Piano Fiscalino / Fischleinboden - Bivacco de Toni (Via ferrata Severino Casara)

Access to the starting point:
From Ljubljana through the Caravan Tunnel to Spittal. Continue to Lienz, where you will reach a roundabout and continue towards Sillian and Itali. On the Italian side of the border, you quickly reach San Candido, where you turn left towards the tourist town of Sesto / Sexten. Just after Sesto, you reach San Giuseppe / Moss, where signs for Val Fiscalina / Fischleintal point you to the right. Continue along the ascending road, which you follow to a large pay parking area (3€ for parking longer than 6 hours, otherwise 0,5€ per hour - August 2015).

Path description:
From the parking lot, continue along the main road for a few dozen metres and, just before the Dolomitenhof Hotel, turn right onto a narrow road that is closed to traffic. The road, still asphalted at first, soon becomes a dirt road. Later, turn left off the road onto a wide footpath that leads through a valley with views ahead. The hut Talschlusshütte / Rifugio Fondo Valle is soon reached along a sloping path.
At the hut, continue to the right, following the signs "Rif. Tre Cime" and "Rif. Comici". After a few minutes' walk along a wide path, you will reach the marked crossroads again. At the crossroads, where there is a magnificent view of the north face of the Einserkofel / Cima Una (2698 m), turn left onto path 103, where you will be directed by the signs for hut Rifugio Comici, and to the right the path leads to hut Rifugio Locatelli / Drei Zinnen Hütte.
The trail then turns left and follows the rolling terrain, mostly along the dwarf pines towards Val Fiscilina Alta. The path then begins to climb in switchbacks and leads to the slopes on the eastern side of the summit of the Cima Una. Here the path takes us high above the valley, below steep cliffs, and runs southwards all the way. At first the path crosses a slope with sparse forest a few times, then it leads to steeper slopes. As the path is wide, the ascent is easy. In winter, however, when there is snow, the path is dangerous for slipping. In the last part of the way towards the hut, we have a beautiful view of the precipitous cliffs of the Collerena 2607 m, then the path turns slightly right and there is one last climb to the Comici hut.
At the hut, continue left along the path number 103, following the signs for the "Carducci Hütte". At first, the path descends gently on grassy terrain towards the scree below the base of the Croda dei Toni (Zwolferkofel). When you reach the scree, the path turns to the left and soon reaches a crossroads.
A sharp right upwards leads to the Forcella Croda dei Toni (Zwolferscharte), and we continue south-eastwards and start climbing towards the Forcella Giralba. We continue to climb cross-country on the scree below the mighty cliffs of the Croda dei Toni and the trail leads us to a crossroads at Lago Ghiacciato (Eissee). To the left is a path called Strada degli Alpini (Alpinisteig), and we continue our ascent towards the Forcella Giralba. Shortly before the stump, another path branches off to the left and, after a short crossing, joins the path that branched off at the lake.
At the notch, continue south and start descending towards the Rifugio Carducci hut, which can already be seen. The trail descends to the hut, from which we have a magnificent view of the walls of the nearby peaks all the time. From the notch to the hut, the descent is about 130 vertical metres.
You can return to the starting point by following the ascent route, or you can continue on the circular route around the summit of the Croda dei Toni (Zwolferkofel). This route is very demanding and you will need a helmet and a self-protection kit.
It is also possible to descend to the south side towards Giralba. This trail is also difficult due to the avalanche (July 2015) and it is not advisable to descend this trail, especially in the rain.
From the hut, continue to the right along route 107 towards bivouac Bivacco de Toni. At first, cross the slopes to the south-west and descend a little. On the right hand side, below the eastern walls of Zwolferkoflo, you will see Lago Nero. The path then begins to climb and leads to the south-eastern side of the mountain. Here the path becomes more challenging and mostly crosses steep slopes in a gentle ascent. The path is only protected in a few places by a cable car, so some caution is needed. There is a short climb up a shade steeper and the path leads to the Forcella Maria notch.
At the notch, continue right to where some purple markings direct you. From here on, the path becomes significantly more challenging, so we also equip ourselves with a self-belaying kit on the notch. After a short crossing along the steel, the path leads us to a suspension bridge. After crossing the bridge, there is a very exposed crossing along the steel beam. The trail then gradually becomes less challenging and leads to the south side of Punta Maria. The path here is slightly less difficult but occasionally unprotected. Particularly when crossing the steep grasses, a little more caution is needed. Continue to cross the slope to the west, occasionally descending a little. Later, the path takes us close to the cliff again and descends down a very compacted slope along the cliff. Here the path is well protected by a rope, so the descent is not too difficult. Continue westwards for a while and then the route becomes more difficult again. The path turns slightly to the right here and leads us along a very exposed ledge above a deep gully. On the exposed ledge there is then a fairly low passage where we also have to crawl a bit. The ground here can also be a bit muddy. The path then becomes slightly wider and continues mostly across the slopes to the north-west. There are a few shorter steeper climbs and then the path leads to another deep ravine, which is crossed over a bridge. Then the protected path ends shortly afterwards.
There is a steep scree climb where the path is poorly trodden and often quite degraded and therefore dangerous for slipping. In the last part, the scree becomes a little less steep and the less demanding path soon leads to bivouac Bivacco de Toni, located at the Forcella de l'Agnel.
Descend to the north side of the notch and after a short descent reach a crossroads. A path branches off to the left down towards the Val Marzon valley, and we continue on the right-hand path (107), crossing the scree below the western walls of the Zwölferkofl. The scenic route then leads to a snowfield that usually persists throughout the year. There is a cableway across the snowfield, so crossing it is not too difficult. There is then a short steep climb from the snowfield along the steel cable, after which the path becomes less difficult. The easy route then leads to a crossroads at the Forcella Croda dei Toni (Zwölferscharte).
At the notch, continue right downhill and follow the steep scree path back to hut Rifugio Comici and from there back to the starting point.

On the way: Dolomitenhof (1454m), Rifugio Fondo Valle / Talschlußhütte (1548m), Rifugio Comici / Zsigmondy Hütte (2224m), Lago Ghiacciato / Eissee (2328m), Forcella Giralba (2431m), Rifugio Carducci (2297m), Forcella Maria (2408m)

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