Col Spizzat Loop Hike

Back in winter I snowshoed in this area near Piancavallo but turned back downhill before reaching  Col Spizzat.  Today I continued up to the ridgeline and on down the other side.  A gravel road and then rocky trail soon rejoined the gravel road to Col Alto, making an easy two-hour loop.  You could also substitute the gravel road to Casera Valfredda and MTB the loop except for a few hundred meters of very rough trail below Col Spizzat.  Really wonderful area.

Toward Monte Cavallo Gruppo

Panning to the east

The descent to trailhead for Forcella di Giais

Monte Castelat

Monte Cavallo Gruppo

View back down  to the valley

Casera Valfredda in the distance

Monte Valinis - Monte Prat Loop

Wonderful weather today for a series of climbs.  I warmed up on the road to Meduno where I turned sharply upward toward Monte Valinis.  This is a favorite climb up to 1000 meters, shady and steep.  At the top the usual dozen or so hang gliders had multiplied to (I'm guessing) 80?  Not enough room up here for such a big crowd IMO, but they seemed happy.  At some point safety might be compromised with all this air traffic.

Peaceful ride down the hill to Campone, and then the climb up to Piani di Clauzetto.  Then you descend again to the karst caves of Pradis di Sotto, and immediately head upward toward Pradis di Sopra.  Just before the village head downward again, past the WW 1 cemetery to Forno, slightly uphill and finally down to Pielungo.

Turn left on the main road, cross the bridge and shortly you arrive at Via Zupeit.  This is a moderate but long climb through the forest to Monte Prat.   Very remote feeling in this area, heavenly peaceful.

At Monte Prat you zoom down the tornanti to Forgaria, then Pinzano and refill your borraccia for the long, unshaded ride home.  This area to our northeast is rich with climbs like these: you can mix and match them into infinite combinations.        

Frisanco, Poffabro, Monte Raut

Navarons

View south from Monte Valinis

A small fraction of the hoarde preparing to leap off the cliff 

Peaceful Campone 

Monte Rossa where I MTB'ed the other day

Monte Cuar

Val Tochel, where Via Zupeit climb ends

Monte Valinis

Via Zupeit

Panaramica Cansiglio Piancavallo MTB

My favorite local climb, today with a variation at the start.  Instead of climbing from Coltura I MTB'ed from Dardago up to Mezzomonte on dirt roads.  Then from Mezzomonte cemetery  up to to the panaramica on asphalt, and on up to I Fanghi at 1526 meters.  I returned home via Sauc and Madonna della Monte.  The extra weight of the MTB versus the lower gear ratio seems to cancel each other out.  I'll try Maxima next time to confirm.

Coltura from the climb

Castaldia from 1500 meters

Monte Cavallo Gruppo 

The climb

Sentiero delle Piaie Longhe Milifret - Strada del Taffarel MTB

Fun ride in one of the prettiest places I know: Il Cansiglio.  I parked at Villa di Villa and climbed Strada dei Patriarchi up through the forest to La Crosetta and onward to Monte Pizzoc.  Finally off-road now, I rode along the ridgeline to Monte Milifret, carried the bike over the craggy bits and soon began the long muddy descent toward Mezzomiglio.  Much of the time I pushed the bike over rock formations,  treefalls, and around deep mud wallows.  Then suddenly the shady forest ends and you’re in wide open rolling grassland: Altopiano Mezzomiglio, cowbells ringing, the wide-open panorama of Col Visentin.

I was a little worried about looming thunderheads so I took the muddy short cut  across the ridge and down to Strada del Taffarel.  Hard to describe how wonderful this gravel road is, for miles wandering through faggio forest, following the contours of  steep slopes.  It joins the road from Pizzoc just above Cadolten, then descends to La Crosetta.  At this moment the clouds burst and I took cover under the eves of a building.  I donned my descending jacket and armwarmers, waited awhile and headed out.  Cold with the rain and windchill but I survived and eventually reached warmer air at lower elevation.  Thawed on the drive home, wet, tired and hungry.

Monte Pizzoc

Monte Milifret

The forest ends and suddenly Col Visentin comes into view

Beautiful altopiano Mezzomiglio

Annello del Colle di Grizzo e Malnisio

Fun local MTB ride.  I warmed up on the bike path to Montereale then doubled back to a red-pavement path which leads to the actual trail where I began to climb.  Quite fun doing all (or most) of the saliscendi and curves.  It ends near the asilo in Grizzo.  I turned around and did it in the opposite direction, also fun.  Great weather, not too hot and pretty clear.

Malnisio hydropower plant with tunnels from Lago di Barcis

Malnisio looking toward Giais

Pala d'Altei above Malnisio

Monte Fara with Monte Raut in background

Monte Jouf

Little capelle by the road

Sunflower field below Pala Fontana

Fun little ride

Pala Barzana via Valdifrina

Pala Barzana from the east is a little less steep, but you can fix that by approaching via Valdifrina instead of Poffabro.  It hits 15% and is wonderfully shady; give it a try.

The rest of the ride is very familiar, but still is beautiful and feels like wilderness.  After the descent to Andreis I rode through the long tunnel and home.  Fun!  

Monte Raut from Pala Barzana

Monte Raut from descent

Valcellina peaks

Across Valcellina toward bigger peaks

The climb

Monte Rossa MTB

Monte Rossa is a long ridge above Val d’Arzino near Pielungo.  The road starts at Castello Cicone, the mansion of the great engineer Giacomo Cicone.  After the gate the road ascends sweetly along the gorge, then gradually more steeply, until I eventually was just below redline.  It continues like this for a long time, until finally the gradient eases, the forest opens up and you reach the ruins of Malga Rossa.  I was glad to see they’ve concreted the steep ramp leading toward Malga Jovet which had terminated my previous visit.  There are great views to the east from the malga.

The descent is long and rocky but mercifully easy.  Overall a great workout in glorious scenery.

Torrente Comugna

Torrente Comugna from higher up

View east from Malga Jovet

View north from Malga Rossa ruins

View southeast from Monte Rossa ridge

Castello Cicone

Closer view

Dietro Monte Ciastelat

I drove to Pian delle More and hiked up the gravel road to the start of trail to Monte  Ciastelat.  First through forest then the grassy rolling plain at the ruins of the casera behind Pala Fontana.  Back into the forest and more steeply to Monte Ciastelat, where you get to do some hands on climbing.  Bellissima panarama.

Descend now into  Dietro Monte Castelat, a fascinating geological area.  Scramble over and around  karst formations, giant cubes, rows of columns of equal height, table top mountains, acres of rhododendron and wildflowers.  It’s almost directly above our house, near Rifugio di Giais.  Highly recommend this hike.

At casera ruderi

Piancavallo landscape

Monte Cavallo Gruppo

Eastern Cavallo Gruppo

Val Cellina peaks

Northeast

Monte Ressetum

Monte Mezzo  and Pala d'Altei 

Dietro di Monte Ciastelat

Karstic cube

Zuccul Supigna

Parallel columns of the same height

Table top mountain

Karstic boulder field

Parallel cliff faces with snow in between

Table top mountain

Monte Ciastelat looking down at the rock garden