OK, time to write a little more about what I got up to in the Dolomites this year. I went with my Mum and Dad for two weeks (22nd June – 6th July) and we stayed in Corvara. Three friends from work also joined us for six of those days.The first couple of days my Dad and I tried out the sport climbing at Sas de Stria (located near the Falzarego pass). A very short 
walk from the road (under 10 mins) brings you to the routes. There was still some left over snow at the base of the climbs. The climbing is very well protected and generally at the easy end of the spectrum (so perfect for me!). You can see some photos here. We also wandered up to the foot of the South Rib multi pitch route (6 pitches, IV+) which looked rather intimidating.
On Monday 25th June my Dad and I tried the fabulous 
Via Ferrata Tomaselli which takes you to the top of Punta Sud in the Lagazuoi group. The route is sustained and strenuous in places with some fantastic exposure on the final section as you bridge across a corner with hundreds of meters of nothing beneath you! All the cabling was immaculate and the unprotected sections were not desperately exposed (perhaps grade 1 scrambling in the UK). You can see some photos here.
On Monday night Adam, Gavin and Hugh (who are all colleagues of mine) arrived and the following morning we all went up to Passo Gardena. From there Adam, Gavin and 
Hugh went up Gran Cir whilst my Mum, Dad and I went up Piz da Cir V. Once they had descended from Gran Cir Adam and Gavin also climbed up Piz da Cir before we all headed back to the pass. I had done both of these routes before and they make a lovely combination, especially as an introductory day. My Mum really enjoyed the exposure and feeling achievement that came with getting to the top! Photos from that day are here.
The next day we embarked on Via Ferrata Michielli Strobel which involves about 950m of ascent and takes you to the summit of Punta Fiames. We had a good time on the route which feels quite long! The scariest part was definitely a ladder near the top which looks ready for the scrap heap! To make matters worse there is no cable along the ladder so the best you can do is clip into the rungs and hope they would hold the weight of a fall. The descent involved 300m of steep scree that was best tackled by running/skiing/surfing! Pictures are here.
On Thursday we all went to Sas de Stria to do some sport climbing and this time my Dad took his ice axe along to carve a platform in the left over snow for us to climb from! After we finished climbing Adam, Gavin and Hugh scrambled to the summit of Sas de Stria via its north-west ridge.
The following morning we drove back past Sas de Stria on the way to attempt Via Ferrata Giovanni Lipella which leads you almost to the summit of Tofana de Rozes. The route starts by going through some wartime tunnels. You then step out onto a ledge which leads down to where we crossed a couple of easy angled snow filled gullies. The route continues along some fabulously exposed ledges weaving up and down along the side of the mountain. All the serious sections are protected but there are some small ledges that you have to negotiate without the comfort of a cable. By the time we reached the “lunch stop” (as described in the guidebook) it was 15:00. We had set off at about 10:30 so had taken significantly longer than the g
uidebook time.
After a short lunch we continued along an especially exposed ledge with no protection to the start of the final pull up. The end of the route has significant exposure and involves strenuous and steep climbing, it’s awesome! After about an hour and a half we finally reached the end of the cable and had a magnificent view of the summit. Tempting as it was to reach the top we realised that the weather was changing and that we still had a fairly tricky descent to make. Half an hour after starting our descent a storm developed with some thunder and lightning that sounded very close by! Our total descent time was about one and a half hours. I think this route provides a really good day out but it is harder than the guidebook implies. My Dad checked the total ascent based on his GPS track log and it turned out to be about 1500m. That makes it similar to some of the harder Scottish mountain days n terms of ascent with the added difficulty of altitude and concentrated climbing for a lot of the route. You can see photos here.
On Saturday we 
spent a short while in the lovely Vallon combe trying some of the sports climbs that this location has to offer. To get to the sport climbing you simply follow the path sign posted to the Piz da Lech Via Ferrata and soon you will see bolts on the rock walls to the right of the path. The first climb didn’t appear to have any bolts so we tried the next one along. Bolts were fairly spaced (every 4-5m) but the climbing was fun. At the top I traversed along to the top of the first climb and clipped the rope in so that we could top rope it. By top roping it we discovered that there were some fairly old looking pitons hidden in some cracks! I attempted one more climb further left which was steeper and harder. I got as far as the third clip before being lowered off. You can see photos here.
