Off-piste skiing and ski mountaineering excursion from Monte Cristallo to Monte Piana

A memorable excursion across the amazing Dolomites' landscapes, skiing off-piste on wonderful untracked slopes with an elevation loss of more than 2700 metres. You will test your skills with challenging and technically demanding off-piste descents along the steep slopes of Monte Cristallo and the narrow northern rill of Monte Piana.

This intense, day-long excursion includes amazing skiing descents on long slopes and a short, enjoyable mountaineering ascent, enabling you to relish the peace, silence and amazing beauty of the mountain environment.

The itinerary is not very popular yet, thus it is still not too crowded. This excursion requires good technical skills and skiing experience.

Information about the off-piste skiing and ski mountaineering excursion from Monte Cristallo to Monte Piana

The excursion starting point is the car park Rio Gere. From there, we will take the cable car of Monte Cristallo and reach the mountain hut Rifugio Lorenzi (3000 metres a.s.l.) in Forcella Staunies.

The first off-piste skiing section begins there: you will ski along the Creste Bianche (white peaks) or one of the rills known as Canalini di Val Fonda, according to the decision of the Dolomiti SkiRock Mountain Guide, who will evaluate the snow conditions and decide consequently. After an amazing descent on the 1500 metre long slope, you will reach the paved road that links Cortina to the Puster Valley.

From there, you will reach Misurina by car and then take the snowmobile that goes up to the mountain hut Rifugio Bosi on Monte Piana, where you can have some rest and maybe a warming coffee. In order to reach the northern rill, you will have to put on the ski skins and traverse tha plateau of Monte Piana: approximately a 35 minutes walk along the remains of the First World War outposts, with an amazing view over the peaks of Tre Cime di Lavaredo and Cadini di Misurina.

Once you have reached the starting point of the rill, you can start skiing down this amazing, 800 metre long slope. The first part is steep and narrow, while the second part is wider and easier. In the final part of the rill, you will ski down mild slopes among the mountain pines and through the woods, until you reach the valley Val di Rienza, which you need to trod down to the hotel Albergo Tre Cime, from where you will go back to Cortina.

Technical information about the excursion:

  • Starting and arrival point: Cortina-Rio Gere
  • Mountain/massif: Monte Cristallo and Monte Piana
  • Overall elevation loss: 2700 metres
  • Overall elevation gain: 200 metres
  • Duration time: approximately 5/6 hours
  • Descent exposure: North
  • Average slope: 30°
  • Maximum slope: 38°
  • Difficulty level - off-piste skiing section: BS - expert skier
  • Difficulty level - ski mountaineering section: F - easy

The mountain huts along the path and nearby offering food and facilities are the following:

  • Ristorante Rio Gere
  • Rifugio Son Forca
  • Rifugio Lorenzi
  • Rifugio Bosi
  • Ristorante Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Equipment

Contact us for booking or for information

tel. +39 3279311671 - booking@dolomitiskirock.com

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