Sassongher
Peak · 2665 m · Dolomites
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Sassongher rises 2665 metres two kilometres from Corvara and is the local mountain of this Ladin village, dominating the valley below. Hunters and farmers crossed its slopes for centuries before Joseph Kostner, a mountain guide from Corvara, made the first ascent of its south wall in 1900. The summit terrace gives a 360-degree view across the Dolomites.
The peak forms the southeastern corner of the Puez Group, a block of Triassic dolomite whose isolation gives it a presence out of proportion to its height. The summit rises 1,165 metres above the Gran Ega stream at Corvara within two kilometres, and Corvara's relationship to it gets compared to Zermatt's with the Matterhorn. Its nearest higher neighbour, Sass da Ciampac, stands 2.25 kilometres to the west, underlining how isolated the peak is within the group. The summit sits at the centre of a natural amphitheatre, and the panorama reaches Sassolungo, the Sella massif and Marmolada, taking in the whole of Alta Badia below.
What you see
A solitary rock pyramid breaks clear of the surrounding ridgeline above Corvara and Colfosco, its outline curling slightly near the summit.
Practical
The fixed-rope route to the summit is open only from July to September; it climbs from Rifugio Edelweiss above Colfosco, over the Forcella del Sassongher and up a short cable-protected stretch, where loose rock makes a helmet worth carrying.
viewpointvia ferratapuez odle nature park