Santa Maria di Flavona

This beautiful dive into the Brenta Dolomites starts from Andalo locality Priori, a sports center provided with several areas for parking. Immediately, we take the beautiful forest road that proceeds close to the parking area, not the one to Selvapiana. We follow it for about 400 meters of elevation gain with deadly climbs, some cemented. We leave the road to the right on a wide curve just before malga Dagnola Bassa. Here the forestry road ends and the beautiful path 301 begins, which with undulating and not practicable all in the saddle takes us to the fork for Malga Cavedago breaking into path 308 gently into the beautiful and wild Val dei Cavai. We ride it in its entirety, the terminal part by pushing or shouldering up to the beautiful Sella del Montoz and the beginning of Val Cadin Alto.

Without entering the valley on the left is indicated the path leading to Croz del Rè on the right our direction, on a stone is indicated Cima Santa Maria. There are no signs because there is no path, only a faint trace, a red sticker and a few little stone men that unfortunately often get confused with the landscape that hosts it so much attention is needed not to lose the direction.

The bike from now will not come down from the shoulders for about 400 meters of elevation gain. It starts with a very steep terraced grassland then a traverse to the left to cross the spur. Now the summit still appears distant but the scree rising to the summit is evident. After a strenuous approach we are below the scree and still with fatigue due to the slippery, steep phono we advance to the summit. The scenery already long since is sensational, you feel you are right where you wanted to be and the fatigue you accept as part of the whole. A moment of recollection in front of the effigy of Our Lady and then a drunkenness of emotions springs from the beauty that surrounds us, beautiful beautiful beautiful!

Now we descend by the same route as the ascent but with fun to the max, the scree part is completely bikeable in the saddle. Then the traverse by foot and again by foot the very steep stepped prairie and loose rock. When the gradient becomes moderate you bike up and back to the Sella del Montoz with lots of fun. Val di Cavai is fantastically 100 percent bikeable and even 301 on the return is definitely more fun. Once we merge into the forest road we rode in the morning we ride it for a short distance (I had a problem with the navigator) until we take the easy 812 trail that will take us all the way back to the car.

Wonderful hike in my opinion. I considered other routes to climb this peak but the mapping made available by the Trentino Region regarding bear presence strongly discouraged me from the various alternatives.