Passo Gardena - Col de Mesores / Sass dla Luesa

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 a large parking lot a few bends before the Passo Gardena Pass. There is also a large sign at the parking lot which reads "Via Ferrata - Klettersteig".
b) 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. 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 to a large parking lot a few bends before the Passo Gardena. There is also a large sign at the parking lot which reads "Via Ferrata - Klettersteig".

Path description:
From the parking lot, head south, following the signs for "Utia de Pisciadu". The path climbs quite steeply and leads to a crossroads where a cross-route branches off to the left towards the protected Via Ferrata Tridentina. We continue straight ahead and keep climbing up towards the precipitous cliffs of the Sella peaks.
A path then branches off to the right towards the Passo Gardena pass, and we continue straight on up the narrow valley called Val Setus, which is surrounded by precipitous cliffs. Here the path climbs up the scree and passes under the funicular. The slope becomes steeper as you go higher up, and the last part of the path is also protected by a cable car and staples. The path climbs steeply a few times and some caution is needed. If you are not used to such trails, self-guidance is highly recommended. The secured path then soon ends and leads us to the lower slopes where there is a crossroads.
To the left it is only a few minutes' walk to hut Rifugio Pisciadu, and we continue to the right on route 677. The trail then ascends across the scree above the upper station of the cargo cableway. To the right of the trail you can also see the Col de Mesores peak, which is completely flat on the south side. The path then climbs slightly more steeply and leads to an undistinguished saddle.
Here, leave the marked trail and turn right onto a trackless path. There is no track here and you walk along a slope strewn with numerous rocks and boulders. From this saddle, walk northwards, using some cairns as a guide. There is a slightly steeper descent to a sloping terrain partly covered with grass. Some caution is needed on the descent, as there is a lot of quicksand on the slope.
On the left, you can then look towards a waterfall on the slopes of the Torre de Murfreit, which continues along a wide, sloping ridge, passing a small weather station. The slopes then continue to slope down to the top of Col de Mesores, where a larger cairn is located.

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