via ferrata NorthEast Italy / Dolomites 2015

I did five difficult or long Via Ferrata routes in the Dolomites this September. I had some good days of high-mountain weather. I found them sufficiently fun and interesting that they "crowded out" my desire for other Dolomites climbing.

VF Alleghesi on Civetta - [ map ]

• Civetta (3200m) is a famous climbing peak of the Dolomites.
• rather long route (+800m vertical in VF, almost +2000m total)
• but no sections very strenuous.
• lots of impressive "alpine" rock situations.
• lots of transitions, no long boring sections.
• committing: No "escape" until high on the route, and even then you're on difficult terrain.
• some opportunities for "free" climbing moves with hands and feet directly on the rock - (but the route is so long that I found myself grabbing the cable for Aid just to save time).
• descending the Normal route was not much fun -- way too much on scree of inconvenient size; also losing the route, steep down-scrambles.

VF Via Eterna / Brigata Cadore - [ map ]

• sort of along the Serauta ridge of Marmolada (highest + snowiest peak of Dolomites)
• but ... does not go near any of the Marmolada summits.
• views over the big close Marmolada glacier.
• option of riding mechanical lift back down -- but that still requires riding an infrequent bus or walking/running an 600 vertical meters (gentle smooth) of additional uphill work.
• the climbing is not as interesting or fun as I was hoping - not much on the crest of the ridge - (unless you like lots of class 3-4 slab, and/or lots of horizontal traversing across a face).
• fairly long route, but no sections struck me as strenuous.
• Next time I might do just the upper ridge section out and back from the lift top station (instead of climbing up all the way from the bottom at Passo Fedaia).

VF Cesare Piazzetta on Piz Boe - [ map ]

• highest summit in the Sella group
• with hut serving snacks on top.
• good for riding mechanical lift back down.
• not much opportunity for "free" rock climbing moves -- mostly done with the Aid of grabbing the steel cable.
• fairly strenuous starting Aid section -- eastern Alps VF difficulty rating at least D (or I'd say D/E due to polished rock).
• I brought a 16-meter section of climbing rope (and some biners to help direct the rope), climbed ahead and above Sharon, set up anchor on VF fixed hardware, gave her a normal rope belay -- so for her that hard section was like following a multi-pitch climb.

VF Sci Club 18 - [ map ]

• mid-mountain, at Falloria ski lift of Cortina d'Ampezzo
• second most difficult in the Dolomites -- eastern Alps VF difficulty rating E.
• excellent for riding mechanical lift up and down.
• offers the option of lots of interesting "free" climbing moves with hands and feet directly on the rock. Lots of fun moves in the Euro 5a to 5c range, some 6a. Doing the whole thing "free" must require difficuly at least Euro 6b (if it's possible at all).
• I used special VF equipment (Skylotec Skyrider) which when used correctly prevents me from taking a substantial fall.
• committing: no escape anywhere along the way.

VF Magnifico Quattro - [ map ]

• low mountains, SW from main Dolomites, near Pozza di Fossa
• newly constructed, has most difficult VF crux sequence in the Dolomites - (eastern Alps VF difficulty E+ ? F ?)
• not much opportunity for "free" rock climbing moves -- mostly done with the Aid of grabbing the steel cable.
• much of the rock surface was kinda dirty.

VF Magnifici Quattro

This new Via Ferrata route is by Pozza di Fossa (which is not far from Canazei, roughly on the SW side of the main Dolomites) - see on Map

Reasons to do it:

• most difficult crux sequence of any via ferrata (so far) in the Dolomites.
• climbing in an enclosed space (but not cramped)
• not real big, either in cable-climbing (about +225 vertical meters / +750 ft) or overall vertical including hiking (about +630 vertical meters / +2050 ft).
• nice hut at the top for a snack and drink.
• sheltered from the sun on a hot day.
• nice trails for approach and descent.

Drawbacks:

• dirt on the rock of much of the main cable-climbing section. And dirt on the steep sections of the trail connecting between the two cable-climbing sections.
• little opportunity for “free” climbing moves with both hands and feet directly on the rock (rather than grabbing the cable or other steel aid fixtures).
• fairly long hike/scramble (distance 0.75 km / 0.45 mile) between the two cable-climbing sections.
• no sun for an early start on the cable-climbing section.

