High-Altitude Traverse of the Banco Spur in the Sorapíš Range

This route was hiked on September 3, 2026, and all subsequent observations and comments apply solely to that day.

In guidebooks, the Traversata Alta del Contrafforte del Banco is described as a connecting route (one of many, though… more special than the others) between the Vandelli Hut and the San Marco Hut.

Therefore, to complete it in a single day without an overnight stay, you must start at Passo Tre Croci and finish at San Vito di Cadore.

Obviously, there’s no need to write anything about the well-known routes between the parking lots and the two mountain huts.

To set out with a bit more time to spare today, I covered the first hour from Passo Tre Croci using my headlamp.

The long ledge in the first section has no official name, or at least none is mentioned in the guidebooks: for the sake of convenience in this report and in the photos, I’ll refer to it as the “Northwest Ledge of the Banco Spur.”

In the following report, when I use the term “guide,” I am referring to *Dolomiti Sorapíš e Marmarole Occidentali – 101% vera montagna* by Paolo Beltrame.

↓

High Traverse of the Banco Spur: Part 1—Northwest, from the Vandelli Hut to the Forcella della Busa area

From the Vandelli Refuge, you set off on the trail that, initially heading south, leads to the Vandelli Via Ferrata.

You emerge from the vegetation and reach a large panoramic terrace overlooking the entire spur directly in front of you: the elevation is just under 2,100, and here you must leave the CAI trail, which continues by turning left.

Now you must traverse toward the base of the large gully that descends from Forcella della Caccia Grande and borders the Prima Sorella on the right.

After crossing the first, nearly flat section (there should be a small meltwater lake, but today only isolated pools of water remained), head toward the gravelly slopes of the Eastern Glacier that ascend toward the main face.

Today I found this ascent not particularly strenuous because the ground was largely fairly compacted, and it was possible to avoid the most gravelly sections.

From halfway up on, in the depressions between the secondary ridges, there were sections of hard, exposed snow and a few small patches of ice, but all of this could be avoided by staying above the small secondary ridges.

Toward the end, I descended into the gentle couloir closest to the rocky band, which was snow-free; for that reason, without ever putting on my crampons, I reached (just before the impassable couloir descending from Forcella della Caccia Grande) the key point of the ascent at the level of the Northwest Ledge of the Contrafforte del Banco.

Beltrame indicates an elevation gain of about 25 meters and writes: “… from the ledge, two adjacent small couloirs of easy rock and scree descend; take the one on the right (1°) and proceed to the base of the wall …”.

I did not see or identify two distinct couloirs, but I did see a varied rocky slope with small ledges, scree, and a couple of steep, unstable-looking drainage gullies.

However, there is (at least I saw one) a better ascent route than the others, consisting of fairly solid Grade I rock interspersed with short, somewhat unstable sections.

From the point where I reached the base of the rocky band, you pass (turning left for a few meters) over the head of one of the aforementioned drainage ditches and enter the wide initial ledge of the beautiful rock ledge.

This first section runs beneath a stunning wall with striking red veins, and you really have to stay close to the wall, making a strenuous climb along extremely unstable footholds that offer little (or… very little) grip: be careful in a group because today, even though I was being careful despite being alone, I triggered more than one rockfall.

You arrive below a large triangular (or pyramidal) spur, separated from the main wall by a steep gully, which you bypass on the outside by following trails at the base.

Just past the outer ridge of the spur, a descending ledge and an ascending slope continue: follow the ascending slope.

From here on, the exhausting (and at times quite annoying) constant instability of the first section is gone, and there’s a chance to “almost rest” between the more challenging stretches.

As I climbed more leisurely up the ledge past the spur, I noticed a couple of cairns in “terrible condition” and a clear (the only one I saw) mark of red paint on a small rock on the ground.

At one point, Beltrame writes, “…the route then continues along easy rock, ending with a 4-meter downward drop rated 2°, which can be avoided by rappelling about fifteen meters and then climbing back up over gravel to the same point…”.

Continuing to follow the gravelly tracks on the ledge, I didn’t see this 4-meter, Grade 2 descent: instead, I arrived beneath an easy Grade I- rock ramp that leads up to a small saddle before a deep bend in the slope, where the ledge continues in a spectacular manner.

From the small saddle, you descend immediately to the crossing of the small gully at the “elbow of the bend,” which is reached by climbing the first three-quarters of a step at Grade I+ on solid holds.

On the other side of the small gully—at the end of the long “extension of the bend”—you’ll notice the first very obvious cairn, which I saw in perfect condition: Here I took a break and built a cairn of my own that… may not be the most beautiful in the Dolomites but can help those coming from the opposite direction.

After reaching this first real cairn, you’ll find several others at regular intervals that eliminate any uncertainty about choosing the best routes.

Then you enter a long stretch of fairly even scree with small recesses, one of which is reddish and not very pleasant to look at, but not so bad (though exposed) once you set foot on it.

At the end of this mostly even section, there’s a shoulder with another very obvious cairn visible in the distance from the very start, and from this shoulder, it’s worth taking one last look back at what lies behind you: Sorapíš (to use the more correct spelling) is truly one of a kind❗👍🏻

Now we’re in the final stretch: beyond the shoulder lies a small, easy basin, and then you can see the exit saddle situated between the two peaks of Dosso di Valbona (which is the one marked at 2,709 on the maps; the saddle should be between 2,690 and 2,695).

This remains the most challenging section in terms of climbing difficulty, because you have to traverse the small gully before the saddle, descending 4 meters of full Grade II climbing—both vertically and laterally as you exit: the holds seemed solid to me, but be careful—then a “short scramble” brings you to the cairn at the pass, with a view of the head of the Busa del Banco and the final ascent slope to the Cime di Valbona (which you could reach directly via an easy traverse).

