Funivia Campitello - Col Rodella

On a clear day the top station opens onto the Sassolungo, the Sella group and Marmolada at once, and that view is what the queue below is for. The ride gains about 1,000 metres, from roughly 1,400 m in Campitello to around 2,400 m at Col Rodella, and the weather changes with the height: in late July the top has sat at about 8°C with wind across it while the valley stayed warm, and walkers who came up in t-shirts went straight back down on the next cabin. In summer the lift belongs as much to mountain bikers and paragliders as to hikers.

• Queues in ski season: the wait to board runs to about an hour, and turning up at a different time of day does not shorten it.
• Dress for the top: it stands around 1,000 m above the village, and late July has meant about 8°C with wind up there.
• Biking: the lift takes bikes up in summer, but maps and signposting for MTB trails are thin — work out the descent first.
• Toilets and water: there are toilets at the station, plus free public toilets and a drinking-water tap within about 200 m.

The valley station stands at the edge of Campitello with a car park right at the doors, so drivers walk in from the bay with skis or a bike and nothing else to cover. Coming by bus, the stop on the village square leaves under half a kilometre of street to the station, and the Val di Fassa tourist office (Ufficio Turistico Val di Fassa) sits on the same stretch.

Best: a clear summer day — the summer season here is long, and it takes a cloudless sky to get the Sassolungo, Sella and Marmolada view the ride is made for.

Avoid: ski season if queueing puts you off; boarding takes about an hour in the winter crush whatever time you arrive.

The difference is the crowd. In winter this is a gateway into the ski area and everyone funnels through the same doors; in summer the cabins carry walkers, bikers and paragliders.