Our last two nights in the mountains were spent at Croda da Lago (technically called Rifugio Palmieri, but everybody seemed to refer to it as Croda da Lago). Since no other huts were open we really had no choice but to hike there in a day from Lagazuoi. One of the staff at Lagazuoi told us if we could do Fanes to Lagazuoi, it shouldn't be a problem to go to Croda da Lago. Even so, in the interest of time and saving our knees, we rode the cable car down to Paso Falzarego. We had a modest climb of 171m (560 ft) to Rifugios Scoiattoli and Cinque Torri. The trail then dropped through a side valley and climbed back up to follow the base of Nuvolau to Passo Giau. We stopped for lunch then proceeded for a walk through Val Cernera and up to Forcella Giau (2360m). We took another break before hiking through mountain pasture and rock mazes to Forcella Ambrizzola (2277m). This was our first look directly into the Cortina basin and at the rifugio on Lago Federa below the mighty Croda da Lago. Hiking down to the rifugio we were afraid it wasn't open (completely dark and no sign of life at all). We were relieved when we got there and found it was open after all. It was an enjoyable day - we enjoyed the varied terrain and the new mountain views.