Passo Campolongo - Boeseekofel / Piz da Lech (Via Ferrata)

Access to starting point:
Through the Karawanks Tunnel, we drive to Austria, and then we continue driving towards Spittal and further towards Lienz (the highway ends a little after Spittal). Further, we drive on a relatively nice and wide road through the Drau Valley, which brings us to Italy. The road further leads past Dobbiaco / Toblach and Brunico / Bruneck. Only a little after the last-mentioned town, past which a bypass runs, we turn left into the Val Badia valley. Further, we drive through the mentioned valley past the places La Vila and Corvara. Next follows an ascent towards the mountain pass Passo Campolongo. A few hundred meters before the mountain pass, we will notice a macadam parking lot on the left side, on which we park. The parking lot is located behind the Hotel Laguscei opposite the bus station. Along the road is also the lower station of the chairlift. A smaller parking lot is also on the right side of the road before the bus station.

Path description:
From the parking lot, we continue by the main road (towards the south) to Hotel Boe, which is located on the right, west side of the road. At the hotel where there are also signposts, we turn right onto the macadam road following the signs »Rifugio Lago Boe«. Behind the hotel, the road turns to the right and slightly descends, then starts ascending and crosses the ski slope. Further, the road ascends for a short time through the forest and then brings us to the mountain pasture Malga Plan Fisti.
We continue on the road across the mountain pasture and a little after the mountain pasture we come to a marked junction where the footpath towards the mountain hut Kaiser Hütte branches off to the left. We continue right and continue to ascend on the road. After a short ascent, the path 638A towards the summit Crep de Munt also branches off to the right. We continue left on the road from which beautiful views open up towards Marmolada and the mountains above the Val Badia valley. The road here ascends somewhat more steeply and brings us again to the ski slope. Somewhat higher, the road turns right and continues to ascend along mostly grassy slopes. The road then becomes flatter and soon brings us to the hut Rifugio Lago Boe. A circular cabin cable car from the place Corvara in Val Badia also runs to the hut. Near the hut there is also the lower station of the chairlift that leads towards the summit Vallon (2530m). Both cableways operate also in the summer months.
Near the hut where there is a junction, we continue left across the ski slope where signs direct us to Lake Lech de Boe and hut Ütia Franz Kostner. The path runs along the right edge of the ski slope and after a short ascent brings us to the mentioned lake, which is located to the right of the ski slope below a rocky ridge.
From the lake, we continue further on path 638, which turns left and crosses the ski slope. Further on, the path runs somewhat to the left of the ski slope across partly grassy terrain. The path soon brings us to a marked junction where path 636 towards hut Kaiser Hütte (Rifugio Bec de Roces) branches off to the left. We continue further on the path, which ascends the slope parallel to the ski slope, and soon path 646A towards summit Boeseekofel (Piz da Lech) also branches off to the right. We continue further on the path, which runs to the left of the ski slope, and slowly beautiful views also begin to open up towards hut Ütia Franz Kostner and the sheer walls of nearby peaks in the Sella mountain group. Further on, the slope becomes somewhat flatter and the path brings us to a marked junction.
At the junction, we leave the path towards hut Ütia Franz Kostner and head right towards the upper station of the Valon cableway. From the junction, we ascend gently along a panoramic slope and quickly reach the upper station of the cableway where there are also signposts.
We continue left following the signs »Piz da Lech« and after a short descent we are again at a junction. At the junction, we head left towards the secured path where signs »Via Ferrata« direct us. To the right leads an easier path to Piz da Lech, somewhat further to the left is the circular path Roda de Valun from which we can also continue further to Piz Boe.
Our path ascends left upward from the junction and brings us below the sheer walls of peak Piz da Lech. A short traverse follows, which brings us to the gully where the secured path begins. Let us not be misled by the old blazes that are in the gully, as the entry to the secured path is located somewhat to the left of the gully.
Before entering the climbing section of the path, we must equip ourselves with a self-belay set and helmet. At the very beginning, the secured path ascends almost vertically along the steel cable (difficulty C), then turns slightly left and ascends along a narrow chute. Further on, the path turns right and crosses the wall to the right, several times also ascending more steeply along the steel cable (difficulty up to C). Higher up, the steepness eases for a short time and the path leads us along a short less steep side ridge. When we arrive again below vertical walls, the path turns left and brings us to a longer ladder.
We ascend over two ladders, which facilitate the ascent over an otherwise almost vertical and smooth wall. Above the ladder follows a short demanding ascent aided by a few pegs (difficulty C/D), after which the difficulty eases somewhat. We ascend along the steel cable a few more times (difficulty up to B) and the path brings us to a small bridge that crosses a narrow gully. From the bridge, we ascend along the steel cable for a short time further along a somewhat less steep slope, after which the secured path ends.
Further on, the path leads us along the summit slope of the mountain, which is marked with red dots and numerous cairns. The path then turns slightly left and a wonderful view opens up to the northwest towards nearby sheer peaks. The path then turns right and along the ridge soon brings us to the panoramic summit on which a cross stands.
From the summit, we descend along an easier path to the eastern side. The path by which we descend is demanding on a shorter section, but is very well secured with a steel cable and numerous pegs.

On the way: Malga Plan Fisti (1930m), Rifugio Lago Boe (2185m), Lago Boe (2252m), Vallon (2533m)