
Hike around 2000m elevation above the Panoramica delle Vette road, developing by riding the upper ridges of M. Pezzacul and Crostis, with a stop at Lake Tarondon.
A hike that partially follows the Panoramica delle Vette road, skirting the panoramic southern slopes of Crostis and Pezzacul.
After a first stretch that closely follows the drivable track, the route ventures onto the CAI paths and marked traces touching the ridges of these gentle mountains with views of M. Coglians, the highest peak in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
After passing the alpine Tarondon pond, path CAI 154 leads in a long diagonal towards M. Pezzacul whose southern ridge is climbed via clear traces almost up to the 2176m summit.
Descended by a narrower trace to the wide saddle between Pezzacul and Crostis (non-CAI section), the route rises again to the summit of Crostis at 2251m to enjoy a unique panorama of the Carnic, Julian Alps and Dolomites.
The return follows the direct path towards the Chiadinas refuge, thus closing a very rewarding loop.
It is possible to shorten the loop by ascending Pezzacul near Malga Crostis along the evident military mule track.
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.
From the dirt road onwards up to the saddle between Crostis and Pezzacul, the route follows paths and traces that are often heavily grassed and poorly marked; for this reason, it is advisable to do this hike in spring and autumn when vegetation is less dense.
It is possible to return to the Panoramica delle Vette at the southern ridge of Pezzacul, towards Malga Crostis, using the evident military mule track after the junction with CAI 153.
Along the route there is only one fountain along the first part of the trail, so bring sufficient water supplies.
Avoid hiking in fog: only the direct Chiadinas - Crostis path is easy to identify under such conditions.
From the parking lot, continue east along the road which shortly becomes unpaved. After passing Malga Crostis below, the road skirts the southern ridge of Pezzacul continuing without major elevation changes up to the Tarondon valley, where just before the unpaved road descending to Casera Tarondon Bassa, take the path on the left that climbs the slopes.
Climbing diagonally on the marked path traces, pass the basin of Lake Tarondon gaining shortly beyond the route of path CAI 154.
Heading west, without major elevation changes, the path crosses below the eastern slope of M. Pezzacul and at the southern ridge, ascends through traces and scree toward the summit, generally keeping to the right of the ridge line. Just before the highest point, on the left, a narrow path cut into the rock descends toward the wide saddle, winding with small hairpin bends on the southern slope of the mountain.
From the saddle at 2072m elevation, the route resumes climbing towards M. Crostis, staying to the left of the watershed along grassy slopes and the remains of alpine huts from the First World War. Towards the summit, the route intersects the evident path CAI 151 with which, turning right, you shortly reach the summit.
From the summit of Crostis, along the evident path CAI 151, descend directly towards the starting point, first heading south and then with a final traverse towards southeast.
None
The Chiadinas refuge, near which the parking lot is located coinciding with the starting and finishing point of the itinerary, is reachable by ascending from the town of Comeglians in the Degano Valley floor, passing through the hamlets of Mieli and Tualis. The signs for the Panoramica delle Vette are numerous and must be followed up to the road crest near the refuge. The road is steep and in some places unprotected: it requires good driving skills on this type of road.
From the Valcalda saddle, near Ravascletto, follow the road branching towards the mountain at the village entrance junction; here too signs are present. The ascent from this side involves traveling about 7 km on a flat dirt road.
Obvious parking near the signs of the Chiadinas refuge.
Tabacco publishing house - hiking map 1:25000 no. 09 Carnic Alps - central Carnia
Standard hiking equipment.
Localization
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.