Passo Giau - Monte Verdal (upper way)

Access to the starting point:
a) 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. Park in the large parking lot on the Passo di Giau.

b) 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 pass, continue left (south) on the path that passes the chapel on the left. The path marked 436 initially leads through rolling meadows with fine views of the surrounding peaks, and then leads to a small notch called Forcella Zonia. Descend a little from the notch and then cross the steep slopes above the Valle di Zonia. After crossing, the path leads to the Forcella Col Piombin notch where there is another crossroads.

To the left is route 436 towards the Forcella Giau notch, and we take the slightly less beaten track to the right behind the "Sentiero Alpinistico del Cernera" signs.

We continue along the path, which first crosses the steep and then increasingly steeper slopes of Monte Cernera. The path, which offers views mainly to the west, quickly leads to the first exposed steel cable. The short rocky slope is overcome with the help of a rope ladder, which is quite welcome due to the wet terrain. The steepness of the slope gives way briefly and the path leads to a steep rock step which is climbed steeply upwards using the fixed safety gear. The Fixed safety gear quickly ends and the path leads to relatively steep grassy slopes. The steepness eases a shade and the path leads to a less visible crossroads where an unmarked path branches off to the right. We continue straight ahead and continue to climb the grassy slopes. As we approach the rocky slopes, we first cross a short torrential gully and then the path leads us to a marked crossroads.

To the left the path leads to the Monte Cernera summit, we continue to the right following the "Zonia" signs towards the summit of Monte Verdal. Further on, a less visible path crosses a grassy slope and quickly leads to the Forcella Ciazza notch between the Monte Cernera and Monte Verdal peaks. Here we will see a natural window on the left on the slope of Monte Cernera, and we continue straight on along the gently sloping ridge, accompanied by occasional markings upwards. The scenic route then takes us over the summit, from which a short descent quickly leads to the little-visited summit.

On the way: Forcella Zonia (2229m), Forcella Col Piombin (2239m), Forcella Ciazza (2457m)

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