The Pelmo is the massif that closes off Val di Zoldo to the north, between Val Fiorentina and the Boite valley. The Val di Zoldo tourist consortium gives it 3,168 metres and also reports a more recent measurement of 3,159. To the west stands the Pelmetto, 2,990 metres, separated by the Fisura gullies.
In Val di Zoldo they call it al caregon de'l Padreterno, God's throne, because the wide glacial cirque on its east side makes it look like a chair. It was the first peak in the Dolomites to be climbed by a mountaineer, in 1857. Peaks and nearby places on this site are listed further down.
On the map
The best-known peaks
- Monte Pelmo3,172 m
- Monte Pelmetto2,996 m
Elevations from the map (OpenStreetMap).
How the group is built
The Pelmo looks like two monoliths, the Pelmo and the Pelmetto, with few offshoots: the Crode di Forca Rossa, 2,784 metres, and the Cime di Val d'Arcia, 2,626, which drop towards the Boite valley. The Dolomites UNESCO Foundation describes the system as an alternation of limestone and dolomite slabs and walls with green saddles and gentle slopes, and writes that the Pelmo dominates it all.
At the foot of the Pelmetto, at 2,050 metres and not far from the Passo Staulanza hut, there is a boulder with Late Triassic dinosaur footprints, the first discovered in Italy: five trackways from three kinds of animals. The consortium asks you to approach it with great care, especially on the final stretch. Other, more recent footprints lie on the crest of the north-east shoulder, above 3,000 metres.
Where to start: the three huts
There are three huts at the foot of the Pelmo:
- To the west, the Passo Staulanza hut, 1,766 metres, on provincial road 251 between Val di Zoldo and Val Fiorentina: you can drive there, and it is also a base for the Alta Via 1.
- To the north-west, Rifugio Città di Fiume, reached on an easy dirt road from road 251. It is popular with families and is a stage of the Alta Via 1.
- To the east, Rifugio Venezia-Alba Maria De Luca, 1,947 metres. From Val di Zoldo you walk up on the panoramic trail from the Passo Staulanza, on the harder Val d'Arcia trail or from Coi and Palafavera; from Cadore, from Zoppè and from Borca.
What to do
The Pelmo circuit passes Rifugio Venezia, and our Pelmo page describes the loop. The normal route to the summit starts at the same hut, follows Ball's ledge and climbs a steep scree slope: the consortium calls it demanding, and it is a mountaineering ascent. From the top you see, among others, the Antelao, the Tofane, the Marmolada, the Civetta and the Cristallo.
From Città di Fiume you easily reach the Mondeval plateau, where the remains of Mondeval Man, a Mesolithic hunter, were found. In winter the consortium suggests snowshoe routes, such as the one from Coi to I Lach, and, when the snow is good, ski touring, for example at Forca Rossa. Ideas and rules are in our snowshoeing guide.
History: the first peak of the Dolomites
On 19 September 1857 the Englishman John Ball reached the summit via the ledge that later took his name; the local guide with him did not make it to the top. For the Dolomites UNESCO Foundation it was the first conquest of mountaineering in the Dolomites. Ball wrote that he chose the Pelmo because it seemed to him the most beautiful of the mountains he had seen.
The Pelmetto was climbed in 1896 by the guides Clemente Callegari, known as il Battistrada (the Pacemaker), and Angelo Panciera, known as il Mago (the Magician). Rifugio Città di Fiume, the consortium writes, is the only hut in Italy founded by a foreign alpine club, the Croatian one.
Names, bases and UNESCO World Heritage
The name does not change between languages: Monte Pelmo in Val di Zoldo's German and English texts too. The bases are Forno di Zoldo and Val di Zoldo on one side, San Vito di Cadore on the other; for Rifugio San Marco, above San Vito, the Pelmo and the Antelao form the gateway to Cadore.
The Pelmo gives its name to World Heritage system 1, Pelmo and Croda da Lago: 4,344 hectares in the province of Belluno, between the Boite valley, Val di Zoldo, Val Fiorentina, Val Codalonga and Val Costeana, including the Lastoi de Formin and Monte Cernera. The other systems are on our Dolomites UNESCO page.
Things to see
Sight · Val di Zoldo e Civetta
Monte Pelmo, il Caregon del Padreterno
The throne-shaped massif towering over the Val di Zoldo, complete with dinosaur tracks at its base.
Nearby
Places that fall inside the group’s frame but are closer to another group.
Frequently asked questions
How high is Monte Pelmo?
3,168 metres according to the Val di Zoldo tourist consortium, which also reports a more recent measurement of 3,159. The Pelmetto reaches 2,990 metres.
Why is the Pelmo called Caregon del Padreterno?
Because of the wide glacial cirque on its east side, which makes it look like a chair: God's throne.
Where do you start for Rifugio Venezia?
From Val di Zoldo from the Passo Staulanza, through Val d'Arcia or from Coi and Palafavera; from Cadore from Zoppè and from Borca. The hut stands at 1,947 metres on the east side of the Pelmo.
Who first climbed the Pelmo?
The Englishman John Ball, on 19 September 1857, via the ledge that now bears his name. For the Dolomites UNESCO Foundation it was the first conquest of mountaineering in the Dolomites.
Where are the Pelmetto dinosaur footprints?
On a boulder at the foot of the Pelmetto, at 2,050 metres, not far from the Passo Staulanza hut, where you start. The consortium advises great care on the final stretch.