Baita Sun Bar - Monte Antelao (Via Normale)

Access to starting point:
Access from Gorenjska: From Rateče or Predel we cross the border to Trbiž / Tarvisio and then we continue 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 in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. At all next crossroads, we follow the signs for Cortina d'Ampezzo. We follow the road to San Vito di Cadore where we leave the main road towards Cortina d'Ampezzo and go right where signs point us to the mountain hut Rifugio Scotter and ski slope Ski San Vito. On the left side of the road by the crossroad is a church. The road then turns to the right and it brings us to a crossroad. We go left upwards and follow the signs for mountain hut Rifugio Scotter. We follow the road to bar Sun Bar where there are also signs that prohibit further driving. We park on a large parking lot, which is located by the road on the right side.
From Primorska: We drive on the highway towards Venice / Benetke / Venezia. At town Portogruaro we leave the highway towards Venice and continue right on the highway towards Pordenone. At the next highway junction near Conegliano, we continue right towards Belluno. Near Belluno the highway ends and at the next crossroads we continue in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Further, we follow the description above.

Path description:
The road which leads straight and is at first still paved with asphalt was destroyed by rockfall and is closed. It's closed for hikers and cyclers as well. At the starting point, we go left on a macadam road. The relatively gently sloping road soon crosses the gate and leads us above the riverbed of a torrent. The road then turns to the left and crosses the riverbed. Here are also warning signs, which marks that crossing the riverbed during the rain is dangerous because of possible sudden large waves. The road then starts ascending steeper and on some spots, it is also paved with concrete. We are ascending mostly through the forest and from the road then a footpath towards the mountain hut Rifugio Scotter branches off to the right. A little higher, the road and the footpath join again. Forest then becomes thinner and beautiful views start to open up on surrounding peaks where nearby Monte Antelao especially stands out. Soon, we come to a crossroad where from the right side also the old road which is closed joins.
We continue to walk on the road which is on a short section also paved with asphalt. A little before the hut, we come to a crossroad where we continue right and only few steps follow to the hut.
From the starting point to the mountain hut is otherwise also organized transport by vans. They start driving at 8:30, the price of a return ticket is 10€ (August 2018).
From the mountain hut, we ascend on the stairs to the road which leads towards the mountain hut Rifugio San Marco. We follow the road only to the first left turn where there is a crossing.
At the crossing, we go right on a footpath where signs point us to the notch Forcella Piccola and mountain hut Rifugio Galassi. The path further runs by the dwarf pines towards the northeast. A little higher we are then ascending in zig-zags, and the path is in some parts newly made, because it was damaged by torrents. When we get closer to steeper slopes we come to the crossing where from the left path from the mountain hut Rifugio San Marco joins.
We continue right and then for some time mostly in a gentle ascent, we cross the slopes towards the southeast. From the path, we have here increasingly beautiful view towards the west where there is clearly visible Monte Pelmo. When we get closer to the slopes of the nearby peak Becchi di Imposponda, the path turns to the left and starts ascending through a valley towards the notch Forcella Piccola. The path is ascending on the left side of the valley and at the end, a short descent follows to the notch where there is a marked crossing.
Straight leads the path towards the mountain hut Rifugio Galassi to which is good 10 minutes of descent, and we go right where the signs »Monte Antelao – Via Normale« point us to. From the crossing, we start ascending towards the south on a partly grassy slope. After that, the path runs on the left side of the valley upwards and brings us on a shorter plain where a view towards the east opens up. Here grassy terrain ends and we continue with an ascent on the scree. The path through the scree turns to the right and in ascent brings us in a gable of the cirque where there is a memorial plaque. From here on, the path becomes significantly more demanding.
After a short steep ascent path quickly turns to the right and a crossing on smooth rocks follows. Further, we are ascending on a steep slope where easy climbing (1st grade) is needed. The path is here ascending on ledges and rugged rocks and is most of the time also slightly exposed. Such a path then brings us to the ridge where a view towards the west opens up.
We continue left by at first a narrow ridge, which quickly brings us to a wide slope with limestone pavement plates named Le Laste. The slope on which there is also quite a lot of gravel and rocks here isn't too steep. We cross it to the right and then the path turns to the left and is ascending on the right side of the slopes from where we have a very nice view towards the west where Monte Pelmo stands out. The slope later narrows a little and short descent into a smaller notch follows. From the notch, a very short more demanding ascent follows, which brings us on the main part of Le Laste where in November 2014 happened a huge rockfall, which in this part considerably changed the appearance of the mountain.
At the beginning, the slope is relatively gentle and covered with numerous rocks, which are consequences of the rockfall. The ascent here isn't demanding and the path soon turns to the left. We cross the slope to the far left side, which is a little less exposed to falling stones. Further, we are ascending by the left edge straight upwards. Here on the left side, also a view towards the glacier Ghiacciaio del Antelao opens up. The slope on which we are ascending otherwise isn't too steep but because it runs on smooth plates on which there is also some sand or mud is on some spots very dangerous for slipping. By the left edge, we are then ascending all the way to the top of the rockfall.
At the end of the rockfall, we go into a shorter rocky gully through which we ascend a level higher. The path further is again marked with red dots and occasionally also some easy climbing is needed. A little higher on the steepest part we also have a rope for help, which hangs in a steep notch. And to the rope leads short but narrow and very exposed ledge. Demanding ascent is short (approximately 3 meters). Further few shorter steeper ascents follow and then we soon notice the peak. Next follows a short descent and the last ascent to the summit with a very beautiful view.
We descend on the ascent route.
Described ascent is appropriate only for experienced mountaineers and it includes climbing up to 2nd grade. Ascent runs on the northern slopes where even late in the summer there can still be some snow, also otherwise the slope is often wet. On the rockfall area is also a considerable danger of falling stones.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in the year 2018 (August).

On the way: Rifugio Scotter Palatini (1580m), Forcella Piccola (2120m)