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recommended route
Snowshoes
· San Martino di Castrozza,Primiero,Vanoi
Fradusta Peak - Scarpe Peak - Roda Peak - Rosetta Peak
Little Fish Trek
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Start with the first ascent of the cable car because the program is quite long: head for the Rifugio Rosetta, which is in the center of the photo.Photo: Mario Briotto, Little Fish Trek
Pale di San Martino: from the upper station of the Rosetta Cable Car snowshoeing on the Pale di San Martino Plateau to Fradusta Peak, Scarpe Peak, Roda Peak, and Rosetta Peak.
Given the good – though not abundant – snow, the goal was to make a fairly complete round of the wonderful and “lunar” Pale di San Martino Plateau starting from the upper station of the Rosetta Cable Car.
Travel times with snowshoes can never be accurately predicted before departure, and flexibility in choices during such a route is necessary: you must plan carefully because here the closing times of cable cars are strict.
The difficulty rating “WT3” applies for EXCELLENT CONDITIONS LIKE TODAY, otherwise you must be ready – from Fradusta Peak onwards – to make appropriate variations (according to the day’s conditions) to avoid exceeding a “WT4” level.
EVERYTHING BECOMES ENORMOUSLY MORE COMPLICATED WITH POOR VISIBILITY.
Choose only perfect days not only for safety: here the views take your breath away even more than the altitude❗
Author’s recommendation
Some photos are in vertical or panoramic format and do not display well in previews: switch to full view to get a more complete idea of the environment of the hike.
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For another nice snowshoeing route on the Pale di San Martino Plateau see the link → Pale dei Balconi and La Fradusta from the upper station of the Rosetta Cable Car.
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For a complete overview of routes traveled and described in the Pale di San Martino and San Lucano, you can refer to the link → Pale di San Martino: hikes, alpinist paths, snowshoe trips.
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.
Track types
Rest stops
Rifugio RosettaSafety information
This snowshoe hike – considering the development and exposures of the route – requires a careful evaluation of the snow cover risk level for the chosen day.
It is advisable to keep the following in mind:
- "Memorize" the snow avalanche bulletin.
- In my opinion, it is not enough to check it the day before; you should look at it every day during the winter season to understand well the evolution of the snow cover.
- At least one experienced person in the group who also knows the type of ground under the snow to better judge local situations.
- Given that a book can never replace a course held by professionals, my favorite on snow-avalanche topics is: "SNOW Compendium of Snow Science" by Renato Cresta – Mulatero publisher.
- Excellent for risk reduction evaluation techniques is: "AVALANCHES – How to reduce risk" by Philippe Descamps and Olivier Moret – VERSANTE SUD EDITIONS.
- From another book I quote a phrase that should always be kept in memory: "Events are often attributed to skill; snow is stable 95 percent of the time, but we confuse the absence of avalanches with our ability to make good decisions."
- Snowshoes and skis are "two different worlds": do not blindly follow previous ski tracks.
Bring all necessary equipment.
Tips and suggestions
The recommended period I indicated is from December to April, but you must check every year the exact opening period of the San Martino di Castrozza ski lifts, which never covers the first part of December and the second part of April.
Roadbook
Premise
This route was traveled on December 24, 2017, and all subsequent observations and considerations only fully apply to that day.
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The classic and unmissable hike for everyone goes from the upper station of the Rosetta Cable Car to the Fradusta Peak, where there is a summit marker on a ridge that is not always reachable in "snowshoe mode": today it was possible, and in any case there is no actual difference in altitude even stopping a few dozen meters before.
Going to the Fradusta, you cross the entire Pale di San Martino Plateau from west to east following the gentle undulations of the concave part – you more or less stay on the lines of summer CAI routes but ALWAYS with appropriate adaptations for snow accumulations created by the wind that can change from season to season and day to day.
To complete the return with something different, I added the ascent to Scarpe Peak and Roda Peak.
Between Scarpe Peak and Roda Peak – given the good snow – I managed to not lose much altitude by following a traversing line that is not always recommended: in other conditions you need to descend more and then resume the climb to Roda Peak further along the return route to the cable car upper station.
It is not possible to give super precise directions in such an environment, and you have to "play it by sight" each time.
Altopiano delle Pale di San Martino
Hochebene La Rosetta
Passo di Pradidali Alto
Cima di Fradusta
Rifugio Rosetta
Rifugio Rosetta
Public transport
Public-transport-friendly
Directions
You need to go to San Martino di Castrozza up to the cable car of the Ski Area Colverde to take the Rosetta Cable Car and then the upper station of the same.
Parking
Parking of the Ski Area Colverde in San Martino di Castrozza.
Coordinates
Book recommendation by the author
"Freeride Ski Touring and Snowshoes in the PALE DI SAN MARTINO"
by F. Vascellari - A. Cagnati - I. De Biasio - D. Favero - T. Forin
VIVIDOLOMITI EDITIONS – MOUNTAIN GEOGRAPHIC SERIES
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"SNOW Compendium of Snow Science" (Formation and evolution of snow. Avalanche environment and dynamics. Prevention and rescue.)
by Renato Cresta
Mulatero publisher – SPECIALIST SERIES
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"AVALANCHES – How to reduce risk"
by Philippe Descamps and Olivier Moret
VERSANTE SUD EDITIONS
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"KNOWING AND INTERPRETING AVALANCHE TERRAIN" (STAYING ALIVE IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN)
by Bruce Tremper
Mulatero publisher – SPECIALIST SERIES
Author’s map recommendations
TABACCO publisher number 022 "Pale di San Martino" 1:25,000
4LAND publisher number 154 “PALE DI SAN MARTINO - PRIMIERO - VANOI” 1:25,000
KOMPASS number 622 "Pale di San Martino - Primiero San Martino di Castrozza, Paneveggio, Valle del Vanoi" 1:25,000
Equipment
Normal equipment for snowshoe hikes plus all safety devices required by current regulations.
Localization
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.
User Questions