Catinaccio and Sella bands
The trails coming out of Val di Fassa pass through mountain ranges with sometimes unusual height differences. These ranges form the core of the western Dolomites. There are numerous excursion opportunities to the Alpe di Siusi and towards the Sella Pass, Gardena and Pordoi. Main villages in Val di Fassa, Moena, Vigo di Fassa and Canazei have no more than two thousand inhabitants each., except for the summer and winter season, when all accommodation houses are filled with tourists. All three villages are located in the comfortable vicinity of the mountains and are popular with German tourists, coming here for trips along the western ridge of the valley.
From here you can walk to places as picturesque as the famous Catinaccio massif (Rosengarten). Valley, especially in their lower parts, does not belong to the areas untouched by civilization and every now and then you pass by gently humming cable cars, but the higher regions are completely different.
Catinaccio
A long series of rock walls and towers, of which the Catinaccio massif is composed (Rosengarten), owes its German name to roses, which, according to legend, were to grow here. Caught in these mountains, King Laurens cast a spell on roses, so that no one can see them anymore or day, nor at night, but forgot about dawn and dusk, when the sun, which is low above the horizon, gives the rocks a pinkish glow. The trails led along this range are intended for tourists of all levels of advancement, on the ridge, however,, from which the view reaches the Rhaetian Alps on the Austrian border, routes become more difficult. The most popular route to Catinaccio leads from VIGO DI FASSA, a village on the bus line from Trento to Canazei. In VIGO DI FASSA there are more than a dozen hotels with rooms within the borders 45 000-60 000 L.
The trail from Vigo di Fassa to Torri di Vajolet is the best possible trail to the top of the massif. From the village to Rifugio Ciampedie there is a cable car, which helps to overcome most of the height difference, and from there to Rifugio Gardeccia leads a clear, well-beaten road through the forest. Further to the shelter under Torri leads a steep path, although the difficulty of this approach does not discourage crowds, which on summer Sundays follow this route. Next you walk along the zigzag path to Rifugio Re Alberto (3 Hours. from Ciampedie), which, compared to the surrounding peaks, looks like a house of cards. Rifugio Passo Santner Nearby (0471/642230) offers additional accommodation. A series of trails lead through this range to the south and further to Passo di Costalunga and Lago di Carezza, where you can catch a bus to Bolzano.
On the other hand, among the trails to the north there are a little more possibilities. For example, a number of routes lead to the Monte Sciliar massif (Schlem), and the height differences do not exceed there 500 Metres. Located under the summit of Monte Sciliar Rifugio Bolzano al M. Pez (0471/616024) is located two days walk from Rifugio Re Alberto, and between them is Tierser Alplhutte (0471/72952). From Sciliar you descend to the swampy plain of Alpi di Siusi (See. below).
Canazei and Pradei
At the end of Val di Fassa is the relatively modern city of CANAZEI, from where you can go to the already very high passes. For more experienced tourists, Gruppo di Sella is a good, for others Val del Pal, located opposite the Marmalade massif. Because in practice there is no bus transport here, you have to either use the cable cars, or grab an opportunity. Beyond Canazei, the road winds serpentine through 12 kilometers and is usually full of tourist buses, which are heading towards the Great Route of the Dolomites, and cyclists, trying to overcome the 1000-meter difference in altitude.
Halfway along this road, In PRADEL, you pass the lower station of the cable car, running on Passo di Sella (2240 m.), one of the most beautiful passes of the Dolomites. From here to the jagged peaks of Sasso Lungo (Langkofel) paths lead, which then descend along the ridge to Alpi di Siusi. Even at the very tops of the mountains, in the crevices between the rocks grow here rockeries, and the silence is sometimes broken by the buzzing of beetles. Two days of walking separate the Sella Pass from Val Gardena (Gródnertal), from where do buses depart to Bolzano. On the way you pass Rifugio Vincenza (0471/77315).
Just behind Pradel the road branches. To the right you go to Passo Pordoi (2242 m.), from where you can admire the incredibly beautiful view of gruppo di Sella and the highest peak of the Dolomites, Marmalade (3246 m.). Innumerable peaks and mountain ranges running in all directions resemble the North American landscape more than the European one., on the lower parts of the slopes among the huge gray rock debris grows strong grass. A narrow road winds from here down to Passo Folzarego, and then to Cortina d'Ampezzo, but a number of hiking trails also start here. Here, for example, you can enter Alta Via 2, which descends to the main road. Because most coaches stop at this point, grew up around a lot of excessively expensive pubs and food kiosks and two hotels, from which the trails begin.
Gruppo di Selia
The Sella range lies north of Passo Pordoi and abounds in difficult routes. For tourists who are completely beginners, there are actually two possibilities here.: or stick to Alta Via 2, which passes through the entire massif, or disconnect from it on Sass de Mesdi and go down the winding path to the Sella Pass. It takes two days to walk any of these trails, and for the night you can stay in Rifugio Franco Cavazza (Pisciaduhutte; * 0471/836292) or in Rifugio Boe (Boe Hiitte; 0471/83217). The Sella Range is a wonderful excursion area. From here you can see different mountain ranges, all the way to Passo Gardena (Sellajoch, 2137 m.), and from where not far to Corvara and Val Badia, as well as the Odle range piling up on the other side of the valley (Geisler). There are very few buses here and therefore it is better to hitchhike. Bolzano can be reached from SELVA in Val Gardena, 11 kilometers away.
Viei del Pan
The route of a much less demanding trip starts at Passo Pordoi, right next to Albergo Savoia. You also have to go Alta Via 2, but in the opposite direction. Narrow, a path cut in the turf traverses the slope opposite Marmalade, where during World War I, Austrian battalions hid in 8 km long corridors in a glacier.
From the seventeenth century, this path lay on the grain smuggling route, called Viel del Pan ("bread trail" in the Venetian dialect), and in the nineteenth century it was so frequented, that the Guardia di Finanza had to set up armed patrols here. The contrast between the Marmolada glacier and the Sella range, which is very clearly visible from here, is extremely picturesque.. The trail descends to Lago Fedaia, from where in the summer there are sometimes buses to Canazei, but in most cases you have to hitchhike back. On the banks of this reservoir is Rifugio Castiglioni (0462/61117). On the north side of the mountain lies the tiny resort town of ARABBA, in the center of which there are small hotels run by family owners, and on the outskirts there are pastures. Currently, the village is quite quiet, but you can already see the foundations of new hotels, the construction of a new cable car has also started. The only bus runs from here to Corvara.