Staunies North Couloir

Unfortunately, the ‘Forcella Staunies’ chairlift shut down in the summer of 2016, so a great deal more effort is now required to enjoy the popular steep lines of the Cristallo mountain range and this discourages lots of skiers. Take the Son Forca chairlift, then follow the slope to where the old ‘Forcella Staunies’ chairlift was. From here, skin up the old ski slope to the middle station, then continue further up to the steep wide couloir at the top of Forcella Staunies (allow 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach here). The descent begins behind the chairlift’s top station. For the drop in you may need a 30 metre rope as the first section is steep and the rocks could be visible. The couloir is pretty steep all way down and the first section is narrow, then the couloir bears right. It widens up, but then in the last section it gets narrower before the final wide section which leads you to Val Fonda. Ski down the valley keeping to the skier's right (there are usually lots of tracks made by ski mountaineers), when it gets narrow you may have to cross the creek once or twice, this depends on the snow coverage. When the valley evens out, go across a sort of canyon and then follow the cross country ski slope until you reach the Ploner hotel in Carbonin - here you can get a bus ride back to Cortina.