On  the eve of WWI the Aus¬trian general statt considered the high mountains as a "militarily inaccessible area". In the warst of cases the passes and other comfortable crossing points would be occupied if a war broke out. The defense plan tor the Ortler Alps was more or less the same: "The control over the Ortler area requires only the prompt blocking of any enemy attacks through the Stilfser Joch Pass. For this purpose a position at the pass and the limited control of the surround¬ing heights is enough. At the  Cevedale pass (Langenferner¬joche) a limited defensive pres¬ence is sufficient. The remaining area - rocks, glaciers and precipices between 3100 and 3900 meters above sea level ¬are irrelevant tor military operations of any kind ".

In the years before the outbreak of WWI the Austrians fortified the area around the Stilfser
Joch pass where enemy attacks were possible. By following the traces of these fortifications the visitor can reach the Ciavalatsch-Kammes area at
every turn. In 1912 in the Klein¬boden area above Trafoi (be¬tween Furkelhütte and Pfader Alm) machinegun positions, infantry battle lines, artillery bat¬teries, depots and barracks were built. At the same time the road to Stilfs was opened. This roadis still used today.
The "Ciavalatsch" log hause still stands on the homonym aus mountain. It was finished soon before the outbreak of WWI.

Just below the Stilfser Joch at 2720 meters above sea level the "Goldsee" military installation was built. It was an artillery battery, whose remains can still be seen today.