Encircling Malborghetto chain

Overview

Montaž above Dogna/Dunja valley

A shortened (5 min) version of a HD video.

Well, this is a bike & hike route proposal, but its beauty lies in the biking part, so please accept it friendly on a mountaineering page as SP is. It is an ideal one day tour, which value is predominantly in: > a wonderful bike descent through a dreamy beautiful Dogna valley, > in addition to biking also an ascent on a fine lookout mountain, > nice conclusion of the tour by the new Alpe-Adria biking route. You will warm up by biking into one of the most beautiful and popular valleys of Western Julian Alps. Then a military road bike up and pushing a bike up by a quite steep rocky path. Then a 500 meters hike up on a mountain and down. Then a 1000 meters of altitude descent through one of the most picturesque valleys of Julian Alps. Finally by a new, perfectly done biking track around.
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To je sicer predlog kolesarsko - pohodne ture (bike & hike), a njen čar je pretežno v kolesarskem delu. Zato bralce gorniške strani, kakršna je SummitPost, prosim, da jo sprejmete z razumevanjem in naklonjenostjo. To je idealna enodnevna tura, katere vrednost je predvsem v: > čudovitem kolesarskem spustu skozi sanjsko lepo dolino Dunjo, > dodatnem vzponu na razgledno goro nad sedlom, > lepem zaključku kolesarjenja po novi trasi Alpe-Adria. Za ogrevanje se boste najprej peljali v zatrep ene najlepših in priljubljenih dolin Zahodnih Julijcev, v Zajzero. Nato boste nadaljevali po ozki vojaški cestici, ki pa se bo žal kmalu sprevrgla v dokaj strmo in skalnato pot, tako da boste morali kolo porivati in nositi navzgor v klanec. Sledilo bo 500 metrov vzpona na razgledni vrh in sestop. Nato pa najlepši del - 1000 metrov višinske razlike navzdol po eni najbolj slikovitih dolin Julijcev, po Dunji. In za zaključek še lagoden kolesarski vzpon po novi, odlično zgrajeni kolesarski trasi Alpe-Adria.

Key route information

Viš and Montaž group

• Start: Valbruna village, 800 m.
• Bike to: Malga Saisera, 1000 m. Easy.
• Bike & hike to: Rif. Grego, 1390 m. Hard, also carrying a bike.
• Hike up to: Iof di Sompdogna, 1889m. Easy to medium.
• Hike down to: Rif. Grego, 1390 m. Easy to medium.
• Bike down to: Dogna village, 400 m. Easy.
• Bike around the Malborghetto mountains up to: Valbruna, 800 m. Easy.

Altitude difference: Absolutely 1500 m, with ups and downs some 1700 m. Distance: Some more than 50 km.
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• Začetek: Ovčja ves (Valbruna), 800 m.
• Kolesarjenje v: Zatrep Zajzere, 1000 m. Lahko.
• Bike & hike do: Rif. Grego, 1390 m. Težko, kolo moramo na več mestih nositi v breg.
• Planinski vzpon na: Krniško Glavico (Iof di Sompdogna), 1889 m. Lahko do srednje zahtevno.
• Sestop do: Rif. Grego, 1390 m. Lahko do srednje zahtevno.
• Kolesarjenje dol v: Vas Dunja (Dogna), 400 m. Lahko.
• Kolesarjenje okrog Naborjetskih gora gor v: Ovčjo ves (Valbruno), 800 m. Lahko.

Višinska razlika: Absolutno 1500 m, z vzponi in spusti nekako 1700 m. Razdalja: Nekaj več kot 50 km.

Getting there

Valbruna / Ovčja ves

See the main page of Julian Alps and the page of Viš and Montaz group how to get into Valbruna. Of course you can start the tour also anywhere along the road through Val Canale / Canal del Ferro, so between Dogna village and Ugovizza/Valbruna. It's a round tour.
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Kako priti v Ovčjo ves (Valbruno) glej glavno stran Julijskih Alp in stran skupine Viša in Montaža. Seveda turo lahko začnete kjerkoli v Kanalski dolini, torej vzdolž glavne ceste med vasjo Dunja (Dogna) in Ukvami oziroma Ovčjo vesjo.

Route description

Torre Alba and Montaž above Saisera/Zajzera

Torre Alba and Monte Cimone / Strma peč

Clapadorie gorge

In the lower Dogna/Dunja valley

Over Vella/Bela river

We park anywhere above Valbruna, 800 m. The broad asphalt road will be fine for warming-up, it brings us till the end of Saisera valley, on the big parking place near Malga Saisera. That's a very nice and scenic place, but also very popular, people coming from near and far to admire the wild peaks of Viš and Montaž group.

On Malga Saisera the road is closed for public traffic, but an old military road goes further up towards Sella di Sompdogna (saddle). Right of this road the marked path (No. 611) goes. In a just appropriate inclination the road brings us through the woods some 150 meters higher. There it is closed with wooden logs (2009), indicating that the road further on might be devastated. We didn't try it, may be one would still benefit continuing by it. So, you follow the marked path towards the right, walking up (biking only here and there a bit), until you hit the path 611, going along the forrest edge. Then the ascent gets steeper - no problem for a hiker, but with a bike you need to carry your tool over several rocky steps and the rest is pushing it up. Good 200 meters higher you finally come out of the woods, just below the Fratelli Grego hut. One hour till here.

Fratelli Grego is close to Sella di Sompdogna, the saddle between Saisera valley and Dogna valley. By the hut you must decide if you will climb any of the mountains above the saddle. If yes, you have two reasonable possibilities: Iof di Sompdogna requires 500 meters to ascend, while Iof di Miezegnot, on the other side of the saddle, requires 700 meters to ascend. The trailhead for the first one is by the hut (and on the saddle too), for the latter one, you need to continue on the saddle and start the hike-up there.

The ascent on Iof di Sompdogna is described on its SP page, here are just a few characteristics. From Rif. Grego you go up through the woods in the western direction. Before a small marsh lake (Il Laghetto) you can choose a not marked shortcut directly left up, while the marked path goes right by the lake, and only then on the crossroads turns left - towards the south. Now it is the path No. 610. We ascend through the woods in turns. Higher the path goes through the last larches and pine bush, approaches the rocky structure of Iof di Sompdogna from the eastern side and finally rushes steeply up over a predominantly rocky terrain and dwarf-pines on the summit ridge and by it in top. 1 h 20 min from the hut. The panorama from Iof di Sompdogna is a marvellous one, enjoy it as long as you wish. You descend to your bikes by the same path. 1h.

Viš

On Iof di Sompdogna

Montaž

The continuation of the tour is the highlight of the day - the long and breathtaking bike descent through Dogna valley. From the hut we continue towards the saddle, first a bit down, then very steeply up. On Sella di Sompdogna you just pray a little that everything is OK with you bike and start riding down. Don't hurry, because beautiful scenes are be appearing one after another: the view on Torre Alba with Monte Cimone in the background, the view on Montaž and Iof di Miez, with the wildest of the wildest gorges - the famous Clapadorie, nice views down into Dogna valley, picturesque huts and villages, water streams and waterfalls, Montaž from the distance, Montaž, again Montaž and again Montaž. Almost 2 hours to get down comfortably.

In Dogna village you hit the main valley - with the highway, main road, river and you need to decide whether to take the Alpe-Adria bike route or to continue till Pontebba by the main road. Alpe-Adria is being built on the ex railway - the so-called Pontebbana. In 2009 the part from Pontebba down towards the Adriatic coast was still under construction, but the bridges and tunnels were done and asphalting was in course. So, I bet that before the first SummitPoster will be doing this tour, the Alpe-Adria bike tour will be completely done. So, in Dogna we ascend on the bike track, then we continue through tunnels and over the railway bridges, by the route, all the way to Pontebba. 1 hour till there.

From Pontebba towards Tarvisio (and further on to Austria and Slovenia) the Alpe-Adria bike track is completely done. Brand new asphalt, marked, protected against car traffic. From Pontebba till Valbruna you have some 250 meters of ascent to do, only in few parts the track goes up and down. 1 h 30 min.
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Parkiramo kjerkoli nad Ovčjo vesjo (Valbruno), 800 m. Široka asfaltna cesta v zatrep Zajzere bo primerno ogrevanje. Konča se na velikem parkirišču na Planini Zajzera. To je zelo lep, slikovit kraj, a tudi zelo priljubljen. Ljudje prihajajo od blizu in daleč občudovat divje vrhove skupin Viša in Montaža. Do sem pol ure.

Na planini Zajzera je cesta zaprta za javni promet, a stara vojaška cestica vodi naprej proti sedlu Rudni vrh (Sella di Sompdogna). Desno od te ceste gre markirana pot (št. 611). Vojaška cesta je ravno prav strma za kolesarjenje. Skozi gozd se vzpenjamo kakih 150 metrov, potem se cestica zoži v pot in na nekem mestu je zagrajena s hlodi (2009), kar nakazuje, da utegne biti razdrta. Midva nisva poskušala nadaljevati po njej, morda bi bilo malo vztrajati še kljub vsemu vredno. Oznaka nas usmeri na dobro pot desno, po njej pretežno hodimo navkreber, le kratke odseke lahko kolesarimo. Tako kmalu pridemo na pot 611, ki gre po gozdnatem grebenu. Nato vzpon postane bolj strm, sicer povsem brez težav za pohodnika, kolo pa moramo vseeno dokaj naporno porivati v strm breg, na veliko mestih pa tudi prenašati čez skale. Dobrih 200 metrov višje pot končno pride iz gozda, tik pod kočo Grego. Do sem ena ura s parkirišča.

