Julian & Carnic Alps

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Winding forest paths and soaring alpine rock walls on the Fusine–Mangart Loop (p181) The rich flora and stark, stony landscape of high limestone plateaus on the Slovenian Two-Step (p182) Rifugio Corsi, in a spectacular natural amphitheatre at the foot of mighty Jôf Fuart (p185) Wide, open spaces and airy ridge-tops around Monte Carnizza (p187)

Celebrated native: Julius Kugy Signature food: Jota soup (mountaineer and writer) Famous for… Solitude

Ignoring the porous and historically interchangeable borders of Central Europe, the Julian and Carnic Alps sit like a forgotten apostrophe at the end Europe’s grandest mountain range. Encased in the semi-autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the area has long been a melting pot for a culturally ambiguous mix of Celts, Lombards, Romans and Venetians. Today, the Carnics straddle the post-1919 border with Austria while large tracts of the Julians spill into neighbouring Slovenia. While Germanic and Slavic influences are rife, the main cultural identity is Friulian, a distinctive northeastern spin on Italian traditionalism. To the walker, the historical background lends an intriguing, if sometimes sobering, air to a visit here. You’re bound to notice traces of two world wars, even in improbably high, remote corners but, these days, the mood is anything but antagonistic. On trails in the Carnic Alps it’s as common to be greeted with the German ‘ Grüss Gott’ as the Italian ‘Salve’, and in parts of the Julian Alps you’ll hear the occasional Slovene ‘Dober dan’. Greetings in any language, though, are far from frequent. Once away from places where walkers’ paths converge – trailheads, passes and some of the more popular rifugi (mountain huts) – seeing any person is like spotting a rare bird. Heavily forested and mostly free of large-scale development (though a new ski lift has ominously just straddled the Slovenian border), the Julian Alps are protected by Slovenia’s Triglavski Narodni National Park, a factor that has helped to safeguard the region’s environmental integrity. No less appealing or important are the lush uplands of the Carnic Alps, along the Austrian border, which host a great variety of wildflowers and offer walking in a rounded, rolling uplands that contrast majestically with their more rugged eastern cousins. lonelyplanet.com Climate • julian & carnic alps • 179

JULIANJulian & Carnic Alps & CARNIC ALPS j uli

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Jôf di Montasio Jôf Fuart Monte Naboi Rifugio Zacchi 0 2 4 miles (2753m) (2666m) Grande Dogna (2313m) Cave Ponza 2 del Predil Grande (2274m) Rifugio Lago del Monte Mangart J U L (2677m) I A N Corsi Predil A To Tolmezzo L Moggio Chiusaforte P Passo (5km) & SP76 S del Predil Dolomites S13 A23 Sella Nevea S52 Rèsia Carnia Rifugio Gilberti Monte Cergnala SLOVENIA To Udine (2344m) (39km) Monte Plàuris S13 (1958m) Monte Canìn (2587m) ella Julian & Carnic Alps Maps F Venzone

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F 2 Musi Sella Nevea Walks p184 Soca 3 Monte Carnizza p188 GEMONA 4 Monte Osternig p190 To Udine (26km)

CLIMATE 1:150,000 Friuli-Venezia Giulia map is more An Alpine climate prevails across the re- detailed and accurate. gion. Summers are cool and rainy, though fine spells are not uncommon. Winters can Books be bitterly cold – pre-Alps to the south Wild Italy (2005), by Tim Jepson, has an en- block warmer air currents from the Medi- ticing couple of pages on the area’s natural terranean – and snowfall is abundant. history. There are numerous publications Snow depths reach 2m in Tarvisio, at less in Italian, including a comprehensive Club than 800m altitude, and snow banks may Alpino Italiano (CAI) guide to the marked lie across higher trails well into the sum- trails. Free from the APT in Tarvisio, and mer. Avalanches are common in spring. particularly strong on geology, is the Dis- Conditions vary markedly between the cover Nature series of leaflets describing short warmer, more sheltered valley floors and walks in the Julian and Carnic Alps – includ- the exposed tops, and between sunnier ing some of those described in this chapter. slopes with a southerly aspect and colder, north-facing ones. A couple of glaciers Weather Information cling to existence on the northern slopes There’s a telephone weather service (%800 of Monte Canìn and Jôf di Montasio in 860377) for all of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The the Julian Alps. tourist office in Tarvisio posts up-to-date local weather bulletins – most days. planning Maps Emergency Many maps are good for planning and ac- The national mountain rescue service cess information, including the 1:250,000 (%118) can be contacted 24 hours a day. Friuli-Venezia Giulia: carta turistico- Outside populated areas, making a tele- stradale, distributed free by tourist offices phone call will generally mean using a in Udine and elsewhere. The Tabacco mobile or reaching a rifugio.