Passo di Giau - Monte Gusella

Access to starting point:
First, we drive to Cortina d'Ampezzo (to here possible over a border crossing Rateče or Predel to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then on a highway in the direction of Videm / Udine to exit Tolmezzo. From Tolmezzo we follow the road in the direction of village Ampezzo and mountain pass Passo Mauria. The road then descends and it brings us to a crossroad, where we continue left (possible also right) in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all next crossroads, we follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo. Or from Primorska side, where we drive on a highway in the direction of Trst / Trieste. Further, we drive on Italian highway in the direction of Padova, but only to a highway junction, where we continue in the direction of Veneto and Belluno. Near Belluno the highway ends, and at the next crossroads we continue in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo and then we follow the signs for Alpine mountain pass Passo di Falzarego. This ascending road we then follow to a crossroad at an altitude of approximately 1400m. At the crossroad, we continue left in the direction of Alpine mountain pass Passo di Giau and Marmolada. We park on a large parking lot on the mentioned Alpine mountain pass.

Path description:
From the mountain pass, we continue on a wide path past the mountain hut Rifugio Passo Giau. After a short ascent on a wide path we come to a crossing, where we go right on a path 443 following the signs »Rif. Nuvolau Ferrata«. The path then starts descending a little and crosses slopes below the summit Ra Gusela (2595m). Unmarked path will soon branch off ot the left, which runs towards the wall of the peak Ra Gusela. We are still slightly descending towards the east and then we come to a marked crossing.
Straight leads the path towards the mountain hut Cinque Torri, right downwards leads marked but poorly beaten path towards the mountain pasture Malga Giau, and we go left on the path 438 towards the secured path Ferrata Gusella. The path here starts ascending on the scree on the eastern side of the mountain Ra Gusela and it brings us to a smaller notch. From the notch, we then few meters descend and then the path becomes more demanding. For less experienced it is recommended to use a self-belay set. First, we ascend by the steel cable through a wide groove after that follows an ascent over a short ladder. Demanding part of the path is very short and we are soon on gentle slopes on the north side of the peak Ra Gusela from where a view opens up also towards the summit Nuvolau. After that, the path turns slightly to the left and for some time still runs on a relatively gentle slopes. And further we have to pay attention to blazes because we will soon get to an unmarked crossing.
Here we leave the marked path towards the mountain hut Rifugio Nuvolau and we go left on an unmarked footpath towards the summit Ra Gusela. Unmarked path then runs towards the south and it is ascending towards a well visible distinct notch. Meanwhile from the right joins also transverse path from a ridge of the peak Nuvolau. The path little before the notch turns slightly to the left and is then ascending diagonally on the eastern side of the mountain. Higher, the slope becomes a little steeper and the path leads us also past the abyss therefore at the ascent some caution is needed. In the last part, the path turns to the right and only a short ascent follows to a very panoramic summit.

On the way: Forame (2172m)