> Run from the Lavaredo course to the wall of walls in three days
> Follow the trail for nine kilometres below the north-west face of the Civetta
> We book the huts, you run
Just past Rifugio Coldai, fifteen kilometres into the second day, you crest Forcella Coldai and there it is: the north-west face of the Civetta, more than 1,000 metres of rock above Lago Coldai. Climbers call it the wall of walls. For the next nine kilometres you run along its foot, then drop to Rifugio Vazzoler for dinner.
Fifty kilometres, 2,350 metres of climbing and one wall you will not forget. A bus takes you from Cortina d'Ampezzo to the start below the Cinque Torri, where you join trails of the Lavaredo Ultra Trail course on the way to Rifugio Croda da Lago. The second day crosses Passo Staulanza and follows the Civetta to Rifugio Vazzoler. The last day climbs once more and then drops almost 1,600 metres to Agordo. Two hut nights, no luggage transport.
The Civetta weekend is built around one big day: 25 kilometres and more than 1,000 metres of climbing in the middle, framed by a short opener and a final descent that keeps going. You should be at home on mountain trails, and you will power-hike most climbs. Keep the pack light, around 30 litres with a hut sheet, rain jacket and headlamp. We book the huts, the Civetta does the rest.
A short opener to shake the travel out of your legs, on trails that Lavaredo Ultra Trail runners know well. Take bus 052 from Cortina d'Ampezzo to Parcheggio Rio Bianco (plan your trip at mycicero.it) and you are on the trail within minutes. Keep the pace easy today: tomorrow is the big one.
From the bus stop you power-hike up to the Cinque Torri, the five rock towers above Cortina, passing Rifugio Scoiattoli and Rifugio Cinque Torri at around 2,200 metres. This is Lavaredo country: in the 120K race the course comes past the towers on its way to Rifugio Averau and Passo Giau. From the towers a long descent takes you down to about 1,700 metres. Let it roll if your legs feel good.
The day ends with a climb of some 350 metres to Rifugio Croda da Lago at about 2,040 metres, right next to Lago Federa. In the Lavaredo this is the last aid station before the final descent to Cortina. For you it means dinner, a bunk and the Becco di Mezzodì turning orange in the last light. About 11 kilometres, count on 3 hours.
The queen stage: 25 kilometres, more than 1,000 metres up and 1,350 metres down, with the Pelmo and the Civetta for company. Start early, eat at every hut and save something for the second half, because the trail along the Civetta is the best running of the whole route.
Straight from the hut you climb to the cols below the Becco di Mezzodì, where the day reaches its high point at about 2,295 metres. The first stretch towards Forcella Ambrizzola is Lavaredo terrain too, only in the opposite direction. Then it is down to Passo Staulanza at kilometre ten, the place to refuel and fill your bottles, before the climb to Rifugio Coldai at 2,123 metres.
Here the Civetta takes over. Past Lago Coldai the trail traverses below its north-west face for nine kilometres, over Forcella di Col Negro and Forcella del Col Reàn, then drops past the Torre Venezia to Rifugio Vazzoler at 1,714 metres. Mostly runnable trail with a 1,000-metre wall above you: this is why you came. About 25 kilometres, count on 5.5 hours.
The last day, and it is all about the descent: almost 1,600 metres down over 15 kilometres, from the Civetta to the valley floor at Agordo. One more climb first, then gravity does the work. Save your quads for the second half.
From the hut you run down through the forest to about 1,450 metres before the only climb of the day, some 450 metres up to a col at about 1,900 metres, six and a half kilometres in. Take one last look back at the towers of the Civetta, because from here on it is downhill all the way.
The descent drops more than 1,300 metres to Agordo, the main town of the Agordino, at about 610 metres. The trail ends at the bus station, where buses leave for Belluno and Caprile. Time for a gelato. About 15 kilometres, count on 3 hours 15 minutes.