For Sunday we had planned to drive round to Passo
Pordoi so that we could attempt Via Ferrata Cesare Piazzetta on Piz Boe. Unfortunately by 8:00am all the roads out of Corvara were closed for a cycling marathon. After some discussion we decided to take the Vallon chair lift up from Corvara and walk to the start from its top station. This proved to be a fairly pleasant approach, in fact it was probably preferable to the long drive we had planned! The route itself is tough but really enjoyable. Once you reach the end of the cable a bit of a slog leads you up to the summit of Piz Boe which makes a fine finish to the day. It was then about one and a half hours back down to the chair lift top station. Pictures from that day are here.
On Monday Gavin, Adam and Hugh headed back to the UK. Mum, Dad and I went to explore Cinque Torri in the afternoon and got caught out in a thunder storm. We therefore had no choice but to retreat to the rifugio for some cappuccino and strudel!
The following day my Dad and I set off early to drive to Passo Fedaia so that we could have a go at Via Ferrata Eterna Brigata Cadore. The recommended way of doing this route is to climb to the top and then take the cable car down. You then have to catch a bus back to where you start. During our drive to the start we stopped off to check that the buses were running and what the timetable was. We left the car at about 8:00 and re
ached the start of the route in about half an hour only to discover it was closed for repair. It didn’t look too bad so we thought we would make a start and see how it went. The cable on the lower section was generally very bad: rusted through in places and elsewhere held together with old bits of rope. I certainly did not feel confident enough to weight it and therefore climbed exclusively on the rock. It is also doubtful whether the cable could have held a fall in some locations. However, as we gained height, the quality of the cable improved (although it remained loose throughout its entire length so climbing on the rock remained the best way to make progress). The route is incredibly long. Once you reach the ridge the cable car station looks like it’s only a stones throw away but there is still quite some di
stance (and a lot of up and down) before you get there! We reached the cable car top station by 15:00 and then caught a cable car down. We had a little wait for our bus and then drove back to Corvara where we arrived just after 18:00. Some pictures of that day are here and here.
On Wednesday we did nothing as we felt that the previous day’s exertions had earned us a rest. On Thursday we went back up to Cinque Torri with the hope of perhaps attempting one of the easier multi pitch climbs. We tried a couple of sports routes (some pictures here) but the rock was very cold and then it started to snow. We decided to call it a day and headed back to the rifugio for some lunch. As we sat in comfort we watched a snow storm develop and some climbers abseil off the route we had considered attempting. During our meal we had a lovely conversation with some Italian school children who were on a two week school trip, spending every night of it in mountain refugios.
All in all it was a fantastic two weeks and I will definitely be returning next year. The combination of via ferratas, sport climbing, multi pitch routes, cable cars and Italian culture is, for me, a real winner!
Useful guidebooks are as follows:
Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites: Vol 1 (Cicerone)
This guidebook covers all the Via Ferratas in the area and is a very useful book to have if you are intending to try any of them.
Arrampicata sportiva a Cortina d’Ampezzo
Guide to sports climbs around Cortina. Covers Cinque Torri and Sas de Stria, both of which are approx. half an hours drive from Corvara.
Dolomites West and East (Alpine Club)
Very comprehensive guide to climbing in the Dolomites. Focus is on traditional multi pitch routes but a summary of sport climbing areas is included.
Classic Dolomite Climbs (Baton Wicks)
A very well produced guidebook that covers 94 of the best climbs in the area. The majority of the routes are in the range V-VI.
A lot of information (including detailed descriptions of a lot of the Via Ferrata) is also available on the www.dolomiti.org website.
went to was Canpagne – more information in French here (or try the Google translation). Finding the crag from the car park (located opposite the camp site) was very straightforward as it was signposted all the way! There was a beginners area with plenty of short climbs (about 15ft) all in the range F4 – F5. I managed to get up a couple of those without too much difficulty. The main crag itself is harder. I got half way up the easiest looking route before backing off. The main crag is significantly higher at about 30ft – 50ft.
ed two kayaks from Conoe Detente located at Port d'Enveaux. They took us by minibus 28km upstream and then we paddled back downstream at a leisurely pace. There were numerous places along the way where we could pull over to have a drink and/or snack. It was a really enjoyable day out and I would recommend it to anyone.
