Forcella Àuta/Alta
Forcella Àuta/Alta is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 1.984m (6,509ft) above the sea level, located in the Dolomites of northeastern Italy.
The road is very steep. It’s extremely narrow and winding, in some places only wide enough for one vehicle, and in many places bordered by a drop of hundreds of meters (many hundreds of feet) unprotected by guardrails. It’s an old military road. The road was resurfaced some years ago and is located near the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Even if the new road is very fine and apart from two short flat stretches totally asphalted, there are asphalted ramps at 29% with thick layers of gravel on it (outside the wheel tracks).
The asphalted road ends at Rifugio Bois at Monte Piana. It’s 5.3 km long from Misurina (6.3 km to the top of the mountain where the gravel road ends). At this long, the road climbs up the Forcella Bassa, Forcella de Mèdo/di Mezzo and Forcella Àuta/Alta. The drive is definitely worth it. Don’t forget your camera! This area was theater of conflicts between Italian and austro-Hungarian troops during World War I. Monte Piana has many relics from the first world war and is a popular place to visit by tourists.
Pic: Giovanni Malinverni