Croda Rossa di Anterselva or Rote Wand from the Austrian side Defereggental

Premise

This route was traveled on January 31, 2024, and all subsequent observations and considerations fully apply only to that day.

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From the last winter parking just past the Staller Alm, you ascend to the Stalle Pass by taking the beaten snow road that runs alongside the cross-country skiing tracks.

You can walk without snowshoes and it is about 2 km without shortcuts, which would however require snowshoes.

From the Stalle Pass, head south where you notice the obvious narrow gorge entrance of a large valley, the Ackstaller Tal, which must be climbed up to just below the summit.

You make a loop on gentle slopes to the left to approach the narrow passage, where there is the first medium difficulty section with an inclined traverse followed by a short steep section: today with excellent snow no problem, all compatible with snowshoes.

Then continue (with possible lines at various distances) on the left towards the climb of the valley gutter, arriving at a point where you can also traverse to the right.

Here there were ski tracks on both sides, but I continued left to make a wider and gentler loop where I also found snowshoe prints.

Further on you move away from the gutter where the valley is really wide, and with gentle undulations you come to a change of direction from south to southwest, and then again from southwest to west.

Entering the western section you can clearly see on the left at the bottom the summit with the Cross of Croda Rossa di Anterselva, and the valley leads under a sharp ridge that connects the Croda Rossa to another summit on the right.

Arriving under the connecting ridge you turn again to the left or southwest for the last short section of the valley that leads to the final ridge saddle.

In the last meters the slope increases and – if the snow is not good – the exit to the final ridge saddle can be borderline for snowshoes and may be done without them.

Today everything was perfect and I climbed with snowshoes on my feet with some turns on the left side toward the ascent.

At the ridge saddle – where the super panoramas begin – you have to remove the snowshoes to climb the summit: according to my GPS, it is about 30 meters of altitude difference and 70 meters in a straight line.

Today the previous "little pits" were very hard snow but not icy, and I climbed without crampons like everyone who arrived after me.

However, at the summit there was a sort of "ice crown" around the Cross, and I put on crampons there just to be safe while taking photos from all sides.

Apart from this day's curiosity, if you start with the intention to reach the summit it is always better to have crampons and an ice axe so you don't have to give up.