Passo di Giau - Averau (via Nuvolau)

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 Ragusela (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. We continue left following the signs »438« and »Via Ferrata«. The path here starts ascending on the scree on the eastern side of the mountain Ragusela and it brings us to a smaller notch. From the notch, we then few meters descend and then the path becomes more demanding. 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 below the summit Nuvolau. After that, the path turns slightly to the left and we soon get to a poorly visible crossing where the unmarked path branches off to the left towards the summit Ra Gusela. We still cross gentle slopes towards the south ridge of the peak Nuvolau. When we reach the ridge path becomes demanding again. First by the steel cable we ascend on a slightly exposed ridge and then we again ascend over a short ladder. Next follows few meters of walking by a steep ridge and we are already at the mountain hut Rifugio Nuvolau.
We continue past the mountain hut and follow the signs for Rifugio Averau. The path starts descending on a wide ridge towards the north. Soon, we come to a crossing, where we go left towards the mountain hut, which we can see in front of us for some time.
From the mountain hut, we continue slightly to the right on a mountain road. Already after few meters caption »Ferrata Averau« point us left upwards. After that, the path at first crosses scree on the eastern side of the mountain and soon turns to the left where we enter the climbing part of the path. At the beginning of the climbing path we ascend steeply by the steel cable over a steep wall, and then we come to a crossing. Left slightly easier path vertically ascends on stemples through a draught-hole. And right path also ascends almost vertically, only that there isn't any stemples on the path. It should be noted, that the left path is often wet and also snow stays a little longer time. After a short steep section of the path both paths join again and then follows a crossing with the help of steel cables to the right. The climbing part of the path quickly ends and we soon come on less steep upper slopes of the mountain. In the last part, the path isn't demanding anymore and we soon reach a very scenic peak.

On the way: Rifugio Nuvolau (2575m), Rifugio Averau (2413m)