Difficulty:
The crux sequence is sustained overhanging, first with some upward moves, then a diagonally rising traverse. Also at least two other shorter overhanging sequences. The cable in these sections has reasonably closely-spaced anchor points. I’d say that someone who is “solid” getting through (French) difficulty 5c overhanging routes in an indoor climbing gym (and is clever about finding ways to rest on the cable and anchor fixtures), should be able to handle it. Or perhaps “solid” on 5b indoor overhanging is sufficient if have a third _short_ leash (say about 50 cm / 20 inches) with its own carabiner, for hanging and resting in the midst of a sequence.
Lots of strenuous moves grabbing the cable: gloves recommended.

Approach:
Drive the SS 48 to Pozza di Fossa. At the roundabout follow sign for Val San Nicolo, roughly SSE. After about 3.5 km (and just after restaurant Malga Crocifisso), the asphalt road forks. Take the left fork, signed “Val San Nicolo”.
. (All the climbing and hiking and the hut at the top are to the North side (climber’s left) of this road).

About another 425 meters after the fork see on the left a substantial wide flat area at the bottom of a rather wide ski trail coming down the slope above. I parked here (GPS latitude longitude approx N46.4181 E11.7258). I had seen a sign lower on the road about payment for parking, but I think the fee applies for the much larger parking area much higher up on the road.
. (Note that the hiking approach directions on the RockFax website as of August 2015 are intended for parking lower than this, so might be confusing if used from this obvious higher parking).

Hike up the asphalt road about 200 meters NE. See a small (non-wooden) bridge across the creek with a building beyond, and sign for “ferrata Magnifici 4”. Turn Left off the asphalt road, cross the bridge (lat long ~ N46.4198 E11.7279), then turn Right (NE) onto a dirt road, up at first. After about 150m it becomes a (nice) hiking trail and goes gently alongside the creek. About 300m from the bridge, the trail turns up away from the creek. Go Left at the first switchback. At the 5th switchback (N46.4227 E11.7289), with a sign “ferrata”, turn Right (E) off the main trail. Good trail goes up NE then N, gets steeper up into a vertical gully in the rock walls, to the bottom of the first Via Ferrata cable-climbing section. Approach hike has uphill about +225 vertical meters / +750 ft.
Note that there is some loose dirty stuff above, so if there’s another party above put helmet on immediately, and consider making preparations for cable-climbing some other place not exposed to stuff falling.

Cable-climbing:
Starts steep and strenuous, though the longer crux sequence is higher up. First cable-climbing section goes upward about +150 vertical meters. Top is at (approx N46.4246 E11.7310).

Next hiking and scrambling (with some cable hand-rails and cable protection) for distance about 750 meters NE then N, with some short downs (total uphill about +135 vertical meters). Finishing steeper to ...

Second cable-climbing section starts (approx N46.42814 E11.7325) with a short overhang, then less strenuous -- overall shorter than the first (about +75 vertical meters). It avoids some steeper walls that could have made it longer. Top is at (approx N46.4279 E11.7319).

Next traverse a short ways left (SW), then scramble up N, bushwhack across gentler grass to reach the hut Rifugio Baita Cuz [www.rifugiobaitacuz.com] (N46.4288 E11.7317).

Descent:
I followed the trail signed “Val San Nicolo” at first E and SE from hut, soon down NW and N, then roughly E to (N46.4283 E11.7453) about 1.2 km from the hut. Overall nice trail with some prettiness. The side trip to the Maelin viewpoint was worthwhile. Then SW and SE and S down to reach the asphalt road at (N46.4247 E11.7460) by the big fee-pay parking lot. Finally about 2 km W then SW down the road back to (free) parking.

Via Eterna - VF Brigata Cadore

Newly equiped and re-opened after being closed for several years. This route follows the lower two-thirds of the NorthEast ridge of Marmolada, one of the great peaks of the Dolomites - the one with the most snow on it - (but this VF does not go to or lead to any summit of Marmolada). Starts at Passo Fedaia at the east end of the Fedaia lake and goes over the summit of Punta Serauta - see on Map

Reasons to do it:

• views over the glacier of Marmolada
• views of all the dramatic peaks of the Dolomites, and farther ranges.
• exposure on traverses along the steep sides of the ridge (and some on crest of ridge).
• World War I structures to explore, at the top.
• snack bar at the top.
• mechanical lift down from top (depends on season: funiviemarmolada.com)

. . . with bus service from lift bottom back up to VF parking (check hours by web search on “bus schedule Caprile Fedaia Marmolada”).

• long (total uphill at least +1100 vertical meters) (guidebook time estimate at least six hours), and

committing (no mid escape) -- but without especially difficult or strenuous crux sections, unless . . .

• opportunity to experience “alpine” conditions: snow, ice, wet rock (early or late season, or soon after storm).
• several opportunities to make a “batman” descent grabbing and hanging out on the taut cable.
• lots of practice on easy slab climbing, with hands used only for balance (or grabbing the cable).

