Discover Passo Giau

The pass crosses at 2,236 metres between the Ampezzo valley to the north and the Val Fiorentina to the south, well above the treeline.

The saddle itself is open alpine grassland -- grazed in summer, snow-covered from late autumn -- which is why the views are unobstructed in every direction.

Above it rise Ra Gusela and, behind that, the Nuvolau and Averau; the ground falls away steeply on both sides of the road.

The rock is Dolomia, and at dawn and dusk it takes the pink enrosadira that these mountains are known for -- the reason photographers come at unsociable hours.

Weather changes here without much warning: the pass is high, exposed, and can be in cloud when the valleys are clear.