Winter bivouac at Casera Frugna

March 8, 2025, after a week of good weather and mild temperatures, together with friends Enrico and Mattia, we organize ourselves for an unprecedented adventure: my first bivouac, and what's more, a winter one! The choice falls on a structure that no one has ever tested before, lost in the rugged Friulian Dolomites: Casera Frugna.
We leave calmly late in the day, in fact at midday we reach Val Cellina and more precisely the town of Cellino di Sopra in Friuli Venezia Giulia. We leave the car in the convenient parking lot on the roadside, we check the backpacks that they have everything for the excursion: dishes, food, sleeping bag, mattress, stove, duvet, a bit of wood (you never know) and the inevitable video camera to capture every detail! The backpacks weigh over 15kg each…
We take the CAI 965 trail that starts right in front of the car park, running alongside the Cialedina torrent, which gives its name to the entire valley. The road is partly dirt and partly asphalted, quite wide, so much so that it is possible to travel it by car. We cross a brick bridge over the dry torrent and we move onto the right orographic side, between the Croda Pineda and Mount Provagna. We continue to climb, entering through vegetation of still bare beech trees. Always with a gentle slope, almost a false flat, we cross a dry stream at the deviation with the CAI 969 trail in the direction of the Val Provagna bivouac. The climb continues quite monotonously: long, endless, without many panoramic glimpses. This up to about 880 meters, where, at another clearing flattened to allow an unnamed torrent in flood to vent, we find ourselves in front of a wall immaculate with snow that stands vertically in front of us. They are the Rocce Bianche (never was a name more appropriate) with a succession of crests that go from Crep Nudo to Mount Teverone that appears before our eyes. The sun runs to hide just as we arrive behind the crests forming truly original shades. A little further to the right, towards the West, the legendary Col Nudo: an unusual view for this peak that reveals itself sheer from this side. We now continue in a bare fir forest until we reach the Gravuzza bivouac.
After about 2 hours of walking we arrive at almost 1000 meters at this crossroads: continuing along path 965 we proceed towards the Valbona pass and shortly thereafter towards the top of Col Nudo. Instead, we take the uphill route towards the North, CAI path 902, towards Forcella Frugna. We immediately enter a beech forest, cross the Frugna torrent on unstable gravel and continue along carpets of dry foliage that accompany us with their creaking. From here the climb becomes more decisive, important, the sun still warms us with its timid rays. The weight of the backpacks is felt inexorably. Each step feels like moving a boulder. Mattia, with his light 7-8 kg backpack (!), leaves us behind, proceeding quickly. We pass a recent landslide on a timid track on unstable gravel, returning shortly to the forest. We leave the beech forest at the ridge called Mezzo Viaggio, a group of baranci provides the backdrop to the legendary view of Col Nudo, even more majestic, white and imposing. At 1300 meters the first timid snow appears, which remains only in isolated patches in the shadiest areas. The path climbs alternating rocky paths that jump over streams without water, with dry tracks among grassy slag. We return again to a new wooded area, still accompanied by the sound of dry leaves at 1500 meters. We begin to glimpse the glimmer of blue sky that awaits us. Soon we are at 1570 meters on the Frugna fork!
A panoramic window on the Preti-Duranno group welcomes us in an afternoon that is already turning to the colors of sunset, bringing to light the typical pink color of the dolomite of Mount Duranno, Cornetto and Cima dei Preti. The snow has fallen copiously here, the shadow that the outline of Col Nudo produces together with the Rocce Bianche will allow this blanket to be preserved immaculate and thick for a long time to come. We then continue in a North-West direction on the tracks left by our leader Mattia, sinking our boots into the snow several centimeters deep. The temperature becomes colder, the snow is nice and compact and supports us admirably in the advance. We continue for a short stretch still uphill and then playfully descend into the white. We finally glimpse the roof of the bivouac!

