Kanin
2,587 m
Italy, Slovenia
Also known as Канин, Monte Canin, +7Also known as
Канин · Monte Canin · Großer Kanin · Mont Cjanine · Canin · Kanin / Canin · Kanin (szczyt) · Канин (гора) · Visoki Kanin
- Elevation
- 2,587 m
- Prominence
- 1,403 m
- Difficulty
- 4/10
- Alpine hike
- Best Season
- Jul–Sep
- Routes
- 2
Lift closedReported 12 Jun 2025
The Bovec–Kanin circular gondola has not operated since September 2023, when it no longer met the conditions for an operating permit. The Slovenian government has offered funding for a replacement lift on condition that Bovec obtains a building permit.
rtvslo.siWorksReported 6 Oct 2026
Renewal of the Kanin mountain centre with a new gondola: the deadline for the building permit has been extended to 12 December 2026, Leitner was the only bidder as co-investor (EUR 25 million) and the state is expected to contribute EUR 60 million. No reopening date has been set.
rtvslo.si
Routes
2Sources differ: Difficult; mostly B and C (turismofvg.it (Tabacco))
The normal route from Italy: from Sella Nevea (or the summer gondola) to Rifugio Gilberti, across the Bila Pec karst to the debris-covered remnant of the Canin glacier, up a snow gully to a steep, continuously cabled ferrata on the north face, then the summit ridge. About 3 hours from the hut, 5 from Sella Nevea.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 11.0 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,897 m
- −455 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 2,587 m
- Time Up
- 8h 36m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 6h 41m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From Piazzale Slovenia at Sella Nevea (about 1,120 m) follow the ski-slope track to about 1,650 m, then CAI 635 along the foot of the Bila Pec east wall to Rifugio Gilberti (1,850 m), about 2 hours. In summer the Canin gondola from Sella Nevea saves this climb. From the hut take CAI 632 west to Sella Bila Pec (2,005 m) with the ruins of the old Canin shelter, then traverse high above the Foran dal Mus karst plateau, crossing several gullies, to a signed junction at about 2,018 m below a large scree valley. Turn left up steep zigzags to the remnant of the Canin glacier, now almost entirely covered in debris, pass a rocky rib and climb the snow slope of the gully between the Kanin and Monte Ursic to the start of the cables on the rocks right of the gully (about 2,380 m, 2 hours from the hut). The bergschrund at the foot of the rocks can be awkward. The ferrata, equipped by the Julia Alpine Brigade in 1962–63 and recently restored, climbs steep slabs on the north face with rungs and continuous cable; it is vertical in places, exposed and subject to stonefall. It exits onto the east ridge, which a path follows to the summit in about an hour; 3 hours in all from Rifugio Gilberti. Descend the same way (2¼ hours to the hut, 3½ hours to Sella Nevea), or traverse the ridge east past the exit of the Via delle Cenge and down the Slovenian side via the Forcella del Forato (2,282 m) and Sella Prevala (2,067 m), returning to Rifugio Gilberti on CAI 636 (about 2¾ hours from the summit). There are no escape routes on the ferrata itself.
Start
Sella Nevea1,145 m
- Canin gondola (telecabina) Sella Nevea–Rifugio Gilberti, summer only (6 July – 8 September plus two September weekends in 2024)
- Bus to Sella Nevea is limited; check FVG regional services from Chiusaforte or Tarvisio. Summer gondola Sella Nevea–Rifugio Gilberti.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sella Nevea → Kanin | 11.0 | 1,897 | 455 | 8h 36m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Sella Nevea1,145 m
- Hut: Rifugio Celso Gilberti1,848 m
- Col: Sella Bila Pec2,006 m
- Feature: Junction below the Canin glacier1,855 m
Signed junction; turn left up steep zigzags to the glacier remnant
- Summit: Kanin2,587 m
Key Passages
- Sella Bila Pec and the traverse above the Foran dal Mus
- Debris-covered remnant of the Canin glacier and the snow gully
- Bergschrund at the start of the cables
- Steep cabled slabs on the north face
- East ridge to the summit
Equipment
0/6 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
The highest summit (2,587 m) of the Kanin range on the Italy–Slovenia border, rising above a vast karst plateau riddled with deep shafts. Every route to the top is a serious mountain day: a cabled north-face ferrata from Sella Nevea or a long, exposed ridge walk from Bovec.
