Crodèr Alti from Forcella Intrigós to Campìgol of the Sass dei Gnèi

Premise

This route was traversed on June 27, 2020, and all subsequent observations and considerations fully apply only to that day.

The guide I refer to in this report is “Agneléze Erèra Pizzòcco Monti della Destra Mis” edited by Pietro Sommavilla and Paolo Bonetti.

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Approach to the start of the Crodèr Alti

You must go to Forcella Intrigós: then CAI trail 851.

Then continue over the ridge towards north still on CAI 851 until the hairpin bend at about 1,500 meters near Covolo dell’Ortiga.

From this hairpin bend, there is the exit trace of the Crodèr Bassi route which, in this case, is entered in reverse.

(For the Crodèr Bassi route see the track of → Monte Pizzocco from Lago del Mis via Riva Ièrta and the Crodèr Bassi.)

The reverse entrance is identified (in this season with tall grass) by observing some initial branch cuttings, and shortly after, cairns are also found.

With a slight descent tendency, you arrive at the crossing of a channel in a slightly slippery section and enter into a small wood after climbing the opposite bank.

Here you leave the trace (and the branch cuttings) of the Crodèr Bassi to climb to the right, more or less on the steepest slope, alongside the channel just crossed.

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From the start of the Crodèr Alti route to the cornices sector

From the start, following more branch cuttings uphill, you climb about 35/40 meters of elevation gain (according to my GPS) up to a rock band.

WARNING: at some point, the branch cuttings guide right to the edge of the channel where there is a small path entering to the right with a clear cairn toward that path: I do not know where it leads, but it MUST NOT be followed for the Crodèr Alti.

From the rock band, you comfortably climb left until doubling a ridge that opens the view on a wild and very steep mountain flank: a real crag.

Here there is a spectacular rock bench (somewhat hollowed) ascending diagonally: it is the continuation of the route.

The bench is traversed without real difficulties, and where it levels out just before a narrow section, you must leave it to the left.

The point corresponds to a cairn all to the left above a small saddle, after all previous cairns were on the center-right.

The small saddle makes it possible to cross the left ridge in the climbing direction that divides the bench from the steep channel beside it: you descend a few meters into this steep channel (not very steep at this head start) to soon turn right for another small climbing channel, initially rocky bottom and then grassy – cairns and branch cuttings certify you are in the right place.

After the last cairn, you double a ridge on the flat toward the right and… the exposed and adrenaline-filled cornices of the Crodèr Alti begin.

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Traversing the central cornices sector of the Crodèr Alti

From the entrance point to the exit point of the cornices, it is about 250 meters in direct air line, but when you exit, it will seem you have done much more.

It is impossible and pointless to describe this stretch meter by meter: it is all very narrow and very exposed.

It is an up and down with short bursts to overcome/accompany the steep mountain flank, through ridges and heads of various small channels.

There are various parts with a bottom dirty with gravel and not exactly stable but, fortunately, not in the two ultra-exposed and (more or less) overhanging passages mentioned in the first “SUMMARY” sheet of the hike.

The two critical passages are in the first half.

De Zordi, in his book, also mentions the passage of “two dreadful gorges”: these are also in the first half, but they are “more dreadful for the view than for the technique”.

Very demanding indeed, but it is not over yet.

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From the end of the central cornices sector to the exit of the Crodèr Alti on the Campìgol saddle of the Sass dei Gnèi near the Casón de Piero Prano

The cornices end on a small ledge where you turn right on a steep descent down a gully.

From here on, even if everything is well indicated by ground signs, there can be the greatest orientation problems.

You need to descend about 90 meters of elevation according to the guide and also according to my barometric altimeter – for this last sector, I used the barometric altimeter to follow the altitude references indicated by the guide.

After the very first somewhat narrow meters, the gully opens, and descending further, ahead to the right, you notice three rock spurs with two channels – the rightmost one rocky and the left one a steep grassy slope (which splits into two under the central spur): you will need to partially climb the right channel and then pass onto the grassy slope on the left to complete the climb.

About halfway down the gully, there is a dividing ridge: you must keep right for the narrower branch toward the channels to climb afterwards – here I did not immediately see the cairns in the distance, but there is a cut branch on the left at the entrance of the branch.

