The Marmolada, with the 3343mt of Punta Penia, deserves the nickname of "Queen of the Dolomites": its majesty and its breathtaking landscapes remain in the minds of the ones that get closer to this masterpiece of rocks and ice. The Marmolada is of course a paradise for the lovers of freeride and of the downhills in powder: due to the altitude, skiing is guaranteed on the glacier from November to May, and if you're lucky also later.

On the glacier of the Marmolada you can find three differents tracks: Punta Penia, Lydia and Bellunese Vecchia.

Punta Penia is maybe the most exciting freeride tour on the Marmolada, but also the most difficult and technical. It consist in the downhill from Punta Penia, the highest top of the Marmolada, untill Fedaia Pass and the Damm of Fedaia. To make easier the uphill you can use the old lift of the Pass, starting from the damm until the Refuge Pian dei Fiacconi (2638m); as the lift usually opens in the second part of the winter season (February), you can reach the refuge by climbing up along the ski slope, starting from the easter side of the little village near the damm.  As you've reached the refuge, go on in direction of the glacier until the basis of the north wall; a deep gully on the right side permits you to reach the Schena del Mul, the high ridge the leads direct to Punta Penia (3343m). From here the downhill is wonderful but at the same time it is neessary to pay attention: the incline is rather high and iced of technical stretches are frequebt.  It's the same track of the uphill but, before reaching the Refuge Pian dei Fiacconi, you can choose an alternative track in the so called "Valletta delle Marmitte", a gully on the basis of the "Col di Bousc"; the ast part will lead you back to the damm of Fedaia. As the glacier faces north, the snow is often very hard and the ice is not so rare: it is recommandable to use crampons by the uphill. Don't undervalue the difference in high: more than 1500mt.

"Lydia" is a track on the eastern side of the glacier of the Marmolada, starting from Punta Rocca (3260m), the highest top in Veneto. To reach the top you can use the three stretches of the cableway of Malga Ciapela (Belluno), climbiing up the walls of Antermuoa and then, after having reached Cima Serauta (3069m) crossing the higest part of the glacier until the Refuge Dallago. Here begins the long downhill along the glacier, always remaining on its left. The track is wide and the incline becomes softer and softer as you get nearer to the Fedaia Pass. As you reach the two huge rocks in the middle of the glacier, you can choose between two alternatives: the first consists in skirting the Sas da les Doudesc, the rock on the left, until the damm of Fedaia, near the station of the lift to Pian dei Fiacconi. The other alternative consists in set out for the Sas da les Undesc, the rock on the right, reaching the Fedaia Pass through a rather steep and unsteady slope. 

The last freeride tour on the Marmolada is the so called "Bellunese Vecchia", on the eastern side of the glacier, that permits you to use the uphill lifts of the skiarea. The track is on the left of the old skilift, at the basis of the wall of Punta Serauta (2962m), crossing sometimes the slope from Punta Rocca. It is possible to reach Fedaia Pass also by skirting the Sas da les Undesc, as I've described in the second tour.

A special thanks for the photos and the infos to www.skiforum.it