Croda del Beco from Lake Braies

Description

The hike starts at Lake Braies, where you can either take the path to the right or to the left, as the path of interest to us (the Altavia no. 1) is on the opposite bank from the Hotel Lago di Braies (1489m). At the entrance to the Altavia 1, we start to climb up the stony path. The ascent becomes steeper and steeper and you finally arrive at the crossroads with trail no. 4 . You leave the track towards Malga Cavallo to take the right (Rif. Biella). (2327m) The trail begins in the forest and then takes us over scree and large slabs, ending with an equipped section. The climb finally gives us some respite and we continue on to the Forcella Sora Forno, where, turning right, the ascent to the summit begins. The lower part of the path is the most difficult, steep and unstable. About halfway up there is an equipped section which, personally, I found much more useful on the descent than on the ascent. The view from the summit of the Croda del Beco (2810m) over the Three Peaks, Lake Braies and the surrounding mountains is exceptional. We descend by the same route to the Biella Hut, where we follow the easy trail 28 past the Forcella di Cocodain (2332m). We continue until we meet trail no. 4, which descends gently until it meets Altavia 1, which leads back to the lake. We arrived at the lake at around 18:00 when the crowds had left and we were able to enjoy this magnificent spot, which is always very crowded during the day.