps, and then we will soon see the chapel below the summit. From here, it is only a few metres' climb to the summit.
Descend along the ascent route or follow route 21B north-eastwards and then follow the Teriol Ladin route back to the Passo Sief saddle and from there back to the starting point at the Valparola Pass.

On the way: Lago di Valparola (2140m), Passo Sief (2209m), Monte Sief (2424m)

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