Three-course meals, tap beer, unlimited stars in the sky and a gorgeous sunrise… all on top of a mountain! Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa is one of the most unique stays I’ve ever had in my life. Here’s everything you need to know to experience yourself!
Feel free to also check out my other trips in ITALY or my HIKING GUIDES.
Key Details
This article closely relates to my hike of Piz Boe (it’s the pretty much the same thing). Make sure to also check that out.
- Distance – 6.5KM from the gondola 10.5km without the gondola
- Days required – 2 days. Piz Boe can be done in 1 day however a stay in a hut is recommended for the full experience
- Total Incline – 250M from the Gondola. 850M from Pordoi Pass.
- Total Decline – 250M from the Gondola. 850M from Pordoi Pass.
- Highest Point – 3,152M (10,341 Feet)
- Difficulty – Easy from the Gondola – Moderate if hiking the whole way.
- Uncomfortable Factor – Unbeatable!
How Dolomites huts work!
Look, this can be confusing at first. The key thing to know is they all work the same. Half board means you get a 3-course dinner and a bed, full board involves a lunch for the next day. All accommodation is in shared rooms unless specified.
All huts have restaurants and bars attached to them. Yes, even on top of mountains! However, don’t always expect a shower.
You book directly with the hut and just arrive. there will be little communication and it will feel a bit odd, but, that’s normal!
Checkin is after 3, dinner is served at 6 and breakfast is at 7:30. CASH ONLY!!!
Where is Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa?
Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa is located in Northern Italy in the Italian Dolomites. The two closest major cities are Venice in Italy and Innsbruck in Austria.
How to get to Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa
The easiest way to get to Piz Boe is to hire a car in Venice or Innsbruck. You can also bus from the closest major town, Cortina.
Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa is accessible from multiple directions, however it is most easily accessed from Pordoi Pass, using the gondola.
Route from Pordoi Pass
The route is pretty straightforward, from the gondola you follow the 627 path along a very well-signed route. You’ll pass Rifugio Forcella a quarter of the way and should be able to see Piz Boe for your entire hike! See here for more instructions on the Piz Boe hike.
How to book into Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa
This can be confusing at first, but pretty much all mountain huts are booked directly by either email, WhatsApp message or phone.
The best email for Rifugio Cappana Fassa is [email protected]. Whatsapp +39 336 452523 (all year round). Phone call +39 0462 601723 (from 20/06 to 30/09).
Gear Required for Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa
They provide blankets for free however you will need a sleeping bag liner. It’s also unknown how often the blankets get washed so I prefer to take my sleeping bag.
Sleeping Bag Liner
Sleeping Bag
Hiking Shoes – Most will do fine. I use Merrell’s.
Softshell pants – I use Arcteryx.
Base layers – Top and bottom. Only ever use Merino wool. It keeps you warm without overheating.
Sweat wicking top or fleece – It can get quite cold at the top.
Puffer jacket – Lightweight with a stuff sack. Most will be fine. No need to spend loads. This is a safety precaution.
Hard Shell Jacket – I use Arcteryx Beta.
Costs
Accommodation – 60 Euros per person. This includes dinner and breakfast.
Food and Drink – Up to you how many delicious Forst’s you want (local beer).
Gondola – 30 euros each
Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa elevation
Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa is located on the peak of Piz Boe at 3152M (10,341 Feet).
Is it dangerous to hike to Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa?
All hiking at elevation is dangerous, especially one involving steel ladders. However, this is pretty easy to manage. If the weather is fine this is very safe… Safe enough for the staff to go down to Pordoi Pass to get new bread every day!
My experience staying in Rifugio Capanna Piz Fassa
My partner Erin and I stayed a night in Rifugio Capanna Piz Fassa as part of a week-long Dolomites trip. This was our third hut so far and we were excited about the height and to be a bit off the beaten track. We had done the Tre Cime walk a few days earlier and were shocked by the amount of people around!
Knowing that you can only check in to the huts from 3 pm we chose to have a late start and spent our morning exploring the local towns.
Gondola Ride
Considering we had hiked 30+ km’s that week we opted on the gondola option. We were also early in the season so there was still quite a lot of snow around and not too many people.
Stepping off the gondola we found ourselves in a Martian-like landscape surrounded by fog and snow. Our visibility was so small we couldn’t make out any features, relying on the signs to show us the way.
The eerie fog also provided a pin-drop silence, adding to the mystery of what may be around us. We followed the path for a very short time, down a few rocky ledges to the Forcella Pordo.
We reached the hut as the weather started to clear up. Crossing paths with exhausted hikers that chose the long option as the made their way through the welcoming gates of compacted snow.
Forcella Pordo
Continuing on we could start to see the features of Piz Boe itself coming in and out of view in the fog and were quite shocked about how close it is. Crossing a few snow patches in the shadow of the surrounding peaks, we started up Boe itself.
Piz Boe Scramble
The path follows red and white markers the whole way and the climb is quite easy. Some parts are more of a scramble but it is also quite well protected with ladders and hand holds. There are some harder parts but nothing to the level of a via Ferrata.
This was the first time Erin had been at altitude and she started to feel it reasonably quickly. The short zig-zagging climb finishes at the Rifugio Capanna Piz Fassa hut and it is easily one of the most unique stays I’ve ever had.
Rifugio Cappana Piz Fassa
We spent the evening playing cards with a Canadian couple we met that night while being served our dinner of pasta and goulash while snow began to fall. We were also in the same bunk room as the couple.
The hut is well fitted out with a dining room and lots of outside tables. Sleeping rooms are mostly 3-4 people per room in bunks. There is no shower and the toilet is squat-style.
The beds are comfortable, the rooms are warm and overall this was one of the better hut experiences we had!
The next morning, we had a tight deadline to make it off the mountain and back to Venice for our flight. We set off at 8 am to a fresh half-foot of snow. The overnight dumping had made our path back extremely icy and slippery. Many points were spent on our hands and knees with me guiding Erin
If we had slipped in the wrong place, we definitely would have had a severe injury. Luckily everything was OK!
A fast trot back to the cable car and we quickly found ourselves amassed by throngs of tourists using the good weather on a Saturday to head up the cable car. Within 30 minutes we were down the bottom of the cable car and on our way.
Hiking Piz Boe and our stay in Rifugio Capanna Piz Fassa was one of the highlights of our Italian Dolomites trip!