• Mountain

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  Col Nudo

• Address

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  Cellino di Sopra, Friuli Venezia Giulia

• Altitude

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  1583.00 m

• Refuges

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  Bivacco Casera Frugna

• Information

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After 3h and 45m from the start we reach Casera Frugna, altitude 1538: a beautiful bivouac completely made of wood, modernized in 2005 by the CAI of Claut. Inside there are two bunk beds for a total of 6 beds, a comfortable bench that also serves as a table, several shelves where you can find: hacksaw, emergency lights, lighter and some disposable dishes. Finally, the absolute gem, a super cast iron stove that is just waiting to be lit for the night that is about to come. Precisely for this reason Mattia, who arrived first, has already gone to collect wood in the woods. I follow him while Enrico stays to cut the branches, already present in the bivouac, to adapt them to the size of the stove. We spend a lot of time in the woods and, like good improvised woodcutters, we only take already dry wood, piling it in piles that will weigh about twenty kilos each… We have collected wood that will also be useful for future groups of hikers!
Once the mandatory work is finished, we enjoy a nice aperitif outside the bivouac with the sun leaving its last touch on the Friulian peaks in front of us. A panorama with colors that I usually can't enjoy because at this time I'm usually already on my way home. When the air gets crispier we fold inside, turning the stove on at maximum power under the control of master stoker Enrico. Enrico himself transforms into the brigade chef, preparing us a noteworthy risotto alla milanese. Night begins to fall and we wait for it by playing scala quaranta in a series of tape games. Before going to sleep we go out to really admire a show: the starry sky is an absolute wonder. The stars pulsate, dazzled also by the presence of a Moon that lights up everything around, but still ensuring a precise identification of the constellations. The North Star and the Big Dipper are unmistakable and are located right above the peak of the same name of the bivouac. I leave the Insta360 out to immortalize the entire starry night [the result is excellent, don't miss the video!].
We go to sleep after midnight, we let the last twigs burn in the stove after reaching a really comfortable temperature for the night. The sleeping bags are almost useless until the first light of dawn. The night in the bivouac has passed very quickly, the sun is already coming in through the little window next to the stove. We go out to be woken up by the morning breeze and we find ourselves in front of a new spectacle: the soft colors of the dawn in a pink, yellow-orange that kiss the surrounding peaks in a fairytale picture. The morning protagonist is the Col Nudo with a bright orange that even the peaks of Cortina would envy. A 360-degree video is a must before going back inside the bivouac and tidying everything up properly.
We clean everything, also airing the sponge mattresses of the bunk beds. We leave a freeze-dried risotto, a couple of beers for the next hikers and close the door behind us. We check that we have everything back in our backpacks now finally lighter. We then return on the same steps taken the day before. We sink into the snow again to reach the fork, we immerse ourselves in the beech forest that in the morning is so hot and humid that it makes us sweat incredibly. The sun passes through the bare branches while we reach the Gravuzza hut where we see two parked cars waiting for us. In fact there were no no-traffic signs, so up to an altitude of 1000 meters you can get there quite easily by car. We travel the entire Cialedina Valley until we return in the late morning of March 9 to the parking lot where it all began.
This concludes my first bivouac adventure. An experience that I absolutely recommend to all mountain lovers. You have the opportunity to enjoy practically three excursions in one: the arrival near sunset, the night and the early morning adventure! I believe that the type of Frugna bivouac with its comfort, its recent and well-kept structure, surrounded by the dream panorama of the Friulian Dolomites, has clearly contributed to making the emotions experienced in these two days unforgettable. An excursion that I recommend to all well-trained enthusiasts, given the difficulty of proceeding with a heavy backpack for the bivouac. There are approximately 1100 meters of positive difference in altitude on paths without technical difficulties. The presence of snow before 1300 meters could compromise the ease of reaching the bivouac.
An adventure that will certainly pave the way for new future bivouacs!
NB: for the entire journey from Cellino di Sopra to the bivouac there is no cell phone coverage! Therefore pay attention and equip yourself with GPS instruments for safety.