Summit · south of the valley
Creton di Clap Grande
The Clap group, facing the village
The Creton di Clap Grande is the highest summit of the Clap, the dolomite group that stands south-west of Bach, above the Cadin di Dentro. According to the calculation the summit is in view from almost every hamlet; not from Cima Sappada, where Siera hides it. For hikers the goal is the bivouac in the Cadin; the ridges are via ferrata terrain.
- Summit altitude
- 2,487 mSource 1OpenStreetMap and Regione del Veneto, regional technical map (spot heights): the two sources agree · 7 October 2026
- Group
- Clap group, Pesarine Dolomites
- The summit is visible from
- 13 hamlets out of 15borderline from one more
What kind of mountain it is
In the Clap, writes the Sappada section of the Alpine Club (CAI), ‘the typical layering of the Dolomia is clearly visible’: it is the group that reads best from the centre of the village, in strata, above the forest. Around the highest summit stand the Creton di Culzei and, lower and jutting out over the valley, Monte Hoberdeirer. These mountains lie entirely within the municipality of Sappada.
A note on the name
On OpenStreetMap the summit also carries a German name, Hinterkarl, and a local one, Hinterkärlein. The regional avalanche register has a similar place name, ‘Hinterkierl’, for the slope that comes down from the Cadin di Dentro: the name probably refers to the cirque, and only by extension to the summit that closes it. The spelling remains open: we report it as it is, pending a map.
The Cadin di Dentro and the bivouac
In the Cadin di Dentro, beneath the walls, the Sappada CAI has a bivouac with nine bunks, opened in 1985. You reach it from Borgata Palù by the Col Lanar, in more than three hours of ascent on a hiking path: it is the right outing for seeing the group at close quarters without equipment. Also from Palù starts the climb to Monte Hoberdeirer, longer, with an equipped final ramp.
The ridges
Along the crest runs the Ferrata dei 50, built in the early Nineties: long, with exposed and athletic sections, it is usually done by climbing from Rifugio De Gasperi, in Val Pesarina. From the Passo dell'Arco the Ferrata ‘Simone’ climbs instead to the Creton dell'Arco; opened in 2010, it links up with the first. The information on their condition comes from pages that are not recent: before going, ask the CAI or the mountain guides.
Computed on the terrain model
Which hamlets can see it
It is the summit that faces those who live in the western and central part of the village. Eastwards the summit drops behind the outline of Siera, until it disappears from Cima Sappada.
13 hamlets see it 1 borderline 1 hamlet does not see it
- Lerpain view · 4.1 km
- Granvillain view · 4.1 km
- Palùin view · 4 km
- Pillin view · 4.3 km
- Bachin view · 4.3 km
- Mühlbachin view · 4.4 km
- Cotternin view · 4.6 km
- Hoffein view · 4.7 km
- Fontanain view · 4.9 km
- Krattenin view · 5 km
- Soraviaborderline
- Ecchein view · 5.4 km
- Puichein view · 5.6 km
- Crettain view · 5.6 km
- Cima Sappadahidden · short by 158 m
Method: from the reference point of each hamlet, with the eye 6 m above the ground, on the 10 m terrain model (computed on 7 October 2026). ‘In view’ means that at least twenty metres of summit remain clear; ‘borderline’ means less than that is clear, or less than that is missing: there we make no claim. It holds for the centre of the hamlet, not for every house; trees and buildings are not taken into account.
Paths, with the figures from the route sheets
Getting there
From Borgata Palù, on paths 317 and 322 by the Col Lanar, to the bivouac in the Cadin di Dentro. The Passo dell'Arco is reached from the village on path 317.
| Section | Waymark | Length | Ascent | Time, ascent only | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Borgata Palù to the Bivacco Damiana Del Gobbo via Col Lanar | 317, 322 | 4.1 km | 875 m | 3 h – 3 h 30 min | E |
| From Borgata Palù to Monte HoberdeirerEquipped final ramp. | — | 6.8 km | 1,081 m | 3 h 30 min – 3 h 45 min | E |
Source of the figures: PromoTurismoFVG, schede degli itinerari firmate dal CAI Sappada/Plodn · 6 October 2026
T tourist path · E hiking · EE experienced hikers · EEA experienced hikers with equipment (Italian Alpine Club scale). The words ‘easy’, ‘moderate’ and ‘difficult’ are those of the local tourist board, where no Alpine Club sheet exists. A dash means the source does not give the figure.
The route sheets, the Italian Alpine Club warns, ‘cannot be regarded as a substitute for the presence of a professional mountain guide’. This page even less so: it helps you choose, not set off.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Clap?
A group of the Pesarine Dolomites, south-west of the centre of Sappada: the highest summit is the Creton di Clap Grande. From the central hamlets it is the group you have in front of you.
Is there a hut in the Clap?
On the Sappada side there is a CAI bivouac, in the Cadin di Dentro. The hut from which the Ferrata dei 50 is usually approached is the De Gasperi, in Val Pesarina.
Sources
- CAI Sezione di Sappada, “Gruppo dei Clap” (archived copy, 2012)
- CAI Sezione di Sappada, “Strutture alpine” (archived copy, 2023)
- PromoTurismoFVG, “Bivacco Damiana per il Col Lanar” (CAI Sappada route sheet)
- Montagna.tv, “Dolomiti, la variante ‘Simone’ alla via Ferrata dei 50 sul Creton dell'Arco”, 24 January 2011
- OpenStreetMap, summit nodes and local names (data © OpenStreetMap contributors)
- Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia, avalanche register (“Valanghe rilevate” layer)
- PromoTurismoFVG, schede degli itinerari firmate dal CAI Sappada/Plodn
Facts checked against the sources on 7 October 2026