Tofana di Rozes Hike and Rifugio Giussani

What you're taking on

The south wall of Tofana di Rozes is eight hundred metres of vertical limestone and you walk directly beneath it for a good part of the approach. That's the reason to come. The rifugio at Giussani sits at 2,580 metres in the notch between Rozes and Tofana di Mezzo, and getting there from the Dibona road is a real climb rather than a stroll with a view.

The climb, plainly

Around 900 metres of ascent from Dibona, three hours up at a steady pace, two down if your knees are behaving. Add the descent time back to the car park honestly — the scree at the bottom of the day is where people get slow and careless.

Dibona to Giussani

From Rifugio Dibona the path traverses west under the wall, gaining height gradually at first. There's a fork where the ferrata Giovanni Lipella branches off into the war tunnels; unless you're equipped for it, stay on the walking line.

The upper section climbs scree and rubble in switchbacks to the Forcella Fontananegra, and that's where the wind usually finds you. Giussani is a few minutes beyond. From there the summit route continues, but that's another two hours and a different level of commitment.

Under the south wall

The best moment isn't the hut. It's about two thirds of the way up, where the path swings out and the whole south face is above you at once with the valley falling away behind. You can't photograph it properly. Stop anyway.

Altitude, snow and the storm clock

Above 2,400 metres the ground here holds snow well into early July, and old snow on scree is genuinely dangerous. The Giussani hut runs roughly late June to late September. Weather changes faster at this height than the valley forecast suggests — I've had sleet in mid-August at the forcella with 24°C in town.

There's no quick way off this mountain once you're on the upper switchbacks. If cloud is building on the Tofane by eleven, that's your signal to go down, not to push for the hut.

The day I turned round

My first attempt, I started at ten, which was already too late, and by half past one there was thunder over Falzarego. I got to within maybe twenty minutes of Giussani and went down. Annoying at the time; obviously right in hindsight. Second attempt, off at six thirty, hut by half nine, soup, and back at the car before the storm even formed.

Scale is the subject

The problem here is conveying size. Put a person in the frame — a walker on the switchbacks below the wall does more for scale than any focal length choice. The wall is south-facing, so it's lit hard all day and softest in the last hour.

Less committing versions

Walking as far as Rifugio Dibona itself and doing the easy loop under the lower wall gives you the atmosphere for a fraction of the effort. If you want height without the grind, take the Freccia nel Cielo up Tofana di Mezzo and walk the ridge paths from the top station instead.

A wall visible from every hotel window

Tofana di Rozes forms the backdrop most Cortina hotels advertise, and the hike to Giussani is the only way to walk directly into its shadow rather than merely admire it from the valley floor; the change in scale, once the wall is directly overhead, is the whole point of the outing.