To reach the Forcella della Busa (which lies lower down), you must descend for a stretch through the gravelly valley (which has snow during the early part of the summer season) until you reach the level of a prominent ledge visible from above right from the start.

The guidebook doesn’t specify which side to take, and I descended to the right to get closer to the ledge, but that led me to a completely impassable drop.

I veered left, found the easy Grade I passages indicated in the guidebook, and eventually reached the ledge (the GPS track records this somewhat pointless right-left detour).

The wide ledge (marked with cairns) crosses a couple of short sections requiring caution, offering spectacular views down toward the Busa del Banco, and leads to a bypass around a small ridge where it continues narrowly toward the Forcella della Busa.

I didn’t reach the Forcella della Busa exactly, but after a few easy meters, I rejoined the cairns directly at the base of the final ascent of the standard route to the Cime di Valbona.

I made this choice because, for today’s continuation, from the Forcella della Busa one would have to descend a few unstable meters and then climb back up, whereas this way I remained at a higher elevation with less elevation gain and generally more solid trails (you have to be familiar with the route, but I’d been here before, so it was an easy decision for me).

Incredibly, given the… huge 😁🤣 number of people who frequent these places… at the base of the standard route to the Cime di Valbona, I ran into three hikers who were climbing toward the peaks.

At this point, we can say that the first part of this version of the Traversata Alta del Contrafforte del Banco is complete.

↓

High Traverse of the Contrafforte del Banco: Part 2, southeast from the Forcella della Busa area to the San Marco Hut

After a nice chat with the three hikers mentioned above, I continued briefly along a narrow ledge marked by cairns up to the point directly above Forcella della Busa, from where you can see the continuation—not hard to follow but absolutely not to be missed—for the start of the descent.

Staying below the rocky band, you descend briefly to cross the head of the gully leading to the normal route of the Cime di Valbona until you reach the next shoulder closing off the head on the other side.

Beyond the shoulder, take a short ascending ledge to the next ridge-shoulder; once you’ve crossed it, a view opens up with the Torre dei Sabbioni already visible in the distance above the Forcella Grande: it doesn’t even seem that far away, but… it’ll take a little while.

Now descend along a broad, gravelly slope, passing a cairn in the first few meters and following a fairly well-defined trail.

Once you’ve finished the slope—with the rocky band that borders it and “supports” the Cime di Valbona— you enter the large amphitheater leading down to the Sentiero Minazio, an amphitheater situated below the Cime di Valbona, the Cresta dei Nani, and the Terza Sorella.

There is no longer a clear (or almost clear) single path as before, and you must continue traversing with little loss of elevation until just before the towering rocky band directly ahead (which closes off the amphitheater on the other side), where the Cengia delle Tre Sorelle runs high above.

This is the guide’s recommendation because on that side the slope is more even and covered with loose gravel that facilitates the descent without being interrupted by protruding rock slabs—which, while not particularly difficult, would slow you down considerably.

So, I continued traversing by eye along sporadic trails (I saw several chamois in the amphitheater, but they were too far away and on the move to photograph) to get past the area with the slabs, until I spotted a cairn a little further down and reached it, then continued traversing easily.

A few dozen meters before the rock face, I reached the point directly above a long gravelly slope and easily descended more than 150 meters in elevation—the guidebook indicates that it’s possible to descend about 200 meters on the loose gravel, but it depends on how you tackle the initial traverse.

Right from the start of the easy descent on scree, you can see the Sentiero Minazio below, which you need to reach; to do so, you must stay to the right of a rugged, emerging gully at the bottom of the amphitheater.

Once the easy gravel section ends, you’ll encounter a more challenging scree slope, though it poses no problems if you take it slowly.

Then, having spotted the Minazio Trail well in advance, I continued descending by eye without worrying about following the specific details indicated in the guidebook, and tried to find a more solid route between one rocky section and the next.

Without any real difficulty, I entered the final stretch, which featured a few gullies between small and medium-sized boulders where I used my hands for balance but never to aid in climbing.

I took a break at the junction with the Sentiero Minazio, which can be considered the end of the technical and/or navigation challenges of this hike.

If I had to give my opinion on this direct descent from the Forcella della Busa area, I’d say it’s “surprisingly easy given… where you start.”

To wrap things up, I headed to the San Marco Mountain Hut, following the CAI arrows pointing to the hut and skipping other possible, nearly equivalent routes.

At the San Marco Mountain Hut, I took a long break both to rest and to eat a good meal, since, according to my original plan, I was supposed to return to Passo Tre Croci on my e-bike.

↓

Final Thoughts

If I were to do this traverse in the opposite direction, I’d go on a reconnaissance trip to the Eastern Glacier 3 or 4 days beforehand to see for myself the condition of the passage between the Eastern Glacier and the Northwest Ledge of the Contrafforte del Banco.

Be mindful of the “summer-to-fall seasonal transition” on the Northwest Ledge of the Banco Spur: the spectacular reddish face at the start of the ledge is an almost continuous drip line; all it takes is a good downpour followed by a couple of days of real cold (or even just real cold) and you may find yourself facing a layer of ice that won’t go away, since the entire section faces northwest.

Even higher up on the ledge, I noticed several water runoff points today (though there was none today) where a combination of rain and cold during the seasonal transition “spells the end of the line” if you’re looking for a hike that’s as trouble-free as possible.

At the start of the season, of course, it depends a lot on what happened during the previous winter and spring.