Day 3 - A knee-breaking descent

August 22, 2025

Route of the day

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Download the gpx file or see the route on outdooractive.com

The lunar path to Rifugio Boè

Our clothes are still wet by the time we wake up. The summer nights in the Alps are just too humid. But at least we can finally see some sun. The weather is going to be much better for the next few days.

A beatiful view from the Pisciadù hut at dawn.

The beds in the hut were comfortable and we slept well. After a comical incident with my dad’s boots - he put on someone else’s pair, not knowing that I had brought his into our room, and spent a good 15 minutes searching for them - we are ready to leave the hut at 8:20.

The Pisciadù lake and Piz Pisciadù (peak Pisciadù).

The day starts with a short but somewhat steep section of the trail. There are some steel ropes and we use our simple harness once again, although this time we felt we could have done without.

At 9:45 we reach what is likely the highest point of our route, an anonymous plateau at 2960 meters on sea level. There are higher points on some variations of the route, for example Punta Penia in the Marmolada massif, but in that section we are going to take a lower trail, which is the more classical one according to my guide book.

At this point, we are completely immersed in a sea of fog. It is quite cold, probably only a couple of degrees above 0°C, and there is some unpleasantly cold breeze.

My dad resting on a rock, trying to keep warm.

The fog comes and goes, letting us see the beautiful panorama for a few brief moments.

As we walk down from the plateau, my left knee starts hurting. It is not unbearable, and it only hurts when I walk downhill. But it does not bode well for the rest of the day: our next stop is 900m below us, so we are going to walk downhill for most of the day.

At 10:30 we are on top of the Antersass (2906m), a minor peak next to the more prominent Piz Boè (3152m). We could have walked around the Antersass, but the trail to climb up to the top and then down is actually easier. Going to the top of Piz Boè would have been an interesting detour, but not quite feasible for our 9-day plan.

We reach Rifugio Boè, a recently renovated hut at 2873m, before 11:00.

A view of Piz Boè (peak Boè) from Rifugio Boè (Boè hut). The hut on the top of Piz Boè is, perhaps confusingly, called Capanna Piz Fassa.

We have now left Sout Tyrol. The rest of the Alta Via 2 route roughly follows the border between the provinces of Trento and Belluno.

We leave the hut at 11:20. The fog has returned, but it is not as cold as before.

The trail to Foržela Pordoi (2848m) is mostly flat, and very crowded, because of a cable car that makes it accessible even to families with kids. I am not sure I like this kind of over-turism in places that would otherwise be hard to reach.

A painful descent

As we reach the foržela, the view opens up on a more diverse landscape of grass, rock and forests. After a very short break, we start walking down to the Pordoi Pass.

The descent is on a long and steep scree. I have never liked walking down this kind of trail, but now that my knee is screaming for mercy I am really hating it. I would have rather walked it up twice than down once.

The steep descent to the Pordoi Pass.

We reach the Pordoi Pass at 13:30. I need a long break before continuing, so we decide to lay down next to a tiny church just after the pass. Luckily the weather is nice - or not terrible, at least - and we can enjoy a nice view of the surroundings.

The Sella group from the Pordoi Pass.

The view in the direction of Cianacei.

Her majesty, the Marmolada

At 14:10, after about 40 minutes of relax, we are ready to get up.

We walk up an easy trail among ski paths. Here too there are plenty of turists, and I can’t blame them for choosing to walk in such a beautiful place. This is a very common touristic destination both in the Summer and in the Winter.

We walk past a strange place called Rifugio Fredarola (2370m), which looks more like a night club you could find the center of Milan rather than a mountain hut. They are even playing some electronic lounge music. It’s hard to describe, but it feels oddly out of place here. But maybe for people coming from a big city this is just what they expect to find here; I guess it is a matter of points of view.

We continue on a wide, mostly flat trail. For now my knee is is doing fine, but I am a bit scared for the descent that awaits us later today. And finally we have a good view on the Marmolada, the Queen of the Dolomites.

The Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites, and its glacier. At the feet of the massif you can see the Fedaia lake, around which there are a couple of huts, including the one where we are staying tonight. In the distance you can see the Pelmo and the Civetta.

We stop at Rifugio Viel Dal Pan (2432m) for a short break at 15:30. From there, the steep descent towards the Fedaia Pass (2054m) begins. My knee forces me to walk slowly, so by the time we reach the pass it is already 17:30.

The day is almost concluded, but we have to walk to the opposite side of the lake to Rifugio Fedaia. The closer Rifugio Castiglioni, where we stop for a beer, was fully booked when we planned our trip.

We walk fast on the old road next to the lake, chatting with a local resident who helps us keep up the pace. We arrive at our hotel at 18:05, after almost 10 hours of hike (including breaks), and we are very happy to find a comfortable room with private bathroom waiting for us.

This day was longer than we planned, partly because of my knee. But the scenery was beautiful.