Rating The Tour (By Hiking Standards)
When rating, I considered the tour from Rif. Corsi.
0. General. 1874m to 2507m, exposition West and South. A comfortable path from the hut, then some rocks to Forcella di Riofreddo, then a medium hard ferrata and finally an easy rock climb and scramble. Gear: A short rope for less experienced.
1. Effort. 700m, 3h for ascent. From the valley 5h or more.
2. Power. 4 - hard.
3. Psyche. 4 - hard.
4. Orientation. 2 - easy (some searching for best passages on the upper part).
Getting There
Cima di Riofreddo and its marked routes
The normal ascent on Cima di Riofreddo / Divja Koza / Kaltwasser Gamsmutter goes over the summit ravines of its southern face. They are some more than 100m high and can be reached by ferrata Anita Goitan - see the main page. We can of course approach Cima di Riofreddo also from the western (Vis / Iof Fuart) side, but the shortest way is to ascend Forcella di Riofreddo / Trbiska skrbinica notch, 2240m, where ferrata Anita Goitan starts. This small, but important notch can be reached from many sides:
1. From Rif. Corsi, 1874m. We go towards Vis in the northern direction, but on good 2000m we go towards the NE, following the path No. 627. Soon we hit rocks, some pegs and cables help us over them, but the ascent to the notch is easy. 1h.
2. Through Valle di Riofreddo. From Riofreddo village, 833m, we follow the road into the long but beautiful valley. On good 1300m we leave the road and follow the path No. 618 towards the West. The path goes up towards Sella Carnizza, but when it hits the path No. 627 we go left again by it all the way to the notch (SW direction). The final part is steep and protected by steel ropes. 4 hours.
3. From Rif. Pellarini, 1499m. We ascend towards the South by path No. 618, reaching Sella Carnizza (notch), 1767m. From there the path descends a little into the upper basin of Riofreddo valley. We follow the path No. 627 all the way to the notch (SW direction). The final part is steep and protected by steel ropes. 2:30 hours.
4. From Rif. Brunner, 1432m. We follow the path No. 625 first up the valley towards the North, and when the valley changes direction, towards the West, on Forcella del Vallone, 2180m. We have the altitude, but we can not cross the slopes of Cima del Vallone directly. So we need to descend some 200m towards the West and only when rocks on the right allow us crossing, we cross horizontally to the path No. 627, coming from Rif. Corsi. Then as described in #1 to the notch. 3h.
Route Description
On the Ledges of Gods Ferrata Anita Goitan
From Forcella di Riofreddo / Trbiska skrbinica notch, 2240m, we enter ferrata Anita Goitan. Over the first steep rocks the ferrata reaches a broad ledge and follows it towards the NW. The ledges soon become narrow and exposed, but the ferrata is well protected. So we cross the southern slopes of Cima di Riofreddo, almost reaching the notch between it and the neighbouring tower of Innominata. But before, in a broad ravine we leave the ferrata and start climbing by the ravine towards the right. When the ravine branches, you keep right, but then soon leave the right ravine by a ledge into the left one, which ascends to the top. You reach the top by the SE ridge. From Forcella di Riofreddo 2h, from Rif. Corsi 3h. The upper part (from ferrata Anita Goitan) is an easy rock climb of UIAA -II.