Passo Giau Site Features

Ra Gusela

The near-perfect rock pyramid standing directly above the pass, and the shape in almost every photograph taken here.

The view west

Across to the Marmolada and its glacier, with the Pelmo and Civetta to the south -- one of the widest panoramas reachable by road in the range.

The hairpins

The climb from the Cortina side is a long sequence of tight switchbacks through forest before it breaks out onto the open saddle.

The walking

Paths lead from the pass up towards the Nuvolau and the Averau, and on to the Cinque Torri -- a straightforward high-level route with no scrambling.

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.