We set off from Misurina to Falzarego Passfrom where we were going to go up to Lagazuoi Refuge. The Passo di Falzarego (2105 meters above sea level) can be reached in 30 km from Misurina in about 45 minutes by car. The recommended and shortest and quickest way is the SR48 road that crosses Cortina d'Ampezzo. We parked near the cable car station in an organized parking. After paying the round-trip tickets for the gondola, it would take us up to the 2752 mdm elevation, to Rifugio Lagazuoi.
From here we did 2 short hikes, the first one was really spectacular, and everything happened at an altitude never seen in Romania. I had thus broken my personal altitude record.
(click on objectives for extended version)
Difficulty: medium / difficult respectively easy
Duration / distance: 2 x 15 minutes respectively 2 x (15 - 30) minutes / 2,5 km
Bookmark: unmarked
Water sources: at Rifugio Lagazuoi
Minimum altitude: 2,650 meters above sea level at the trenches (between point 2 and point 3 on the map)
Maximum altitude: 2.778 mdm (at Lagazuoi Piccolo peak)
Level difference: +150 m / -150 m
Comments: the route to the galleries goes through an exposed area
The cable car ascent took our breath away because we climbed the last part up a huge rock face very steeply, very quickly. From the gondola we also spotted the path that could be reached up on the right by a wider path. The refuge is to the left of the upper station of the cable car 200 meters away from it.
landscape
Lagazuoi Refuge
Forcella Lagazuoi (l) and Forcella Travenanzes (r)
Falzarego Pass
But that's not where we had "business". We spotted a route that leads in about 15 minutes to some tunnels and galleries dug since the time of the war, the First World War. We start into the galleries. From the very first steps, the path puts us to the test by descending steeply down the cliffs, a little below the crest. This section is secured with chains. We have a wow perspective on the cable car route but also on the path that climbs around the bypass. They first section with cables was ... soft. Let's see the second one where you really step on a path dug in the rock, very uneven, and obviously secured with cables. The show goes on. The path becomes a branch that follows the contour and passes through an overhang. The view of the Dolomites is impressive.
At a small bend, the road forks left, through ... transee, or to the right on a very narrow ridge, partly aerial, i.e. high on both sides, towards tunnels.
The tunnels were dug during the First World War, the year 1917 inscribed on a faded panel being the proof. We reach the entrance to the gallery. In fact one of them, because in the rock we saw many "windows" dug, communicating through tunnels. We went back in pursuit and looked for other trenches dug and built in stone.
We return near the cable car station and refuge. 2752 m - it's so cool up here!
path under the overhang
aerial ridge to tunnels
although the stone does not seem friendly with flora...
in the trenches
in the gallery
gallery windows
trenches
We look at the clock and we estimate that we have plenty of time to start in the opposite direction, past the Lagazuoi refuge to the summit of Lagazuoi Piccolo.
The path is accessible to everyone, it follows the domed back of the mountain. But you will NOT believe me if I tell you that up to the summit (a little more than 1 km away) there is a wheelchair accessible path. Respect! Hats off! On a short but rocky passage, the carts follow a path on a metal platform bordered with a parapet, the path climbing over a small rocky outcrop.
We take pictures on Lagazuoi Piccolo summit at 2778 mdm. In a glacial warmth at the base of a huge grocoth we admire a glacial lake.
Back to the refuge. Speaking of facilities, at over 2700 m altitude, there is a Finnish sauna at the refuge.
We take the cable car down to the parking lot.
Kingdom of the Dolomites
the grandeur of the Dolomites
the wheelchair path
Lagazuoi Piccolo peak
Lagazuoi Refuge
glacial lake and glacial groulder
Finnish sauna
With the satisfaction that I reached a record high for me, although I did two short hikes, I will classify them as hikes because the first one - the one to the tunnels - is difficult, even if it takes only 30 - 45 minutes round-trip, and the second one to the next peak is really of low difficulty. But in both you have to move your feet and in some cases coordinate your steps very carefully, so it is still rated as a "hike". On the other hand, thanks to the cable car access, it can be said that at least the summit and the refuge Lagazuoi are within reach. I've been fascinated by the Dolomites since my first encounter with them. And it was the softest!
I have visited
All the best!
Steps:
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