Alta Via 1 · Stage 3
Over Forcella del Lago, 2,486 m: the official guide describes a steep descent through scree and boulders, graded EE. Rifugio Lagazuoi stands on the summit about 200 m above Forcella Lagazuoi; the climb to it is counted in the day. The hut takes bookings online but publishes no opening dates.
Best season: Late June to late September, while the huts are open. The official guide gives the end of June to the end of September. The huts open in June and close between 20 and 30 September in 2026, each on its own dates, shown beside each night. Snow can lie on Forcella del Lago, the Vant dei Piazedìai and the Marmol gully early in the summer, and the guide warns of early snowfall and icy ground in September; after the huts close it says to carry a tent and a sleeping bag. Before you go
Facts read from the operators' own pages and OpenStreetMap on 16 September 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with the hut before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Staffed mountain hut · 2,060 m · Rifugio Fanes Srl
Stage end · overnight
Staffed mountain hut · 2,752 m · Rifugio Lagazuoi 2752 Srl
Neither operator publishes a walking time for this exact leg. Our estimate for the stage is 4 h 04, computed from the mapped line and its climbing.
Hardest graded terrain: T3 demanding mountain hiking, 0.98 km in total. The longest such stretch runs from km 7.67 to km 8.65.
3.01 km has no grade tag in OpenStreetMap. Treat it as unknown, not as easy.
Grades are the sac_scale tags on the ways of OSM relation 177743, matched to this stage's line on 16 September 2026 from OSM data of 15 July 2026. A mapper's grade for the way, not a certification of today's conditions.
Make it your trip
Every night is in a mountain hut, except the last on the Schiara in the unstaffed Bivacco del Marmol. Book each hut directly and early: they fill in July and August. Each night below shows the hut's own 2026 season and how to book, read from its page.
The whole way in eleven days, a hut every night, the last in the Bivacco del Marmol before the via ferrata down to Belluno.
Plan this journeyNine days with a staffed hut every night, ending at the last one before the Schiara; from there the easy variant goes down by Rifugio Bianchet to the bus at La Pissa.
Plan this journeyThree days by Biella and Fanes to the summit hut of Lagazuoi, then the cable car to Passo Falzarego and the bus to Cortina.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (2,024 m) and high point (2,477 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (2,024 m) and the highest point (2,477 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed | Poor | Poor |
| High point, day / night | -4°/-10° | -4°/-10° | -2°/-8° | 1°/-5° | 6°/0° | 10°/4° | 12°/6° | 12°/6° | 8°/3° | 5°/0° | 0°/-4° | -3°/-8° |
| Low point, day / night | -1°/-8° | -2°/-8° | 1°/-5° | 4°/-2° | 10°/3° | 14°/6° | 15°/8° | 15°/8° | 11°/5° | 7°/2° | 3°/-2° | 0°/-6° |
| Rain, mm | 47 | 55 | 65 | 79 | 125 | 140 | 169 | 167 | 118 | 117 | 132 | 66 |
| Snow at high point | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | – | – | – | – | Possible | Possible | Likely |
| Daylight | 8 h 57 | 10 h 18 | 11 h 49 | 13 h 31 | 14 h 58 | 15 h 48 | 15 h 30 | 14 h 15 | 12 h 38 | 11 h | 9 h 27 | 8 h 36 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Each hut opens in June and closes on its own date, between 20 and 30 September in 2026; the plan shows each night's season. Rifugio Lagazuoi, Rifugio Passo Staulanza and Rifugio Pramperet have not published 2026 dates. Book directly with each hut.
Provincia di Belluno: the official guideThe official route leaves the Bivacco del Marmol by the Ferrata del Marmol, now the Ferrata Piero Rossi: about 500 m of exposed ladders and chimneys, graded EEA by the national park, which calls it extremely demanding and requires via ferrata equipment. If you do not want it, leave from Rifugio Pian de Fontana by path 518 to Rifugio Bianchet and down to La Pissa: the official guide's easy variant, about 4 hours.
Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park: the Schiara ferratasThe official guide grades most of the route EE, for experienced hikers, and much of it lies above 2,500 m. Forcella del Lago is a steep descent through scree and boulders; the way down from Nuvolau has a ladder and fixed ropes; the grass below Pramperet is slippery when wet.
Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park: Alta Via 1Snow can lie on the high passes into July, and the guide warns of early snowfall and icy ground in September. Ask the huts about the next pass before you leave in the morning.
Provincia di Belluno: the official guideGetting there
Travel around Rifugio Fanes to Rifugio Lagazuoi.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Regional trains run from Fortezza to Dobbiaco every 30 minutes, about 1 h 15. Bus 442 runs from Dobbiaco and Villabassa to the lake, and bus 439 from Monguelfo station. From 1 July to 15 September the valley is closed to cars from 09:00 to 16:00 and these buses need a seat booked and paid online; outside that period, pay the driver.
Braies: access and shuttle bookingThe Lagazuoi cable car links Rifugio Lagazuoi with Passo Falzarego, 6 June to 18 October 2026, 09:00 to 17:00. Dolomiti Bus line 52 runs from the pass to Cortina d'Ampezzo in about 35 minutes: hourly in the summer, five times a day from 10 September to 4 October 2026.
Dolomiti Bus: summer linesNo bus reaches either pass. From Passo Duran, below Rifugio Carestiato, the nearest bus is at La Valle Agordina, about 7 km down: line 7 to Agordo, Monday to Saturday.
Dolomiti Bus: lines and timetablesBelluno has trains to Venice in about two hours, some direct. Dolomiti Bus line 1, Belluno to Agordo, stops at La Pissa, the end of the easy variant, about 17 times a day from Monday to Saturday; its Sunday service is not published yet.
Dolomiti Bus: line 1Take your trip with you
Prepare each section while you still have a connection, and test it offline before you set out.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
The official guide of the Provincia di Belluno describes the Alta Via 1 as about 125 km in twelve days, north to south, from Lago di Braies to Belluno, graded EE and EEA with a short stretch of A at the Marmol. The line here follows the route on OpenStreetMap, 118 km, cut into twelve sections at the huts; the difference is mostly the short approaches to the huts and the variants the guide describes. Two huts stand off the line and their approach is counted in the day: Rifugio Lagazuoi, on the summit about 200 m above Forcella Lagazuoi, and Rifugio Pramperet, about 400 m away.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 22 September 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Provincia di Belluno: Alta Via n. 1Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation