NW ridge ( Alta Via Resiana )

Overview

The Alta Via Resiana is a short trekking route through one of the most loved and beautiful groups of the Julian Alps, the Canin group. It is a very challenging itinerary in a wild and solitary environment, that offers amazing views all the way: It’s basically a trek for “old fashioned” alpinists, that are more attracted from fantastic landscapes and from the loneliness of sharp crests than from the difficulties of a rock wall. The Val Resia is truly one of the jewels of the Julian Alps, a spectacular valley still wild where local people are very proud of their culture, that is very different from all others of the Friuli Venezia Giulia. In this valley you can find more than 25 centuries of history, a strange, unique language, fine folk music, art and architecture ( unfortunately partly lost in the terrible earthquake of 1976 ). Due to a very humid and relatively mild Mediterranean weather, the Val Resia is extremely rich of both flora and fauna. Almost 50% of the valley is a protected area inside the Parco delle Prealpi Giulie.

There are several options to climb this route and many possible variations. Usually it’s done as a three day trek in anti-clockwise direction ( see the good Trip report of Saman ), but It’s also sometimes partly climbed as an ascent to Monte Canin in the other direction, from the spectacular north-west ridge of the mountain. The most challenging part is the first part of the ridge, that requires a couple of very exposed climbing passages ( around the II UIAA degree, not protected ) on the sharp crest. But also the climb of the via ferrata “Rosalba Grasselli” on the NW of Picco di Carnizza shouldn’t be underestimated, though all the aerial passages are well secured with iron ropes. There are often strong winds on this crests and the weather can change very fast, so it’s better to climb this route only on nice summer days. On the west side of the mountain we can find snow and ice even in july and august, so although some parts are protected with iron ropes, it’s better to bring at least an ice axe.

Route Description

Day 1

route type	hike
max elevation	2137 m
elevation gain	1500 m from Stolvizza
total length	around 11 km
Difficulty	easy hike
Time required	4/5 hours

The route starts from Stolvizza, borgo Lodina ( indications for Sella Buia, marked path n°643 ), we follow a short path through some houses and then a wide cart-track that goes up with several switchbacks to the nice south shoulder of Monte Tanarado, where we can find some beautiful old stavoli ( mountain houses used in the past by local farmers and hunters ) and where we can enjoy a nice view of Monte Canin and Monte Sart. From there the path goes up steep through the centuries old woods of beech to the crest. After a crossroad ( we follow the path on the right, n°632 ) we pass a couple of gendarmi and we reach the Ricovero/bivacco Igor Crasso ( 1640 m, 2.30 hours from Stolvizza ), one of the best I’ve ever seen.Going up to the bivouac we can see on the left a small stream: this is the only place where you can find water for the whole route, because the spring near the marussich bivouac is almost always dry in summer. Now we are on the crest and the view opens wonderfully to the very deep Val Raccolana and to the Montasio group. If we look towards west we can recognize many summits of the Carnic Alps and of the Dolomiti.From the Ricovero we can reach in few minutes Sella Buia, from where we can clearly see the next part of our path, a long grassy mule track on the south side of Cresta d’Indirinizza that goes up to the plateau of the Canin group. In the middle there’s a cross and a book of signatures of the itinerary.

Monte Cimone

Ricovero Igor Crasso

Monte Sart

On our right the view opens wide to the plains of the Friuli venezia Giulia, to the city of Udine and to the Adriatic sea. We reach the southern slopes of Monte Sart, the environment is typically carsic, with strange rock formations and the scary “pozze” ( open sky abysses ) all around. After a few short bends we can decide if we want to climb Monte Sart ( easy scramble, half an hour to the top ) and go down following the SE ridge or go straight to the Forchia di Terrarossa. The climb of Monte Sart is actually part of the Alta Via Resiana, but can be avoided, especially if you already climbed the mountain. Once reached the Forchia the view becomes amazing to every direction, especially to the Julian Alps. The best thing to do it’s to start the route in the early afternoon, so you can reach the Canin plateau in the evening and enjoy a stunning sunset.