Refuge Guido Lorenzi

The Rifugio Guido Lorenzi (short Rifugio Lorenzi, German Lorenzihütte) is a private mountain hut (Schutzhütte) in the Cristallo group of the Belluno Dolomites, situated above Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Veneto region of northern Italy. At 2,932 metres above sea level, it ranks among the highest huts in the Dolomites. It stands a few metres above the Forcella Staunies (2,918 m) on the north-west ridge of the Cima di Mezzo, with a large sun terrace clinging to a rock outcrop topped by a several-metre-high cross commemorating the mountain warfare of the First World War. The hut lies within the Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park. The site had been directly on the front line during the First World War. In the 1950s it was chosen as the location for a tourist base, and the hut opened on 1 July 1959, just above the mountain station of the gondola lift built for the 1956 Winter Olympics into the Forcella Staunies. The driving force behind the construction was Beniamino Franceschi, a member of the Ampezzo alpine organisation Scoiattoli di Cortina. The name honours Guido Lorenzi (1929–1956), a talented mountaineer who in 1952 took part, alongside Lino Lacedelli and Luigi Ghedina, in the first ascent of the south-west face of the Cima Scotoni; he died in a carpentry accident in 1956. The hut was renovated in 1974/75 and today belongs to Franceschi's heirs. The hut served as a base for three popular via ferrata routes: the Via ferrata Marino Bianchi (grade C/D), which starts directly on the sun terrace and reaches the Cima di Mezzo in about 1½ hours; the Sentiero Ivano Dibona (B), beginning at the Forcella Staunies mountain station and running west along the Cresta Bianca past First World War positions; and the Sentiero ferrato Renato De Pol (C), which branches off the Dibona route through the north-western Cristallo group toward Pian del Forame. The latter two are almost exclusively descended. On foot, the ascent via the scree gully of the Grava Staunies is arduous because of loose rubble; most climbers used the gondola lift from Son Forca near the Rifugio Son Forca, while the walk from the Capanna Rio Gero (1,698 m) below the Passo Tre Croci takes a good four hours. In the final decades of operation the lift was run in winter as a double chairlift, with the carriers laboriously swapped by hand at the end of each season. This was linked to an intermediate station that in winter gave skiers access to the lower, less difficult part of the descent, which unlike the high section of the notch was safely skiable for most of the winter. The intermediate station required passengers to step out at full speed over a ramp into the notch, possible only from chairs, not from the gondolas installed in summer. The Staunies Vertical ski run, with gradients of up to 64 percent, was considered the steepest piste in the Dolomiti Superski network. Less experienced skiers could leave the lift at the intermediate station. In 2011 the forty-year operating licence of the gondola lift that supplied the Rifugio Lorenzi expired. After the last extension for cable-car operation ran out at the end of July 2016 and the lift consequently ceased operating, the Rifugio Lorenzi also closed its doors. In February 2018 a project for a new cable car was presented, also in view of a Cortina d'Ampezzo candidacy for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The site of the Rifugio Guido Lorenzi lay directly on the front line during the First World War. In the 1950s it was selected as the building site for a tourist base in the Cristallo group of the Belluno Dolomites. The hut opened on 1 July 1959, just above the mountain station of the gondola lift that had been built for the 1956 Winter Olympics into the Forcella Staunies. The initiator of the construction was Beniamino Franceschi, a member of the Ampezzo alpine organisation Scoiattoli di Cortina. The hut was named after Guido Lorenzi (1929–1956), a talented mountaineer who in 1952 had taken part, together with Lino Lacedelli and Luigi Ghedina, in the first ascent of the south-west face of the Cima Scotoni; he died in a carpentry accident in 1956. The hut underwent a renovation in 1974/75 and today is owned by Franceschi's heirs. In the last decades of operation, the lift was run in winter as a double chairlift, with the carriers laboriously swapped by hand at the end of each season. This was connected to the creation of an intermediate station that in winter gave skiers access to the lower, less difficult part of the descent, which unlike the high section of the notch was safely skiable for most of the winter. The intermediate station required passengers to step out at full speed over a ramp into the notch, which was possible only from chairs, not from the gondolas installed in summer. The Staunies Vertical ski run, with gradients of up to 64 percent, was regarded as the steepest piste in the Dolomiti Superski network. For less experienced skiers there was the option of leaving the lift at the intermediate station. In 2011 the forty-year operating licence of the gondola lift that supplied the Rifugio Lorenzi expired. After the last deadline extension for cable-car operation ran out at the end of July 2016 and the lift consequently ceased operating, the Rifugio Lorenzi also closed its doors. In February 2018 a project for a new cable car was presented, also with a view to a candidacy by Cortina d'Ampezzo for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

• 2018

  In February a project for a new cable car is presented, also in view of a Cortina d'Ampezzo candidacy for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

• 2016

  After the last extension for cable-car operation runs out at the end of July, the lift ceases operating and the Rifugio Lorenzi closes its doors.

• 2011

  The forty-year operating licence of the gondola lift supplying the Rifugio Lorenzi expires.

• 1974

  The hut undergoes a renovation (1974/75).

• 1959

  The Rifugio Guido Lorenzi opens on 1 July, just above the mountain station of the Forcella Staunies gondola lift built for the 1956 Winter Olympics.

One of the highest mountain huts in the Dolomites, a private alpine hospitality and climbing base above Cortina d'Ampezzo, historically served by the Forcella Staunies gondola lift.

• Mountain hut accommodation and dining

  Private Schutzhütte offering shelter, food and a large sun terrace at 2,932 m.

• Via ferrata Marino Bianchi

  Grade C/D route starting on the sun terrace and reaching the Cima di Mezzo in about 1½ hours.

• Sentiero Ivano Dibona

  Grade B route from the Forcella Staunies mountain station west along the Cresta Bianca past First World War positions.

• Sentiero ferrato Renato De Pol

  Grade C route branching off the Dibona route through the north-western Cristallo group toward Pian del Forame.

• Staunies Vertical ski run

  Ski descent with gradients up to 64 percent, considered the steepest piste in the Dolomiti Superski network.

1. 1Refuge Guido Lorenzi – Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Rifugio Guido Lorenzi – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Rifugio Lorenzi – official websiterifugiolorenzi.it