On this page you will find my report of the Civetta tour, carried out in October 2023. The Civetta is a remarkable peak at 3220m in the Dolomites, near Belluno in Veneto. Its north-western slope is a long continuous cliff of almost 7km in length, at a height of up to 1200m. This gives it an immediately recognizable shape.
This 2-3 day itinerary goes around the entire massif, starting from the Monte Pelmo refuge behind Pecol. Quite honestly, it is one of the most beautiful corners of the Dolomites: you can fully feel this incredible contrast between dense vegetation and striking green meadows on the one hand, and a mineral universe made of immense walls on the other. The two are juxtaposed in a symphony of colors.
As usual, I chose the tent to travel this tour of the Civetta with maximum flexibility. Bivouacking is tolerated in most mountain corners in Italy, as long as you are far enough from civilization. And sleeping alone in front of the imposing Dolomite walls is priceless!
The route goes through fairly well-marked paths, but not necessarily all marked. The gpx file can be quite imprecise because it was drawn manually (not taken in the field).
Civetta Tour, day 1: Forcella Coldai
+ 750 m / – 250 m 8 km
We leave from the parking lot next to the Monte Pelmo refuge, in the middle of the afternoon, a little later than planned. We first follow a 4x4 track next to the ski lifts. It doesn't sound very glamorous, but the view of the neighboring peaks and pine forests is already magnificent.
We arrive next to a farm building with a fountain, useful for stocking up on water before the climb. We then go up a winding path and the view is simply superb. Monte Pelmo is revealed just behind, while the Sella appears in the distance. All with very green grass and large pine forests. The essence of the Dolomites, in other words.
We then quickly move on to the Coldai shelter to reach the pass of the same name. From there, the panorama is once again enchanting. The late afternoon light descends on Lake Coldai, in front of the Alleghe Valley. We catch our breath for a moment but we must continue the tour of the Civetta because evening is falling.
We pass on the left of the lake, then the path descends quietly along the wall of the Civetta. It is getting late, it is October and we left later than planned: we will have to stop before the stage initially planned.
We find a nice bivouac spot on a small flat area with a wooden portico. The evening meal facing the sunset on the massive wall of the Civetta is a treat (and I'm not talking about the pasta with tomato sauce, eh).
Day 2: the Van delle Sasse
+ 1350 m / – 1200 m 17km
We set off at sunrise in humid but sunny air. The light filters through banks of mist and illuminates the dense vegetation. The path is quite flat and allows you to fully enjoy the sensational landscape. We pass il pian della Lora, the initial point planned for the bivouac.
The path is still relatively flat. We go around the imposing Torre Venezia to reach the Vazzoler refugeThe refuge is closed in October, we take some water reserves to face the next climb.
We leave the track shortly after the refuge to begin the climb itself. The path is small but well marked, it passes through the middle of fairly dense vegetation (rhododendrons, black pines). Throughout the climb we can see the Torre Trieste, also truly massive.
We then arrive at the Van delle Sasse, which is aptly named: rocks as far as the eye can see. We can see the path that goes to the top of the Civetta, but we don't follow it and head towards the forcella delle Sasse. I realize that we are well behind schedule and that it will be difficult to complete the tour of the Civetta in two days. October days are short...
We descend into the scree, steep but without difficulty. Then we follow a path along the edge of the cliff. It is also very beautiful but we have to hurry, so we do not enjoy it too much. There is still a long way to go to at least reach the Coldai refuge.
The evening falls and we start to see less clearly... It's the perfect time to do the most technical part of the hike! Indeed, a steep descent along rocks awaits us, with a cable in places. It's not very difficult but it's an unpleasant surprise at the end of the day. Finally, we are not the only ones to have been trapped, another group is with us.
We finally arrive at the refuge with our headlamps. No question of going back down to the car now. The problem is that the refuge is officially closed on this date… We go to see inside, there are people but we are turned away. We ask if we can at least pitch the tent next to it, they give us their blessing.
There are 3 of us tents next to the heliport... At least we have company! But we don't take advantage of it that much, we are so tired that we fall asleep immediately.
End of the Civetta tour
+ 0 m / – 600 m 4 km
We get up at dawn, quickly fold up the tent and go back down the same way we took the first day. As we do so, we admire the sun rising over the Civetta… It’s a panorama that we won’t soon forget.
We end up at the parking lot of the Monte Pelmo refuge, a day later than planned but with our heads full of exceptional memories.
Did you like this story? Feel free to check out my others routes !
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