Rifugio Castiglioni Marmolada - Belvedere

Access to the starting point:
First, drive to Cortina d'Ampezzo (you can get here via Border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then take 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 and then follow the signs for the Passo di Falzarego Alpine Pass. In the first part of the ascent towards the Falzarego Pass, you will reach a crossroads where the signs for Passo di Giau (2233 m) and Marmolado point to the left. After the Giau Pass, the road starts to descend and we follow it through the settlements in the lower part towards Marmolada or Passo di Fedaia. The road then starts to climb again and leads us higher up to the Fedaia Pass, which we follow to the other side of the lake, where we park in the parking lot near the Rifugio Castiglioni Marmolada hut.
Access from Primorska: Take the motorway towards Padua, but only as far as the motorway junction, where we continue towards Veneto and Belluno. Near Belluno the motorway ends and we follow the road towards Belluno, where we turn right at a major junction towards Agordo. From there, follow the frequent signs for Marmolada or Passo di Fedaia. When you reach the pass, follow the road to the other side of the lake and park in the parking lot near the Rifugio Castiglioni Marmolada hut.

Path description:
From the parking lot of the Rifugio Castiglioni Marmolada, first cross the road carefully and then take the footpath in the direction of "Porta Vescovo" (the start of the path is on the north side of Lago di Fedaia). The path, which starts on the road, quickly turns into a wide path that climbs steeply northwards. As you climb up the hillside, which is covered with extensive grassy slopes, you will enjoy increasingly beautiful views of Lago di Fedaia and the Marmolada, which is further adorned by the largest glacier in the Dolomites.
The path, which follows a granite surface, then leads to an abandoned wooden hut, where there is a marked crossroads. We continue along route 698 (direction Porta Vescovo, to the left route 601 Viel del Pan), which continues to climb slightly less steeply towards the upper station of the pendulum, which is visible from our starting point. After a pleasant and scenic walk, we reach the Porta Vescovo saddle after a good hour's walk, from which we have a fine view northwards, with a good view of Piz Boe.
From the saddle, continue westwards along the path which begins to climb steeply up the eastern grassy slope of the Belvedere peak (the start of the path is not marked, and there are very few, if any, markings on the way ahead towards the summit). Higher up, the path climbs even more steeply over a short slab of granite (especially in wet conditions, a high risk of slipping), and then turns left, where it flattens out a little. There is a cross-climb to the south, where after a few minutes of further walking you come to a nice viewpoint. Here the path flattens out completely and turns sharp right. There are only a few minutes of easy walking on the top grassy ridge of the mountain.

On the way: Porta Vescovo (2478m)

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