The Giau Pass (Jof de Giau in the ladin-fodom, Suogo de Jou in the ladin de fiemme and fassa valleys) is an alpine valley of the Dolomites, a place at 2236m in the province of Belluno, between the Boite valley and val Cordevole, which connects the municipalities of Colle Santa Lucia and Selva di Cadore, Cortina d'ampezzo (in the upper part today the border municipality between San Vito di Cadore and Colle Santa Lucia).
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| Giau Pass |
Located in the middle of a vast alpine pasture, at the foot of the Nuvolau (2,574m) and Averau (2,647m) from where you can easily reach Monte Pore (2,405m) or also the Alpe di Mondeval at foot of the Lastoi De Formin (2,657m), the majestic is the panorama to the west, towards the hill of Santa Lucia with the Pale di San Martino, the Cime D'auta and the Marmolada, Piz Boè and the Setsass, as well to the east, towards the Cortina D'ampezzo basin, with the Tofane, Croda Rossa, Pomagagnon, Cristallo, Croda da Lago and Lastoni di Formin. From a geographical point of view, the port of Giau is included in the territories of Colle Santa Lucia, San Vito di Cadore, Cortina d'ampezzo and Selva di Cadore. The road that starts from Selva di Cadore has 29 hairpin bends and 3 tunnels for avalanche protection, while the slope towards Cortina is more easily passable. It is an interesting alternative to get to Cortina from the 'Agordino' area also because the Giau Pass road, unlike the Passo Falzarego road, is passable by truck and Courier. However, despite the interventions carried out over the years, the winter season is often compromised by avalanches descending to clog uncovered sections of road.
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| Giau Pass |
It is one of the passes of the legendary Tour of Italy, especially from the Colle Santa Lucia side, due to its hardness (measured 10.1km with an average gradient of 9.1%), and its constancy, while the slope is usually more short (8.6 km) and slightly easier (8.3% average slope), although still very demanding, because the average and constant slope The pass was climbed in the Giro for the first time in 1973, since then it has been covered multiple times. In 1973 and 2011 it was also Cima Coppi, that is, the highest peak climbed in those editions. In the 2013 Giro it was planned to move to the Giau on stage 20 (Silandro-Tre Cime di Lavaredo), but the transit was not possible due to bad weather and the village route was diverted. Below are the various steps (in bold the editions in which the Giau was Cima Coppi): Since 1988 the Giau Pass has also been part of the Dolomites Marathon, a gran fondo that counts around 10 each year. 000 cycling fans participating.
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| Giau Pass |
The Giau Pass has often been chosen as a natural setting for commercials and movies. Among others, some scenes from the movie Ladyhawke were filmed.