When at the start of the First World War the Austro-Hungarian and Italian Armies began to take up their positions within the valleys, on the mountain passes and the main access roads along the entire Dolomite front, no one could have imagined that the true battle ground would have been for the mountain peaks, the glaciers, crests and ledges perched high up on the rocky faces.

Monte Cristallo, just like Monte Lagazuoi, was the scene of sinister battles, and the numerous traces visible even today along the ferrata Ivano Dibona are testament to this fierce past.


During the first few months of the war the two forces surrounded the Cristallo group: the Austrians built a defensive line to the north at Carbonin, and a garrison of the road that leads to Dobbiaco, while the Italians established their front to the east in Val Popena and the south and west in the Valle del Boite to push towards the Austrian line and create an opening towards Val Pusteria.

Slowly but surely the front lines were raised onto the mountains themselves, and on Cristallo the soldiers entered the valleys to climb the mountain and reach the various cols. In 1915 the Austrian Army gained a series of strategic lookout posts high on the mountain to control the enemy. These included Rauchkofel, Punta del Forame de Fora, Costabella, Vecio del Forame and Forcella Grande, where a canon was positioned to fire at Passo Tre Croci deep below.

The Italian Army was forced into using similar tactics and in August 1915 it carried out a series of night raids to win some of the Austrian positions, from Vecio del Forame to Forcella Bianca. However, all attempts at gaining Costabella failed.

Just a few months had passed since the beginning of the war but the front line had, substantially, already been drawn. The Italian Army dominated the main Cristallo crest (Col dei Stombi, Vecio del Forame, Cresta Bianca, Cristallino d'Ampezzo, Cristallo, Cristallino di Misurina) while the Austrian Army controlled the crests northwards (Punta del Forame de Fora, Costabella, Rauchkofel).

Winter approached and with it a completely different and unforeseen enemy altogether: the cold, snow and avalanches. The soldiers suddenly found themselves fighting at 3000m without adequate supplies and at one point the Alpini on Cresta Bianca remained isolated for three weeks due to the heavy snowfalls. Without communication, food and wood, they were forced to remain huddled in their sleeping bags all day long to escape from the cold.

The second year of the Great War is marked by bloody and futile battles, for while the Italian Army failed to break through the enemy lines and make any significant territorial gains, the Austrian Army failed to push the enemy away from its front line.

Most barracks, wooden huts and stone walls found along the ferrata Ivano Di Bona date back to the period autumn 1916 - autumn 1917, before the battle at Caporetto. The original line of the path, with its daring sections along Cresta Bianca, was constructed by the Italian Alpini and connected all positions along the Cristallo, and was restored to its present day state to make it accessible to all.