Hike from Rifugio Pisciadu to Rifugio Franz Kostner via Piz Boè

If you're planning a trip to the Dolomites, you simply must plan a hut-to-hut hike.

Last year I did a number of multi-day hikes from hut to hut, and this one definitely has to be one of the most dramatic.

I've already shared the first day of the adventure in this post, so today I'm going to share the next stage of the adventure.

After spending the night in Rifugio Pisciadu, we got up for sunrise and then had breakfast before setting off on the next part of our hike. We followed the route 666 from the rifugio, part of the Alta Via 2, signposted towards Piz Boè. The whole trail is very rocky, often quite narrow and on loose gravel and scree, and in a few places there are iron cables fixed into the rocks to add some extra security. 

The first part of the ascent from the rifugio is quite steep, but as you get higher you get to a rather moon-like plateau where everything flattens out with just the Piz Boè sitting up higher in the distance.

Below the Piz Boè is the large Rifugio Boè which is usually quite busy with tourists who have taken the cable car up from Sass Pordoi. From here the steep trail up to the Piz Boè starts. This trail can get very busy in the high season, so don't be surprised if you find yourself waiting in line. The trail is steep and narrow, and in a few places they have created a one-way system with cables to help the flow of people.

At the top of the Piz Boè, the highest peak of the Sella Group, you'll be greeted with stunning 360° views of the Dolomites, including views of the highest mountain and only glacier, the Marmolada. There's a small refugio at the top here as well as a shrine and an "alpine toilet" aka a hole in the ground with a view.

As we were continuing down to Rifugio Franz Kostner, we followed the trail 638 down on the opposite side to where we came up from. This section of the trail was pretty steep and rocky, and in one section there had been a steel cable placed in a gulley although it looked like there had recently been a bit of a rockslide as the trail was almost completely wiped out. 

At the bottom of the steep section the trail flattens out and follows the bottom of the rock faces around to the very lovely Rifugio Franz Kostner, which is possibly the nicest mountain hut I've ever stayed in.