Passo Gardena - Col Toronn

Access to the starting point:
a) From Kranjska Gora via the Koren saddle to Austria, where at the first major junction continue left towards Podkloštro / Arnoldstein and Trbiz / Tarvisio. At the end of Podklošter, signs for Šmohor / Hermagor direct you to the right on the regional road, which takes you past the town to the end of the Ziljska Valley, or more precisely to Kötschach-Mauthen, where you turn right towards Oberdrauburg. The road continues over the Gailbergsattel Alpine pass (982 m), after which you descend into the above-mentioned town. After crossing a bridge over the River Drava, turn left towards Lienz. At the main roundabout in Lienz, turn left towards Sillian and Itali. Next we cross the national border between Austria and Itali, and we follow the main road past Dobbiaco / Toblach, Villabassa / Niederdorf, Monguelfo - Tesido / Welsberg - Taisten, Brunico / Bruneck. Just after the last mentioned town, which is passed by a bypass road, we turn left into the Alta Badia valley. Continue along the valley and turn right at La Villa towards Passo Gardena. Continue along the ascending road until you reach the Passo Gardena Pass, where you park in the pay parking area (4€ - June 2012).
b) From Nova Gorica, drive into Itali and follow the motorway to Portogruaro, where at the motorway junction turn towards Belluno. Follow the motorway to its end (do not turn towards Belluno) and then continue driving towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. When you arrive in Cortina d'Ampezzo, follow the signs for the Passo Falzarego Alpine Pass. At the Passo Falzarego (2105 m), turn right towards Alta Badia and ascend the neighbouring Passo Valparola (2192 m) before descending into the valley. At La Villa, turn left towards Passo Gardena. Follow the ascending road until you reach the Passo Gardena Pass, where you park in the pay parking area (4€ - June 2012).

Path description:
From the Passo Gardena pass, head north on the footpath past the "Baita Jimmy Hütte" signs. The path leads you along grassy slopes with magnificent views of the Sella mountain range to the south and Sassolungo to the west. The path along the grassy slopes soon leads to the road. Continue to the right along the dirt road, which you will follow until you reach the Jimmy Hütte hut.
From the hut, follow the footpath north-eastwards and start climbing through the dwarf pines. The path soon leads out of dwarf pines and continues to climb quite steeply. Higher up, the path then turns to the left and is followed by a climb up to the Forcella Cier notch where we get a view to the north.
Cross the fence at the saddle and then cross the scree in a gentle descent. This path then leads to a marked crossroads where the Val de Chedul trail joins from the left.
From the crossroads, the path climbs gently again and continues to cross the slopes to the north-east. Later, the path turns slightly to the left and there is a slightly steeper climb up to the Forcella de Crespeina notch.
At the stump, where a view of most of the Puez mountain group opens up, continue to the right, following the signs for 'Variante Sas Ciampac'. The path then crosses the scree below the slopes of the Col Toronn.
As the path approaches the ridge, leave the marked path and turn right onto a trackless path. Here, first cross the slopes to the right and, when they become slightly less steep, head up to the left. The climb to the summit is quite steep in places, so some caution is needed. There is then only a shorter, slightly less steep climb to the viewpoint.

On the way: Jimmy Hütte (2222m), Forcella Cier (2469m), Forcella de Crespeina (2528m)

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