Koča Fratelli Grego je blizu sedla Rudni vrh (Sella di Sompdogna), ki deli dolini Zajzero in Dunjo. Pri koči se morate odločiti ali se sploh želite povzpeti še na kak vrh nad sedlom. Če da, imate na voljo dve možnosti: Krniška Glavica (Iof di Sompdogna) zahteva dodatnih 500 metrov vzpona, Poldnašnja špica (Iof di Miezegnot) na drugi strani sedla pa dodatnih 700 metrov vzpona. Vzpon na prvo bomo začeli pri koči (lahko tudi na sedlu), za vzpon na drugo pa moramo od koče nadaljevati na sedlo, kjer pustimo kolesa.

Vzpon na Krniško Glavico (Iof di Sompdogna) je opisan na njeni SP strani, tukaj je samo nekaj glavnih značilnosti. Od koče Grego gremo najprej navzgor v smeri proti zahodu. Pred majhnim zamočvirjenim jezercem (Il Laghetto) gremo lahko levo v breg po nemarkirani bližnjici, označena pot pa gre desno mimo jezerca in šele onkraj njega se na križišču poti odcepimo levo, v smeri proti jugu. Sedaj hodimo po poti št. 610. V ključih se vzpenjamo skozi gozd, nad pragom pa gre pot med zadnjimi macesni in skozi ruševje proti vršni skalnati zgradbi Krniške Glavice. V skale vstopi od vzhoda, nato se zažene dokaj strmo navzgor in po pretežno skalovitem in ruševnatem terenu doseže vršni greben. Nato po njem razgledno na vrh. 1 h 20 min od koče. Razgled s Krniške Glavice je izreden, uživajte ga poljubno dolgo. Nato po isti poti sestopite do koles. 1h.

Nadaljevanje ture je višek dneva - dolgi in dih jemajoči kolesarski spust v Dunjo. Od koče Grego najprej peljemo proti sedlu - najprej malo dol, nato pa zelo strmo gor do asfalta. Na sedlu še malo pomolimo, da bi bilo s kolesarsko opremo vse v redu, nato pa se spustimo po gladki cesti. Ne hitite, saj se bodo lepi prizori kar vrstili: Pogled na Torre Alba s Strmo pečjo v ozadju, pogled na Montaž in Iof di Miez, z najbolj divjo od divjih sotesk - znamenito Clapadorie, lepi pogledi dol v dolino Dunje, slikovite hiše in vasi, potoki in slapovi, Montaž z večje razdalje, Montaž, pa znova Montaž pa še Montaž. Skoraj 2 uri uživaškega spusta.

V vasi Dunja pridemo v glavno dolino. Tu je avtocesta, magistralna cesta, reka in odločiti se moramo ali nadaljevati po kolesarski trasi Alpe-Adria ali pa do Pontebbe peljati kar po glavni cesti. Alpe-Adria je zgrajena po trasi nekdanje železnice, imenovane Pontebbana. V letu 2009 je del med Pontebbo in morjem še vedno v gradnji, toda tuneli in mostovi so že narejeni, trasa je posuta z grobim peskom, pripravljena za asfaltiranje. Poleti 2009 je bilo v razmaku 10 dni položenega kar nekaj asfalta pod Pontebbo. Stavim, da preden bo prvi bralec SummitPosta naredil tole turo, da bo kolesarska pot Alpe-Adria že v celoti narejena. Torej, peljemo po trasi (nanjo se moramo povzpeti). Od Dunje do Pontebbe je približno 1 ura.

Od Pontebbe proti Trbižu (in naprej v Slovenijo oziroma Avstrijo) pa je kolesarska pot Alpe-Adria že v celoti narejena. Čisto nov asfalt, označena, zaščitena pred avtomobilskim prometom. Od Pontebbe do Ovčje vesi imamo približno 250 metrov vzpona, le na nekaj mestih gre steza gori - doli. Približno 1 h 30 min.

Gear

You can have an ordinary bike or a mountain bike and a little stronger shoes to do the mountain ascent over a partially rocky path.
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Turo lahko naredimo z navadnim potovalnim kolesom ali pa z gorskim kolesom. Za vzpon na Krniško Glavico rabimo malo močnejše športne copate/čevlje, saj je zadnji del skalnat, pa tudi v gozdu si ne želimo zviti gležnja.