Kanin (Visoki Kanin in Slovene, Monte Canin in Italian) is the high point of the Kanin range in the western Julian Alps, which separates Slovenia's upper Soča valley around Bovec from Italy's Resia valley and Sella Nevea. Its northern side holds the debris-covered remnant of the Canin glacier, one of the last ice bodies in the Julian Alps, while the limestone plateaus below, the Kaninski podi and the Foran dal Mus, are a labyrinth of karren, shafts and caves; Vrtoglavica cave in the range has the deepest known single vertical pitch in the world (603 m).
On the Italian side the usual route climbs from Rifugio Gilberti, reached on foot or by summer gondola from Sella Nevea, across the glacier remnant to the Ferrata Julia, a steep cabled line up the north face. On the Slovenian side the classic approach used to start from the top of the Bovec–Kanin gondola, but that lift has been out of service since September 2023, so the climb from Bovec is now a long day with nearly 1,900 m of ascent via Dom Petra Skalarja and an exposed, partly cabled ridge. Experienced parties link the two sides in a traverse.
The range is a historic ski area shared by Bovec and Sella Nevea, and the Resia valley people regard it as a symbol of their identity.
Climbing Notes
Either route needs a head for heights, a helmet and a long day. The Ferrata Julia (C) needs a via ferrata kit and, because the start of the cables is reached over a snow gully with a bergschrund, an ice axe and often crampons; allow 3 hours from Rifugio Gilberti and 2¼ to descend, and there is no escape once on the cables. Sleeping at Rifugio Gilberti (gondola the afternoon before in summer) gives a relaxed start. From Bovec allow about 6¾ hours up via Dom Petra Skalarja; the karst plateau is very hard to navigate in fog, so carry a GPS track and wait for settled weather.
The best period is July to September, when the gondola to Rifugio Gilberti runs and the snow gully is usually in condition. Thunderstorms build fast in summer over the Julian Alps. In winter Kanin is a ski-touring and alpine objective only.
History
The Kanin range was on the front line between Italy and Austria-Hungary in the First World War. The north-west ridge of Kanin was first climbed on 14 July 1899 by Julius Kugy with the guide Jože Komac; the ridge between the Kanin and the Picco di Carnizza had been traversed in 1881 by the guide Antonio Siega. The Ferrata Julia on the north face was equipped by the Julia Alpine Brigade in 1962–63. A hut stood on the Slovenian side from 1895, built by the Gorizia section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club; it burned down on New Year 1972 and was replaced by Dom Petra Skalarja in 1983. The Bovec–Kanin gondola has not run since September 2023, and a replacement lift is being planned.
Season
Best Jul–Sep- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Best (best window)
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; ski touring and winter mountaineering only
- Feb
- Winter; avalanche risk
- Mar
- Spring ski touring
- Apr
- Spring ski touring
- May
- Deep snow on the routes
- Jun
- Rifugio Gilberti opens mid-June; heavy snow in the gully and on the ridge
- Jul
- Gondola to Rifugio Gilberti from early July; ice axe for the gully
- Aug
- Main season; afternoon thunderstorms
- Sep
- Settled weather; gondola until early or mid-September
- Oct
- No lifts or staffed huts; early snow and ice
- Nov
- Winter conditions
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Rifugio Celso Gilberti (40 beds, half board about EUR 50): book by phone (+39 0433 54015 or +39 333 8192055). Check the current status of Dom Petra Skalarja with PD Bovec before relying on it.
- Fees
- Canin gondola Sella Nevea–Rifugio Gilberti: EUR 10 return in 2024
- Rules
- The Bovec–Kanin gondola has been closed since September 2023; there is no lift access from Slovenia
- Getting There
Bovec (Slovenia); Sella Nevea and Chiusaforte (Italy)
Trieste (TRS) or Ljubljana (LJU)
- Italy: by car to Sella Nevea from Chiusaforte up the Val Raccolana (17.5 km) or from Tarvisio via the Predil road (21 km); summer gondola to Rifugio Gilberti
- Slovenia: bus to Bovec; by car from Bovec through Kaninska vas to the Gozdec trailhead (about 9 km)
Hazards
- Glacier
- Rockfall
- Exposure
- Weather
Huts & Shelters
2- 1,850 m
Rifugio Celso GilbertiHutStaffed
40 beds · Mid-June to mid-September; December to April in the ski season
- 2,260 m
Dom Petra Skalarja na KaninuHut