Overnight in heaven: Richard von Meerheimb had already finished with his life when he arrived in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The many war missions and privations in the middle of the 19th century had taken their toll on the writer and lieutenant colonel from Dresden. He could barely breathe, his legs were failing him and medical treatment simply wouldn't work. His last attempt: a trip to the clear mountain air of the Dolomites. Miraculously, his condition improved so much within just three months that he regained enough strength for a mountain tour. His legs and lungs carried him up to the 2574 metre high Monte Nuvolau. Out of sheer happiness and gratitude, he donated money to the Alpine Club, which had just been founded at the time, to build its first summit hut. And so, on 11 August 1883, the first mountain hut in the Dolomites was opened on the Nuvolau. It was christened "Sachsendank".
A completely different kind of cinema awaits at the Nuvolau hut
It must have been some kind of miracle cure back then. Because our lungs are healthy, we have used Cortina's lift network up to the Rifugio Scoiattoli and are still really struggling up the remaining ramp to the Rifugio Averau. We crawl our way up the steep scree slope. Also because we only want to treat ourselves to an eco boost for the first day of our tour. "You can't charge your batteries here," we were told when we made our reservation by phone. And as we were very lucky to get three beds in the hut in August anyway, it didn't matter to us at the time. With the use of the lift, the electricity would be enough for a two-day hut tour, we thought.
But when we finally reach the 2413 metre high crossing at the Averau hut, we are no longer so sure. The route should now continue to the left on a via ferrata. Another 160 metres in altitude to the Sachsendank hut, which has long since been called the Nuvolau hut. However, the route now leads up a climb. Steep and interspersed with rocky steps, sometimes hard along the precipice. A few Alpine crossers push past us and check in at the Averau hut. They have reached their target for the day. We take in the panoramic view: Dolomite peaks as far as the eye can see. If we hadn't been told that a completely different calibre was waiting for us up there, we would have been completely satisfied with a night in the Averau hut.
Compared to its neighbours all around, the 2575-metre-high Monte Nuvolau doesn't look particularly spectacular at first. A rocky spur that towers 160 metres above the Averau crossing like a sentry post. The path up is blocked and steep, with steps cut into the rock in places. In the afternoon, there is also a lot of oncoming traffic from day trippers wanting to get back down into the valley. Only in the last few metres does the risk of falling decrease enough for us to get back on the saddle with Turbo. We reach the hut at maximum heart rate - where we are all left with our mouths hanging open.
We had read many superlatives about this place beforehand, but the reality tops them all: the small Lagazuoi, the three Tofana mountains and the Cristallo massif to the north spread out in 360-degree format. To the south: the Civetta and the Marmolada with their remaining ice carapace within reach. To the west, the bastions of the Sella massif and Pale di San Martino loom large. And now deep below us: the crooked rock teeth of the Cinque Torri. From up here, it is easy to see that they were once a single tower until ice masses broke the rock into five pieces. You can also see the trenches from the First World War. They wind around the torri like a labyrinth.
Our accommodation is now clinging to the summit plateau of Monte Nuvolau, which is only a few square metres in size. All around us, the mountain slopes drop spectacularly steeply in all directions. The oft-used phrase "like an eagle's nest" really is the programme here. No wonder that this lookout tower on the front line of the First World War was the first to be shot at by the Austrians. But in 1930, the hut was rebuilt a little larger and renamed Rifugio Nuvolau.
Logistics on the Nuvolau: a challenge
Emma Menardi serves us a welcome sprizz on the terrace and sits down with us for a moment. For ten years, she had travelled the world and worked all over the world. Until a new tenant was sought for the Nuvolau hut in 2021 and she was chosen from hundreds of applications. "My lifelong dream!" beams the 30-year-old Ampezzo native. She explains how she renovated the hut in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. "We want to keep everything as rustic and original as possible. But the crowds are so big that we can no longer do without modern technology, especially in the kitchen."
The hut is a logistics company that involves the whole family. Emma's husband Juan, her two sisters and her brother work full-time up here in the summer. Emma's father collects the supplies ordered down in the village every morning and takes them to a material cable car at the Cinque Torri hut. In the high season, that's up to six trips a day and two to three hours' work. Then there are up to ten trips just for drinks. And of course the rubbish, empties and laundry also have to be sent back down by cable car every day. Once the supplies are in place, the guest rooms and bathrooms are cleaned, cakes are baked and food is prepared. The day ends at 10 pm. Then the lights go out and the hut runs on emergency power until the next morning. This goes on for five months of the year; there are no days off. But Menardis doesn't mind the stress. "It's exactly this life that makes me happy," says Emma. "I'm no longer drawn to faraway places. Up here, I welcome guests from all over the world. It's a bit like travelling and discovering other cultures. Except that I stay here and the world comes to me."
The last of the day's guests have long since left for the valley as the natural spectacle for which the locals in the Dolomites have their own name begins: the Enrosadira. The surrounding peaks begin to glow from pink to orange to purple red as the evening sun sinks behind the Sella massif. Our dinner matches the colour, but also the taste: Chef Cesare serves us "Piatto Nuvolau", spaetzle made from beetroot, melted butter and mature Piave cheese. Followed by a goodnight grappa "Sachsendank", which Emma's cousin Alessandra serves us at the hut bar. Afterwards, we fall into the beds of our lucky three-bed room.
On the Transalp classic Strada de la Vena into the next valley
The new day begins with an incredible sunrise. We start early and experience the descent on the rocky trail to the Averau hut without any oncoming traffic. Then we turn left and shortly afterwards join the route of the Strada de la Vena, which is so popular with Alpine crossers.