Drawbacks:

• Not much of the route is on or near the crest of a narrow ridge - (because the lower slab section of th ridge is so wide that it’s like climbing a face, and the upper section cable is mostly lower along the side of the ridge).
• Lots of breakable or loose rock - (Welcome to the Dolomites).
• Not many opportunities for fun “free” climbing moves upward using rock hand-holds -- rather than grabbing the cable, or hands touching the rock mainly for balance while easy slab climbing.
• too much easy slab climbing and too much horizontal traversing.
• infrequent bus service from Malga Ciapela (bottom of lift) back up to Fedaia (parking for VF).

Next time I might do just the upper ridge section, out and back from the Forcella Serauta lift top station (instead of climbing up all the way from the bottom at Passo Fedaia).

Approach:
Drive SS 641 to Passo Fedaia (or check bus schedule). Rifugio Passo Fedaia parking lot (GPS latitude longitude approx N46.4532 E11.8899). Park near the lower (E) end, by the large panel sign.
The hike starts by going E _down_ a wide grassy ski piste / trail. Need to find the exit from the piste. Spot it first from the parking: the hiking trail climbs Right (SE) up a steep bushy slope just L of the bottom of a 20-meter high wall. It goes up to a platform, and there are some rocks on that platform to the L of the trail. With the rocks you might (or might not) be able to make out a human-geometry trapezoidal monument.

Start hiking E down the wide grassy slope - (though at least one guidebook suggests instead starting upward from hut). Stay toward the right side (not the beaten path in the center). Well before the bottom of the slope, at its right side see a red+white wood trail sign arrow. On its downhill side it says “Sass del Mul”. Turn Right off the grassy slope and follow the trail SE up steep through bushes at first, along the bottom of a rock wall. Trail is blazed with red/white paint, and straightforward to follow. Many switchbacks as it goes around the E and SE sides of the Sass del Mul (2301m) (a knob which is N from the lower slab of the Serauta ridge). Up to the saddle between the Sass del Mul and the Serauta ridge, then roughly S or SE to an obvious crack in the NW side of the Serauta ridge slab -- which is the start of the via ferrata cable (lat long approx N46.4455 E11.8905).
At least +400 vertical meters (+1300 ft) of uphill in this approach.

VF cable-climbing:
Follow the cable. The highest point is Punta Serauta (2961m).

Difficulty: Eastern Alps VF scale had one section of D in one guidebook before the re-equipment. But climbing it in 2015 after the re-equipment, I did not find anything that hard. So perhaps some new fixed Aid hardware has been added. I'd say nowhere near as difficult as VF Cesare Piazzeta.

Descent:
There are several options. I was happy with what I did: hiked up to the obvious station (“Serauta”) of the mechanical lift (N46.4377 E11.8793).
Snack bar is inside the lift station, and that’s where I bought a ticket to take the lift one-way downward. Then I rode the lifts down to the bottom at Malga Ciapela (N46.4276 E11.9110).

I knew the bus schedule in advance, and it was going to be about two hours to the next bus - (since I had climbed the route from parking up to lift station in less than four hours). So I stashed my equipment, and hiked up the road to Passo Fedaia (with a shortcut onto the steeper grassy ski piste near the top), about +600 vertical meters (+1950 ft) uphill over about 5 km distance. Took me less than an hour. Drove my car back down the road and retrieved my equipment.

VF Sci Club 18

At the Falloria ski lift of Cortina d'Ampezzo - [ see on Map ]
Mid-mountain environment.
Excellent for using assistance of mechanical lift for getting up to start of VF cable route and back down from its finish.
Lots of interesting fun climbing moves.
Significant amounts of loose rock.

Committing route: about +325 vertical meters (+1050 ft) of cable-protected climbing fairly sustained, and I didn't notice any "escape routes".

I've done this one twice now -- would gladly do it again on an uncrowded season + day.

GPS latitude longitude approximate ...

• parking at bottom station of Falloria mechanical gondola lift (N46.538 E12.141)
• start of approach hike at Mandres mid-station of lift (N46.535 E12.158)
• via ferrata bottom start (N46.534 E12.170)
• via ferrata top finish (N46.532 E12.171)
• top station of mechanical lift (N46.533 E12.173)

approach ...

• ride Falloria lift up to Mandres mid-station. Hike on signed well-designed trail (gets steeper) up to start of via ferrata cable (about 285 vertical meters over 1.4 km / +950 ft over 0.85 mile).

