Fiames - Col Rosa (Via Ferrata Ettore Bovero)

Access to starting point:
Over the border crossing Rateče we drive to Trbiž / Tarvisio, where we go on a highway in the direction of Videm / Udine. We leave the highway at exit Tolmezzo and we follow the road to the mentioned settlement. From Tolmezzo we continue in the direction of the settlement Ampezzo and mountain pass Passo della Mauria. The road then starts descending and brings us into a valley Cadore, where we continue right (left Belluno and Cortina d'Ampezzo) in the direction of the settlement Auronzo. After few additional km of driving, we come to the next bigger crossroad, where we go right in the direction of the settlement Misurina (left mountain pass Tre Croci). From here we descend on the road to a bigger crossroad where we continue left towards Cortina d'Ampezzo (right Austria). Few kilometers before Cortina d'Ampezzo we then park on a large parking lot by the hotel Fiames. The parking lot is on the right side of the road, and on the left side we will notice stadium.

Path description:
From the parking lot at hotel Fiames we continue by the main road or on a footpath by the river Boite in the direction of Cortina d'Ampezzo. After few hundred metrers, we then go right over a bridge to camp Olympia. Here signposts point us to the right on the path 408, which then leads on a macadam path by the camp. From the path few times a view opens up on the nearby Punta Fiammes and through a valley of river Boite, then path slightly descends and it brings us to a marked crossing.
At the crossing, we leave a wide macadam path and we go left following the signs »Forcella Posporcora, Ferrata E. Bovero«. The path here starts ascending through the forest and after a little less than an hour of walking, it brings us on a saddle Posporcora.
At the crossing on the saddle we continue right following the signs »Via Ferrata E. Bovero«. Here we start ascending steeper below southwest walls of the peak Col Rosa and increasingly beautiful views start to open up towards Tofanas. After that, the path becomes demanding and follows some easy short climbing on unsecured slope. By the path, we will also notice some military tunnels from the time of the first world war. Higher, we then enter in secured part of the path which is otherwise short, but relatively demanding. Few times we almost vertically ascend by the steel cable and then we come on a little less steep slopes below the summit. In the last part a short ascent follows with the help of few stemples, after that from the left side joins easier path. We continue right and only a short ascent follows to the top.
We descend on an easier path which leads on the northern slopes of the mountain.

On the way: Olympia (1290m), Forcella Posporcora (1720m)