Rifugio Bai de Dones - Averau (Trincee)

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, cross the national border between Austria and Itali and follow the main road to Dobbiaco/Toblach, where you turn left towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. Once in Cortina d'Ampezzo, follow the signs for the Passo Falzarego Alpine pass. The road starts to climb steeply above Cortina d'Ampezzo, and we follow it for some time, more precisely to the point where, just before a sharp right turn to the left, the road branches off and we quickly reach the large parking lot at the Rifugio Bai de Dones hut. From Kranjska Gora to the starting point is 208 km.
b) From Kranjska Gora via Border crossing Rateče to Trbiz / Tarvisio and then on the motorway to Udine. Leave the motorway at Tolmezzo, from where we continue driving towards Ampezzo and on to the Alpine pass Passo della Mauria (1298 m). The road then starts to descend and leads into the Cadore valley, where we continue to the right towards Auronzo di Cadore. At the next crossroads follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo. When you arrive in Cortina d'Ampezzo, follow the signs for the Passo Falzarego Alpine pass. The road starts to climb steeply above Cortina d'Ampezzo, and we follow it for some time, more precisely to the point where, just before a sharp right turn to the left, the road branches off and we quickly reach the large parking lot at the Rifugio Bai de Dones hut. From Kranjska Gora to the starting point is 198 km.
c) From Nova Gorica, drive into Itali and continue on the motorway to Portogruaro, where at the motorway fork you turn off in the direction of 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. The road starts to climb steeply above Cortina d'Ampezzo, and we follow it for some time, more precisely to the point where, just before a sharp right turn to the left, the road branches off and we quickly reach the large parking lot at the Rifugio Bai de Dones hut. From the border crossing to the starting point is about 230 km.

Path description:
From the parking lot, head east on route 425, following the signs "Cinque Torri, Rifugio Scoiattoli". At the beginning, walk along the dirt road for a few metres, then the signs direct you to the left onto a well-maintained footpath. Here you initially walk on slightly boggy ground, but the path then quickly leads into the woods and then past Lago Bai de Dones. After the lake, the path turns slightly to the right and descends a little. This path then leads us to a crossroads where route 424 joins from the left.
At the crossroads the path turns right again and soon starts to climb through the forest. The path climbs through the forest for some time and then joins an asphalted road.
The road continues to climb and the views start to open up, especially towards Tofana. Later, the path leads to a marked crossroads.
Further along the road, it is not far to hut Rifugio Cinque Torri, and we turn right onto a footpath called Trincee. From the crossroads we walk along a narrow path through an increasingly sparse larch forest. This path then leads us to the restored military trenches, which we walk along for some time. There are also many information boards along the way describing the events of the First World War. As we approach the famous Cinque Torri towers, the path from the Rifugio Cinque Torri joins us on the left. At the crossroads, turn right and pass the towers, which are very popular with climbers, on the right-hand northern side. When you reach the west side, there is a short descent and then the path starts to climb again. Along the way there are still a number of military tunnels and some restored military buildings. In the last part, there is a climb up to the Scoiattoli hut, along mostly grassy slopes.
From hut Rifugio Scoiattoli, which offers a fine view of the Cinque Torri, bear right after the Rifugio Nuvolau and Rifugio Averau markers. The way ahead is along a stone road, or a much more pleasant parallel mountain path, which climbs up the left-hand side of the road. After a moderate climb of just over 20 minutes, over a scenic and initially grassy slope, the path splits into two parts (the crossroads is unmarked). The left path, which continues on a moderately steep slope, leads to Nuvolau, and we continue on the right path, which joins the road mentioned above. We continue along the road, which leads us into a small valley between the peaks Nuvolau and Averau, and we continue along it until we reach the saddle between the two peaks, where the mountain hut Averau is situated.
From the hut, turn right and follow the mountain road. After a few metres, the sign "Ferrata Averau" will direct you upwards to the left. The path then first crosses the scree on the eastern side of the mountain and soon turns to the left where you enter the climbing part of the route. At the start of the climbing route, climb steeply along a ropeway over a steep wall and then reach a fork in the route. The left-hand, slightly easier route climbs vertically on scree through a vent. The right-hand path also climbs almost vertically, but there are no steel cables. It should be noted that the left-hand path is often wet and the snow also stays a little longer. After a short steep section, the two paths rejoin and there is a steel cable crossing to the right. The climbing part of the route is quickly over and soon you reach the less steep summit slopes of the mountain. In the last part of the route, the trail is no longer difficult and soon you reach a very scenic summit.
Rifugio Bai de Dones - Rifugio Scoiattoli 1:45, Rifugio Scoiattoli - Rifugio Averau 30 minutes, Rifugio Averau - Averau 45 minutes.

On the way: Lago Bai de Dones (1895m), Rifugio Scoiattoli (2255m), Rifugio Averau (2413m)

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