This old supply trail of an iron ore mine still begins spectacularly under the Averau rocks and flows through the alpine meadows with a view of the Marmolada. However, the lower section of the trail has now been widened and has largely lost its charm. So we roll down the remaining metres on gravel to Colle Santa Lucia and from there climb 800 metres back uphill on the road to Passo Giao. Battery check at the Fedare hut: Okay, should be enough for the last 400 metres up to the Averau hut. Even if the chairlift, which floats along above the narrow hairpin bend of bumpy gravel, almost feels like a chum. Far above, now shrouded in wispy clouds, the roof of the Nuvolau hut flashes into view. It's a shame that initiator Richard von Meerheimb didn't manage to visit "his" hut.
4 questions for Emma Menardi, landlady of the Nuvolau hut since 2021
BIKE: How many bikers come to your hut?
Emma Menardi: Bikers rarely come up here. The path is too difficult and most of them have to carry their bikes. We also don't have a storage room for bikes or charging facilities for batteries. That's important to know. But please don't get the wrong idea: Bikers are always welcome here! I myself cycled 3000 kilometres through Chile on my trip.
What do you value most up here?
The realisation of how little you need to be happy and content. A warm meal, a roof over your head, people's smiles, a 360-degree panorama and a bed when you're tired.
When do you experience the most beautiful sunsets here?
Clearly in September. The colours towards the end of the season are beyond words.
Which guests are your favourite?
Those who have respect for the mountains and nature. Guests who are aware that waste disposal up here is a logistical challenge. And who don't leave their own rubbish lying around in the countryside.
Info hut tour Nuvolau
Accommodation: If you want to spend the night at the Nuvolau hut, you need to book well in advance. The beds are usually fully booked months in advance. There are two four-bed rooms, a three-bed room, a five-bed room and a dormitory with eight beds. However, it is not possible to book rooms, only beds. As the water also has to be transported up by cable car, it is not possible to shower in the Rifugio. The food, on the other hand, is opulent and excellent. The hut is open from mid-June to mid-September. Bookings: info@rifugionuvolau.it
Alternative accommodation: Can't get a bed in the Nuvolau? Then simply book into the Rifugio Averau. Although the hut is not quite as exposed, it offers real mountain bike and e-MTB infrastructure - from a water hose to a compressor and tools to charging facilities for e-bikes. There is also excellent local cuisine here, served by the super-friendly staff of the Siorpaes family. There are 41 beds in four rooms and three dormitories. A good plan is to descend here and make a detour on foot to the Nuvolau hut. This way you can enjoy the best of both worlds. Bookings under: rifugioaverau@gmail.com
Lift facilities Cortina Using the gondola network in Cortina d'Ampezzo also makes sense with an e-MTB. The radius of action and adventure is thus many times greater. The Cortina Bike Pass is available for one or three days and is also valid for the Fedare chairlift on the south side of the Averau crossing. The prices for 2024 were not yet known at the time of going to press. The summer lift operation starts on 8 June. Current information about: skipasscortina.com
More tours The famous Olympic ski resort of Cortina lies in the heart of the Ampezzo Dolomites and is the perfect starting point for other panoramic classic tours. For example, the great Tofana circuit through the Fanes-Sennes-Prags nature park or the tour to Forcella Ambrizzola. The GPS data and information on the three most spectacular panoramic tours can be found here.
General information All accommodation, shops, bike hire and other addresses in Cortina d'Ampezzo: dolomiti.org and cortina-tourism.com
Tour info Nuvolau hut
In total, the two-day round tour from Cortina d'Ampezzo to the Nuvolau hut, via the famous Transalp route Strada de la Vena and onwards via the Passo Giao road back to Cortina is 52.5 kilometres, 1704 metres in altitude and 3204 metres downhill. Trail section: 17.4 kilometres. The number of hikers is generally high here in the summer months, but the acceptance for considerate mountain bikers is high. Only the days around 15 August (Ferragosto holidays in Italy) are best avoided.
Stage 1: From Cortina d'Ampezzo to the Nuvolau hut
- Length: 16.3 kilometres
- Uphill: 383 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 546 metres in depth
- Duration: 4-5 hours
- Difficulty: difficult
Tour description
With a total of four lift transfers, a good 1100 metres in altitude can be covered from Cortina. Firstly, this makes sense to save battery power. Secondly, between the second and third lift sections there is the 400-metre-long "Tofanina" flow trail, which is well worth taking. From the Rifugio Scoiattoli, it's time to get down to business. Just under 150 metres in altitude have to be conquered first on a steep scree slope to the Averau hut and then another 160 metres in altitude on the steepest rocky trail. The last few metres to the Rifugio Nuvolau can only be managed in push mode for most people. Caution: mostly heavy oncoming traffic of descending day trippers!
Stage 2: Via the Strada de la Vena to Cortina
- Length: 36.2 kilometres
- Uphill: 1334 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 2660 metres in depth
- Duration: 5 hours
- Difficulty: difficult
Tour description
Head back down to the Averau hut and turn left southwards. After 200 metres on the ski slope, climb up a rocky ledge on the right and follow the trail parallel to the Averau rocks. This trail soon reaches open meadow terrain and later dips into the forest. From the village of Larzonai, the Strada de la Vena begins. Cycle along this gravel track to Colle Santa Lucia, then take the pass road up 800 metres to the Fedare hut. From here, either take the chairlift or the gravel track through the meadows (400 metres) back up to the Averau hut. Continue down to Cortina, now round the Cinque Torri on the right and down into the valley on really fun enduro trails.
GPS data MTB tour Nuvolau hut
You can now find the GPS data for the tour in our new DK tour portal:
At this point, you will find external content that complements the article. You can display and hide it with a click.
