Our walk starts with wonderful sunshine at the parking space of the Col Raiser Cable Car in Plan de Teja at Santa Cristina in the Val Gardena. By cable car we reach the Raiser mountain hut at 2,106 m asl. After having admired the great panoramic view from this place, we follow the trail and towards the Firenze mountain hut (n° 4). In the first part it is relatively plain and stretches from one mountain hut to the next. Before the Firenze hut, we reach a fork. This is where we follow the trail n° 13 to the Forcella di Mesdì.

From this place, the trail gets steeper and the vegetation becomes rather stingy. In the shadow of the rough pinnacles of Mt Sass Rigais we reach the wind gap called Furcela de Mesdì in Ladin (2,597 m asl). We decide to eat our sandwiches and fruit, afterwards we continue our walk, as we have to face another steep ascend. We continue on the trail n° 29 and walk down steeply on the other side of the famous Dolomite wind gap. We keep left, walking towards southwest on the trail at the foot of the Fermeda pinnacles. In this section you need to be sure-footed!

After about 1 hour, we reach another fork. Now we face the second ascend, leading us the way to the Forcella Pana. Fixed securing ropes and steps facilitate the ascend, making us finally reach the highest point. This is where we stop, just to admire the fantastic Dolomite landscape with lushly green Alpine pastures and mountain huts. The path n° 1 leads us down to the Troier mountain hut on the Seceda Alp (2,250 m asl), where we stop to have a delicious apple strudel, which we really deserve today. Our way back takes us on the path n° 1 and 1A, in about 1.5 hours across the Gamsblut mountain hut, down to the valley station of the Col Raiser Cable Car.

Attention: the Forcella Piana has been closed since the end of 2021.

Author: ED