Barone Ascent

From the base of the cable car, located north of the town of San Martino di Castrozza, beside the SS50 road that climbs from San Martino to Passo Rolle, the route begins by following Trail No. 702, which starts about a hundred meters above the station on a comfortable dirt road, closed by a barrier to prevent car passage. The first mile and a half retraces one of the classic access routes to Rifugio Velo della Madonna; at the first junction, the path continues on Trail No. 702, turning left onto the Val di Roda Forest Road. Before the road becomes a trail, the path reaches another well-signaled junction with Trail No. 725 “Cacciatore di Malga Pala” which, to the left, would return to the start; the route continues right, always along Trail No. 702, taking the famous “Sentiero del Barone von Lesser” / “Von Lesser Weg”.

Baron Ladislaus Leon Freiherr von Lesser (1856 ✝ 1925), from whom this section of Trail No. 702 takes its name, was a Prussian nobleman and professor from Leipzig who, between 1905 and 1914, commissioned—at a handsome reward for the time (5850 crowns)—the construction of the trail ascending the scenic Val di Ròda to the surveyor Giovanni Secco. Due to the gentle slope and numerous switchbacks of the route, it is thought to have been built to allow the Baron to ride horseback to the Altopiano delle Pale or to walk without effort; it is also hypothesized that Secco designed the longest possible route to justify the payment.

With the majestic Pala di San Martino in front to the southeast, Cima Rosetta to the left, and Cima Val di Ròda to the right, the path climbs with its characteristic (and endless, 240!) switchbacks passing first through the small clearing of Col dei Béchi (2,048 m a.s.l.) and then, after passing the junction with Trail No. 715 coming from Passo di Ball, the larger clearing of Col delle Féde (2,278 m a.s.l.). A particular feature of this ascent is the evocative rock tunnel that is crossed, for which a torch is not necessary.

From Col delle Féde (also called Colle delle Pecore) begins the most challenging part of the entire hike (shared with the Alta Via delle Dolomiti No. 2 - AV2), steep and at times exposed, ascending the head of Val di Ròda towards the passover of Passo di Val di Ròda.

Shortly before arriving at the pass (from which you can easily reach Rifugio Rosetta in 15 minutes), it is possible to detour left to walk along the edge of the Plateau and connect to Trail No. 701A towards Cima Rosetta (clearly visible to the west).

Once at Cima Rosetta (2,746 m a.s.l.), with its spectacular view over both the town of San Martino di Castrozza and the Pale di San Martino, the descent path is not mandatory; just choose the track parallel to Trail No. 701A, which is more comfortable, down to Passo di Rosetta (2,567 m a.s.l.), located near Rifugio Rosetta “Giovanni Pedrotti”. From Passo di Rosetta, the route descends, initially steep with some more technical but never dangerous passages, along Trail No. 701, which quickly lowers in elevation towards Rifugio Colverde / San Martino di Castrozza. Once past Rifugio Colverde (end of the Colverde cable car - 1,965 m a.s.l.) and near Malga Pala, the last stretch of descent on the trail enters the forest towards San Martino di Castrozza; somewhat boring and less scenic compared to the rest of the route, the path leads directly back to the starting point of the hike, at the departure of the Colverde cable car.