Third couloir at Punta Sofia (AD)

The start is from the clearing at Lago Cavone. Take the CAI337 trail that climbs through the woods, crossing some small bridges, until the woods open letting us see the summit cross and the entire N face of Punta Sofia. We are in the Silence Valley and, leaving on our right the CAI335 trail that descends from Passo della Porticciola, we skirt the slopes of the N face until reaching the entrance of the third couloir (counting from the right). The initial slope is about 40° on not too compact snow. The couloir narrows progressively and the slopes also increase until reaching a consistent 55-60° (with some very short sections around 70°). In the conditions found on Sunday, January 18, the snow was well iced in the entire central part of the couloir, with protection possible especially on the side rocks. We opted for a rope team progression given the good snow cover and the good snow conditions. The snow cover quality worsens slightly near the exit where the slope increases further (a few meters around 75°).

Arriving at the ridge, continue to the left to reach the summit cross, but given the very limited visibility, we avoided that option and immediately turned right, descending along the ridge to Passo della Porticciola and from there right into the woods following the CAI335 trail down to the base of the Silence Valley. Return to the car the same way as the ascent.