RIFUGIO ALPINO ROSETTA "GIOVANNI PEDROTTI"

Welcome to the kingdom of rock. The Rifugio Rosetta Giovanni Pedrotti is where the Altopiano delle Pale di San Martino begins. The walk up from the valley (1,000 metres below) may be demanding, but it’s just a quarter of an hour on foot to the refuge from top station of the cable car. If you need a reason to go there, here are three: to marvel at the Fradusta glacier with its little lake (before it's too late); to find out how cold it can get in the winter in the dolines where Italy’s lowest ever temperature was recorded; or to put on your hiking boots (in summer) or snowshoes (in winter) and venture into places where the Earth looks more like the Moon. This is where mountaineer Mariano Lott - the warden - has set up base camp with his wife Roberta. And don’t forget to make a cairn, like the ones that mark the way here. Open Every day from 20 June to late September Every day from 26 December to 6 January, then only at weekends until Easter Before leaving for your hike, always contact the manager to verify the actual opening of the mountain hut Walks From the Rifugio Rosetta a network of high-altitude paths crosses the Altopiano delle Pale di San Martino taking you to the peaks and the other refuges in the group. One option well within the ability of everyone is the ascent of Cima Rosetta, which takes about ½ hour from the top station of the cable car and rewards with a spectacular view of San Martino di Castrozza. When the weather is good, it’s an easy walk to the Fradusta glacier and lake and to Lake Manna (4 hours, difficulty EE) in an area known as the “Riviera”, a reminder of the marine origins of these coral mountains. The Refuge is also the start of the Giro della Pala, a fascinating walk without any particular technical difficulties across the entire mountain chain from north to south (5 hours, difficulty EE).