The 2,907 m high Sas dla Crusc (in Ladin language) gives the eponymous mountain group its name
Mt. Sasso di Santa Croce, also known as Sas dla Crusc, Heiligkreuzkofel, Rosskofel or L Ćiaval, is a 2,907 m high and really impressive mountain massif in the Fanes Group in the Dolomites. It dominates the landscape above the village of Badia and its hamlet San Leonardo.
In its vertical western rock faces there are several climbing routes, whilst in the east the mountain delimits the Val Badia valley and descends towards the Alpe di Pices Fanes highland. One of the most famous climbing routes is the “Central pillar” (UIAA-classified as VI, nowadays as VII+), managed for the first time in 1968 by Reinhold and Günther Messner. The standard trail up to the summit, however, leads from the La Crusc Pilgrimage Site via the Forcela dla Crusc wind gap (2,612 m asl) and the south ridge to the top of Mt. Sasso di Santa Croce.
The mighty mountain is also accessible by cable car: the mountain station of the La Crusc Chairlift (1st section) is a well-known destination among families and hikers - there’s the starting point for the hike to the Armentara Meadows and the La Crusc Pilgrimage Site as well as the SummerPark La Crusc, the theme path “On the traces of wild animals”, a mini zoo and two mountain huts.
