This track was fabulous! The views were simply stunning and in excellent weather condition we enjoyed the whole trail so much! We started from a short walk to a cable railway in Arabba and went up to Porta Vescovo getting fantastic view towards the Marmolada Glacier. It was an early morning so we had an opportunity to watch the sheep eating their breakfast. There was no wind that day and so in the silence of the morning the sound of their little bells were marvelous.
Sheep in the mountins
The first stage of the walk was a downhill right to the artificial lake in a valley. This was a sort of wired feeling: meeting people who arrived there by their cars as the lake is a dam at the same time and is well connected to the nearest village.
Artificial lake
We entered the refuge and had our morning cappuccino. We chatted for a while with a lady who worked there and after a while decided to buy a book Alta Via delle Dolomiti that describes a mountain track starting in Bressanone and ending in Feltre. It is brilliant! It would be great to walk it one day.
Marmolada Glacier
We crossed the dam watching amazing color of the lake and went straight to another ropeway to arrive at the proximity of the glacier. the shelter Pian dei Fiacconi (2626 masl) is in one of the most beautiful places around: on its one side the glacier is at the fingertips and on the other side there is a background made of the green valley and blue lake.
Refuge
For us it was also great to feel the cool breeze from the glacier as the summer in Italy was really, really warm. We went up to the glacier to walk on the deep snow and had a small lunch while sitting on a rock.
Rocks
That was half of our trail and so we got back to the lake in the early afternoon to have few hours for an alternative back route. We climbed from Passo di Fedaia to the shelter on Passo Padon and continued to the cable railway to get back to Arabba. This part was a bit steep and sloppy so we made a short brake at the shelter. The part of the track from Passo Padon to Porta Vescovo is beautiful not only because you watch the glacier but also because of its geological particularity. There is a geological trail and massive rocks along the path. This is really spectacular!
Sloppy!
It took about 8h to complete the track in excellent weather conditions and it is relatively easy to follow. Highly recommended for one day walk.
The Trail Summary
ARABBA (1601 masl) PORTA VESCOVO (2562 masl) RIFUGIO CASTIGLIONI ALLA MARMOLADA (2044 masl) RIFUGIO PIAN DEI FIACCONI (2626 masl) CAPANNA AL GHIACCIAIO (2700 masl) RIFUGIO DOLOMIA (2098 masl) PASSO DI FEDAIA (2057 masl) RIFUGIO PASSO PADON (2369 masl) RIFUGIO L. GORZA (2478 masl) PORTA VESCOVO (2562 masl) ARABBA (1601 masl)
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