Multi day routes

The Fanes Dolomites loop in winter (Pederü, Fanes, Sennes)

Three winter days on the Fanes and Sennes plateaus in the depths of winter, starting from the Pederü car park at −18 °C. A climb through packed snow to Rifugio Fanes, a beer at the highest brewery in the Dolomites, a sledge run down from Lago de Limo and a military road up to Sennes.

Altitude: lowest 1,540 m (Pederü) · highest 2,130 m (Lago de Limo)
Difficulty: Intermediate on Komoot, which in winter becomes EAI (the Italian grade for hiking on snow): no technical difficulties, but snow, cold and short daylight hours
Waymarking: trail 7, which on the Sennes–Fodara Vedla–Pederü section overlaps with Alta Via 1 of the Dolomites
When: early January 2026
For whom: anyone who has already slept in a mountain hut and isn't put off by a day below freezing. There are no exposed sections, and you walk almost entirely on roads packed down by snowcats

On the Komoot routes the starting point is shown as Marebbe, but point A is the Pederü car park, at the head of Val dai Tamersc.

Before you go

Getting there. From San Vigilio di Marebbe you drive up Val dai Tamersc to Pederü, 1,548 m, in about twenty minutes. In winter the road is snow-covered but packed. There's also a regular bus that goes all the way up, handy if you'd rather not drive back in the dark.

Parking. At Pederü, and it's cheap. It's also where the cross-country ski trails end, so in winter it's a lively spot rather than a deserted valley floor. Watch out for the basin: it gets bitterly cold, and we found −18 °C.

Mountain huts. Fanes 2,060 m, Lavarella 2,042 m (five minutes from Fanes, with the highest brewery in the Dolomites inside), Sennes 2,116 m. They're open in winter, but close for one or two weeks in January, on dates that change every year: call before booking.

If you'd rather not walk up. From Pederü, snowcats run a taxi service to the huts, booked directly with the hut. They also carry luggage, so you can do the loop with a light pack.

Sledges. You can hire one at the huts, but there are only a few and availability isn't guaranteed. If it matters to you, bring your own or hire one in San Vigilio. At Pederü there's a hut where you leave it at the end of the run.

Gear. Microspikes or chains (the packed road is icy in places), gaiters, snowshoes only if it has snowed recently, proper gloves and a proper warm layer, a head torch for getting back in the dark, sunglasses and sunscreen because the UV index on snow is high, a sleeping-bag liner, cash.

Water. In winter there's nothing along the route, so fill up at the huts.

The loop, day by day

Day 1. Pederü → Rifugio Fanes. Trail 7, the old military road that zigzags up above Rifugio Pederü. It's the hardest stretch of all three days, 550 metres in just over 5 km, but it's also the one that gets you into the landscape fastest. Above the hairpins the gradient eases and you enter the Fanes amphitheatre. This is the snowcats' road, so step aside when they pass. Before Fanes, the detour to Lavarella for a beer is worth it, and then there are just a few metres of snow between the two huts.

Day 2. Fanes → Lago de Limo → Pederü → Rifugio Sennes. You climb to Lago de Limo, the highest point of the loop, and from there you sledge all the way down to Pederü. It takes longer than you'd think, because on the flat stretches you have to pull the sledge. The tricky part is the last one, the hairpins above the car park: if they're icy, just walk down. Once you've left the sledge in the hut, you set off on foot again up the Sennes military road, which is steep and hardly lets up. Near the top the view opens onto the Ampezzo Dolomites: Monte Cristallo, Sorapiss and Croda Rossa.

Day 3. Sennes → Fodara Vedla → Pederü. Almost all downhill, 860 metres. You pass through the hamlet of Fodara Vedla, closed for the season and all the quieter for it. We added a short detour that brings the numbers to 9.28 km and 280 metres of climbing. These are the calmest places on the whole loop, and I recommend it. The last stretch is on the steep hairpins, the ones from day 1 in reverse.

What I think

A loop I did in early 2026 with a dear friend, right after New Year. Snow, cold and the Ampezzo Dolomites all around: I really recommend it.

At first the climb from Pederü to Fanes through the snow is hard work, but you're walking through untouched nature, in that muffled winter silence, and then you enter the great, spectacular amphitheatre of the Fanes Alps. Once we were up high we stopped first at Lavarella, where we drank a good beer brewed right there, and then walked the few metres between the two huts.

At Fanes we ate and slept, and the food is pretty good. The all-wood interior is gorgeous and warm, with that real mountain-hut atmosphere. There was a cat on the stove, and it was lovely chatting with the hut keepers, the way it happens when you feel at home even in the middle of the mountains.

The next day we climbed to Lago de Limo and from there sledged all the way down to Pederü. It took us ages and it was wonderful, one of those things that stay with you. Then back on foot up the Sennes military road: demanding but doable, and towards the end you start to enjoy a splendid view of Cristallo, Sorapiss and Croda Rossa.

At Sennes we ate an enormous amount, and it was really good, a complete pleasure. The next morning we woke up to a wonderful view, and on the way back we took a short detour that led us to quiet, calm places surrounded by snow. Then down to Pederü to pick up the car, and off home.