Before reaching the bottom of the gully, you climb and descend a short “hump” with a cairn on top.

In the rocky right-hand channel to climb partially, there is the “usual signaling pattern”: cairns on the right and you exit when there is one all to the left above the dividing ridge with the channel beside it.

From crossing the dividing ridge, there is a comfortable trace leading toward the grassy slope, which is climbed following numerous branch cuttings, among which I noticed some recent ones with visible resin on some branch stumps.

You arrive under a rock spur with visible branch cuttings both left and right – on the right also a cairn, and I continued to the right.

Here the guide writes: “... from the spur saddle continue on altitude toward east for about fifty meters among the dwarf pines (no trace: cleaning of this section is advisable) until you find an excellent cut again ...”.

The work hoped for by the guide has meanwhile been done… VERY WELL!

Now there is a very comfortable corridor of recent cuts, wide (at times) even two meters: a real highway.

At the end of the new cuts, with a small descent, you enter onto a short and easy ledge below the rock band, and then with another small descent cross a narrow small channel to climb another one (a sort of notch) opposite and almost perpendicular to the crossing point (at first glance coming in, it isn't very clear where to go, but there are cairns).

The small channel leads to double a ridge that leads to the base of the wide and long final climbing channel toward the Campìgol of the Sass dei Gnèi.

Meanwhile, you must cross from right to left the wide, irregular and slightly unstable base of the basin you enter: here too the cairns help with the best possible line, but it is not exactly trivial.

When fully on the left, you must climb over the initial rocky step, with a cairn visible above the step on the other side.

Here the guide writes: “... then climb the rocky channels, keeping left branch upwards (west, cairns) with some rock steps (I, II)”.

The first meters of climbing are actually quite constant on grade I with some grade II steps, until a cairn where it then levels out.

The slope becomes comfortable until a narrowing with, a few meters before, a cairn leaning on the left side inviting to climb and continue on a walkway laterally inclined above the colluvium.

Soon you turn left for another channel branch (always with cairns) that at the top “hits” an insurmountable cliff (also marked in the guide).

The cliff is avoided by climbing further left until under a small rocky ridge with cairns on both created branches of the ridge.

The cairn on the left, with 3/4 meters of steep grass, enters the dwarf pines without cuts but not too dense; the cairn on the right (further away in view) leads on a crossing style… previous cornices, which seems then to enter a cut of dwarf pines (but at that distance, I did not see well).

I took left, walked a few meters uphill in the dwarf pines moving them without too much effort, and finally easily folded right to re-enter the channel above the cliff.

Now all easy: slightly sloping rocky bottom that however points too much to the right compared to the arrival saddle of the Campìgol of the Sass dei Gnèi – so after a while I turned left on an easy grassy slope and, with some free turns, I arrived at the saddle at the end of the Crodèr Alti.

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Return from the Campìgol of the Sass dei Gnèi with the first part via Borài de la Rosàlia

A nice return would be climbing to the summit of the Sass dei Gnèi and down again via Forcella Intrigós.

(For this variant see the track of → East Ridge of Pizzocco part 2: from Le Forche to Forcella Intrigos.)

However, today some low clouds arrived, and it was not worth it given the zeroed panoramas.

So, return following the Brown Trail of Troi de Sospiroi.

It is a trail with several variants that descend both from the Campìgol of the Sass dei Gnèi and from Monte Fornèl.

The trail markers, given the name, are brown, mostly on posts since you go over grassy slopes with few stones on the ground (there are more cairns than trail markers).

I walked the first meters freely, then caught a trace and shifted, tending left, toward the variant descending from Monte Fornèl.

More or less at about 1,400 meters altitude, turn right to leave the steep greens and enter the woods on a wide trail.

From here you arrive at the junction for Casera Campo: still a short wooded section, easy crossing of a large grassy slope, and continuation with slight woodland ascent up to Casera Campo.

After the hut, the trail continues in the woods (perfectly cleared from the storm fallouts of Vaia Storm) still slightly ascending until doubling a ridge to the right.

Immediately after the doubling, there is a fork where you must go left in a slight descent toward the small fountain visible from that point.

Continuing on a well-visible trail imprint, you arrive at the junction with CAI 851 of the outward journey.