Rosetta refuge crossing - Falcade
Ski mountaineering in the Dolomites is a conceptual activity, to fully enjoy the beauty of the itineraries a series of variables must converge which include not only the quantity of snow but also its quality.
The conditions seem good to me, and so I have been studying the map for a few days. I enthusiastically propose the itinerary to Matteo, warning him that although I am sure that in past years it has already been repeated, it is not a given that it can be repeated this year too, his desire to explore is at least as explosive as mine and he accepts willingly.
We take the first cable car ride from San Martino di Castrozza that drops us off on the plateau near the Rosetta refuge, from there we descend towards the Val delle Comelle. As expected, the snow is wonderful and allows us the luxury of embroidering our line above the clouds that rage over the Agordino.
At the crossroads with the Cantoni valley we change gear and start climbing towards the Travignolo pass. The adrenaline of the descent gives way to the solitude of this snowy valley, we distance ourselves not only for safety reasons but also to be alone with ourselves.
Between one thought and another we find ourselves at the pass, from there we continue towards the Vezzana peak. Summit!
We would like to stop up here to enjoy the view, but we are only at the beginning of our adventure. I observe the Galline valley that invites me to enter its chicken coop, I know these areas well, I have read the report of this descent more than a few times learning that to tackle it safely you need particular conditions that are not there yet today.
We continue the trip starting a wonderful descent in the immaculate Val Strut, the entrance is anything but banal, with skis on our feet we stay close to the Gabitti d'Ignoti via ferrata on sustained slopes although certainly not extreme.
We then continue on incredibly powdery snow and slide alongside the Bruner Bivouac which cannot be seen because it is covered in snow but I know it is there. I stop for a moment to savour the memory of a summer night spent in that bivouac with my dad, on that occasion we were doing the summer version of the Pale di San Martino crossing, certainly less adventurous but no less interesting.
Once we reach the Torcia di Val Grande, the descent ends and we prepare for the ascent of the Farangole valley, fortunately here too there is no trace and so we continue our adventure by tracing the line that seems safest and least tiring.
At the base of the pass we come across the numerous tracks of ski mountaineers who descended from there to then go back up to the Bureloni, we cross them and in a moment we go up the short gully that leads us to the Farangole where the itinerary does not end, but a bit of melancholy assails me: the wild part is over, I am leaving behind a dream that I have cultivated for a long time that time will sediment in memory, one of the many experienced in these mountains.
With this awareness we descend towards the Val Venegia, abandoning it almost immediately to prepare for yet another change of scenery that will lead us to the Mulaz refuge, from here we descend to Falcade on wonderful snow even if completely ruined by the previous passages, where we find a car that we had wisely parked in the morning.
While I change my boots I think about the peak of Vezzana and how much its Valle delle Galline attracted me, maybe next season will be the right one!
Thanks to the cable car, this great crossing does not exceed 1500 m of altitude difference. The itinerary takes place on different exposures, a factor that requires a continuous and punctual evaluation of the conditions of the snow cover. The skiing difficulties are not extreme, and remain within the scope of classic ski mountaineering, however to visit these places it is necessary to know how to move agilely on adventure terrain fortunately often without tracks. It is also preferable to have already faced it in the summer in order to know exactly the morphology and geography of the terrain, while it should be noted that planning the trip on the map is always indispensable.