Beautiful and scenic excursion that combines a MTB ascent to Refuge Dal Piaz, with a trekking ascent to Mount Pavione.

The ascent to the refuge Dal Piaz, along the military road, is in itself a very rewarding trip. If you stop there, however, you will miss the 360​​-degree view from the top of Mount Pavione.

Access

The starting point is the parking lot located at the Passo di Croce d'Aune, that you can reach, driving from the town of Pedavena, in about 12 km from Feltre.

MTB route

From the parking area (1050 m), take the paved road that goes north. After about 300 meters, past a church on the right, the ground becomes dirt and the road enters the woods.

Be careful not to take the path 801 which also leads to the refuge (but it is not suitable for MTB); you shall keep initially lower and ride along the military road that in about 10 Km leads directly to the Refuge Dal Piaz. The road has an average gradient of 10% with some steep section at the start.

The ground is initially easy to cycle, but once out of the woods, it becomes more rocky and in the upper part of the track you shall ride with caution, due to the exposure of the track.

In about 1h 20 '- 3 hours you reach the refuge Dal Piaz (1993 m), where you can leave your bike and restore before continuing on foot to Mount Pavione.

Trekking to Mount Pavione

From the hut, you take the path 817. After a few hundred meters you reach the Passo Vette Grandi (1994 m), where you have to leave the narrow road that leads to the Busa delle Vette, taking instead the left path that runs along the easy grassy ridge to the northwest.

By following the path you first reach the top of the Vette Grandi (2130 m), passing just below the summit of the Col di Luna (2295 m), then back down for a few hundred meters to finally climb on top of Mount Pavione (2335 m) . About 1h 20' from the shelter.

From the top the view is magnificent. In the foreground the Pale di San Martino, just beyond Cima Uomo, Lagorai, the highlands and the Venetian plain, the Belluno Dolomites.

Return

To return to the shelter you can go along the path forward, or proceed along the south-west ridge to go down the road that is located at the bottom of Busa Cavaren to rejoin the original return path.

From the top of Mount Pavione, with good mountain practice, you can go back to the shelter Dal Piaz, going down to the busa Cavaren taking advantage of the scree on the southern slope of Mount Pavione. To access the scree (initially steep but then easier and easier) you take on the right immediately after the first ramp down from the top.

After descending to the Busa Cavaren, you take the obvious path (trail 810) pointing to the south and, with a wide curve in a few minutes you reach the other side of the mountain (1930 meters) from where in less than half an hour you reach the refuge Dal Piaz (1h 15' from the top).

From the refuge you descend by bike along the military road already traveled during the ascent.

In the initial part of the descent, take care and reduce speed, both because of hikers on the trail, and for the slippery conditions of the unprotected road.

In about an hour, from the shelter you get back to Passo Croce d'Aune.