1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
|
<table style="width: 100%; table-layout: fixed;"> <thead> <tr>
<th style="text-align: left"> <a href="../day1">← Day 1</a> </th>
<th style="text-align: center"> <a href="../">Alta Via 2</a> </th>
<th style="text-align: right"> <a href="../day3">Day 3 →</a> </th>
</tr> </thead> </table>
# Day 2 - Trail 666
<p align="center"><em>August 21, 2025</em></p>
## Route of the day
<details>
<summary><strong>Click to see map</strong></summary>
<img src="../img/21-0000-map.png">
</details>
*Download the [gpx file](../gpx/av2-day2.gpx) or see the route on
[outdooractive.com](https://www.outdooractive.com/en/route/hiking-trail/alta-badia/-2025-alta-via-2-day-2/325541331/?share=%7E3zdmlslt%244ossqbcn)*
## The beginning of a long day
According to our plan, this second day is going to be the toughest.
Our planned route consists of more than 1700m of altitude gain, which
would already be quite a long hike for a single day, leave alone for one
out of 9 consecutive days of walking. Moreover, the weather forecasts
for the day are not good - there is a chance of thunderstorms in the
afternoon.
Luckily we find someone willing to give us a car ride from our B&B to
the edge of the village, saving us about one hour of walk. We start
walking at around 8:30.
The first part of the trail is not very steep, and the weather is
not too bad either. We even manage to see some mountains!
<p align="center"><em>The Puez-Odle group.</em></p>
In about an hour we reach *malga Antersasc* (2084m on sea
level). Around this small abandoned building we see a few
[chamois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamois) and some very fat
[marmots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmot) - seriously, those
things were huge! Unfortunately all the pictures I took were terrible,
you need some pretty good camera to catch them from a distance.
<p align="center"><em>
Sorry for the lack of marmot pictures. Here
is a shot of myself staring at a tree growing on top of a rock instead.
</em></p>
After a short break, we get back on the trail and start walking towards
the [Puez hut](https://www.rifugiopuez.it/en/). We could already tell
from the map that the trail up to *forcella Puez* (2500m), before the
hut, was going to be very steep. However, we found it to be very well
maintained, which made it easier than we expected.
<p align="center"><em>
The trail up to forcella Puez is reinforced with some trunks that
turn it almost into a staircase.</em></p>
Unfortunately, as we walked up, the weather got much worse.
We were forced to wear all our rain clothes again, including gloves.
We reach the Puez hut (2447m) at 11:20, earlier than planned. We take
some time to rest and try to dry up from the rain; I change my socks
and t-shirt, which definitely helps.
## The forgotten Forcellas
(*Forcella* is an Italian term that denotes a tight mountain pass, usually
only reachable via a steep trail. I will sometimes use the Italian word
because I don't know an exact equivalent in English. For proper nouns I
may also use the equivalent word in the local language: *Furcella* or
*Jeuf* in [Ladin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladin_language),
*Joch* in German, *Foržela* in
[Venetian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetian_language).)
We start walking again around 12:00, and it is immediately clear that we
have made a small miscalculation in planning the route. We thought
that the trail to [Gardena Pass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardena_Pass)
would be straight downhill, but actually we'll have to climb up and then
down a couple of tight passes: *Furcella de Ciampei* (2366m) and *Jeuf de
Crespëina* (2528m). This is easily going to cancel out the time we gained
in the morning. Fortunately, this part of the trail is quite pleasant to
walk, if at times steep; the weather is also not too bad, as we only have
to bear some light rain.
As we are about to reach Gardena Pass (2136m), a strong storm begins.
I speed up to take shelter in a hut down at the pass, leaving my dad
a few minutes behind. I reach the pass at 14:35.
## One hell of a trail
The outlook for the last part of the day is bleak, to say the least.
Thunderstorms are forecast until late in the evening. There is likely
going to be a small windows of good weatehr between 16:00 and 17:00, but
it is not going to last long enough to reach the Pisciadù hut, where we
are going to sleep. We have to choose between leaving immediately under
the heavy rain hoping it stops while we are on the way, or waiting for
the first wave of the storm to pass but risking it starting again
before we reach our destination.
We choose the former, because it was our best chance to arrive at the
hut before it gets dark. Moreover, despite the forecast of thunder and
lightning, so far it is just raining heavily, which although unpleasant
is not dangerous.
We leave the pass at around 15:00, under the storm. The ascent is not
steep at first. Luckily, as predicted, after about one hour the rain
stops.
<p align="center"><em>Our last view of Gardena Pass and the Odle group,
on the way up to the Pisciadù hut.</em></p>
But then we reach the infamous trail 666.
<p align="center"><em>
The beginning of trail 666. This is not a nickname, it is
the actual number that the <a href="https://www.cai.it">
Italian Alpine Club</a> gave to this trail.
</em></p>
Actually, this is the easiest of two
possible ways to the Pisciadù, the other being the [Ferrata
Tridentina](https://www.alta-badia.org/en/leisure-activities/climbing-and-mountaineering/brigata-tridentina-route/).
The booklet I am following describes it as "[...] reserved for
well-equipped experts. Don't do it with heavy backpacks; don't do it if
the weather is not good." We get at 0 out 3, the thought of taking the
[via ferrata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_ferrata) does not not
even cross our minds.
So trail 666 it is. This trail is also known as *Setus trail*, or somewhat
improperly *Setus via ferrata*. It is extremely steep and it is more a
climb than a walk, but it is not a via ferrata. Most maps describe it
as *sentiero attrezzato* (equipped trail), as it does have some fixed
steel rope and handles where climbers can hang a safety rope.
We have some simple ropes equipped with a
[Carabiner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carabiner), and we decide to
use them. In the following days we would talk with other people who
took the same route, and some of them would claim that a rope is not
necessary on this trail. I don't care, I was relieved to have my trusty
rope, especially considering the bad weather and how tired I was after
more than 8 hours of hiking (plus the 9 hours of the previous day). And
a safety rope is certainly of no use if kept in the backpack.
<p align="center"><em>Trail 666 is really steep.</em></p>
Overall, the steel rope and the handles are of great help, and although
a couple of times I was unsure where to put my feet and I almost slept,
I would not consider this trail dangerous, if one is properly equipped.
The reason I found this trail hard was its *length*. I seriously had some
difficulties caused by how tired I was and how sore my muscles were,
after two full days of hike. Sometimes I could not complete a step or
an arm movement on the first try because I just did not have the enough
strength to push or pull up. And the trail just kept going!
But at 17:30, exhausted but satisfied, we finally reach the top of this
climb. The Pisciadù hut (2587m) is just around the corner.
<p align="center"><em>My dad at the end of trail 666.</em></p>
We, our clothes and our boots are still wet from all the rain we caught
earlier in the day. Let's hope everything dries up during the night.
<table style="width: 100%; table-layout: fixed;"> <thead> <tr>
<th style="text-align: left"> <a href="../day1">← Day 1</a> </th>
<th style="text-align: center"> <a href="../">Alta Via 2</a> </th>
<th style="text-align: right"> <a href="../day3">Day 3 →</a> </th>
</tr> </thead> </table>
|
