Marmolada

The Marmolada is the highest mountain in the Dolomites -- Punta Penia, 3,343 metres -- and the only one that still carries a glacier of any size. It is called the Queen of the Dolomites, and it looks nothing like the rest of them.

Its two faces are opposites. The south is a sheer limestone wall nearly a kilometre high, one of the great rock climbs in the Alps. The north is a broad snow slope with the glacier on it, reached by cable car from Malga Ciapela.

The mountain carries two heavy histories: the First World War front ran directly over it, and the glacier is now disappearing fast enough to be measured year on year.

The glacier is a hazard as well as a spectacle. The 2022 collapse happened on a normal route in ordinary summer conditions. Do not walk onto the ice without a guide and equipment, and take seriously any closure or warning issued -- they are now issued on the basis of temperature, not just snowfall.

This is high mountain terrain. Weather changes fast, the air is thin, and afternoon storms are common. Check the forecast, start early, and turn back rather than push on.

The mountain is still full of war material. Do not remove anything you find; report it. Ordnance from the front is periodically released by the melting ice.

Stay on marked paths. High-altitude vegetation takes decades to recover from trampling.

The museum's admission supports the recovery and conservation of material coming out of the glacier -- a task that is getting larger every year as the ice retreats.

Most visitors take the cable car from Malga Ciapela, which climbs in stages to Punta Rocca (3,265 m), stopping at Serauta for the war museum. It runs in both summer and winter seasons, with a break between them.

Expect roughly 35-45 euros for the full return ascent. Buy on the day; there is no advantage to booking ahead.

By road, Malga Ciapela is about an hour from Cortina over Passo Giau or Passo Falzarego.

Allow half a day including the museum.

The cable car and the Punta Rocca terrace are accessible, which is unusual at this altitude and makes the summit view available to people who could not otherwise reach it.

Going onto the glacier itself is mountaineering, not walking -- crevasses, rope, and a guide. Do not step past the marked area at the top station.

At 3,265 metres it is cold in any month and the air is thin. Bring layers whatever the valley weather.