The trail (which at first is similar to the way of trail # 206) starts going roughly underneath the overhead lift cable, then to the north (climber's left) of the lift cable, then returns to roughly under the (high overhead) lift cable.

climbing ...

• follow the cable.
• second most difficult VF in the Dolomites, more than one (short) overhanging sequence -- eastern Alps VF difficulty rating E.
• offers the option of lots of interesting "free" climbing moves with hands and feet directly on the rock.
• lots of fun moves in the Euro 5a to 5c range, some 6a (or 6b). Doing the whole thing "free" must require difficulty at least Euro 6c (if it's possible at all).
• but the cable anchors are not well-placed for good protection of many of the "free" climbing moves, so a climber could get seriously hurt if they fall -- either by hitting hard on a protruding object (e.g. rock horn, or steel aid rung, or cable anchor post) or from the impact force on climber's spine or pelvis due to the high "fall factor".
• fixed Aid (by grabbing or stepping on a steel rung or the steel cable) is abundantly available, and many of the climbing moves are much easier (though still strenuous) by using the aids. So it's much less likely that a strong climber would fall, if using the aids.
• but still ... (whether climbing "free" or with aids) ... a fall from many positions on the route could result in serious injury.
• I used special VF equipment (Skylotec Skyrider) which when used correctly prevents me from taking a substantial fall.

descent:

• easiest way is to walk 150 meters to the top station of the Falloria lift, and ride the lift back down to parking. There is a special lift ticket for doing the via ferrata, riding upward only to mid-station, then downward all the way from the top.
• there's also a hiking trail.

VF Alleghesi on Civetta

Civetta (3200m) is a famous climbing peak of the Dolomites, near Alleghe - [ see on Map ]

key ...

• rather long route (+800m vertical in VF, almost +2000m total)
• but no sections very strenuous.
• lots of impressive "alpine" rock situations.
• lots of transitions, no long boring sections.
• committing: No "escape" until high on the route, and even then you're on difficult terrain. Make sure your climbing speed in the first VF sections fits with your available window of stable weather (including time for difficult descent), otherwise turn back down.
• some opportunities for "free" climbing moves with hands and feet directly on the rock - (but the route is so long that I found myself grabbing the cable for Aid just to save time).
• descending the Normal route was not much fun -- way too much on scree of inconvenient size. Also losing the route, and steep down-scrambles.

. See another English-language report
. with lots of photos, and a different hiking approach to the hut

GPS latitude longitude approximate ...

• parking at Palafavera (N46.4006 E12.1013) on a dirt side road.
• hut Rifugio Coldai (N46.3993 E12.0690)
• via ferrata bottom start (N46.3839 E12.0616)
• via ferrata top finish at summit cross (N46.3801 E12.0533)
• hut Rifugio Torrani (N46.3786 E12.0567)

approach:
If parked on the dirt/gravel road, just start walking roughly West, and continue up with various curves for about 6 km.
If parked further north in the main Palafavera parking lot, from its south entrance, walk about 25-50 meters south on the main road. Turn R (SW) onto a well-maintained gravel/dirt road.
After about 6 km going up the dirt/gravel road,
Turn Left (S or SW) onto trail up to Rifugio Coldai hut - many switchbacks.

This hut could also be reached with aid of mechanical lifts from Alleghe on the west side of the ridge. Disadvantage of this is needing to finish the (long) VF and (long) descent and return hike in time before lift stops operating in the afternoon.
Many people sleep at the hut for an early start, but I found the hike up was undemanding, so for me it worked better to just allow extra time, and make a pre-dawn drive to the parking.

Trail south from hut has some ups and downs, some scrambling, at least one cable section. Junction (N46.3861 E12.0634) for access to via ferrata is well-marked with red paint. Bear Right off the main trail and follow the access trail, SW about 200m then SSE 150m, then look carefully for the cable which is bottom start of VF Alleghesi.

climbing ...
Follow the cable, with some gaps for horizontal traverses. Many false summits.

Difficulty on Eastern Alps VF scale: C

Seemed like many opportunities for climbing "free" with hands + feet directly on the rock. But since I had a forecast of late afternoon showers, and I hadn't done it before, I grabbed the cable lots for Aid -- just to get through the route faster, and to save some endurance in my leg muscles. Next time hope to start earlier with better weather forecast, try more of my climbing "free")

High on the route I saw painted instructions for an escape toward the south to the Rifugio Torrani hut. Which gives you a place to spend the night. But it's still a long + difficult descent from there.

I ran into significant snow (in September a few days after a storm) in the upper sections. Many of the upper sections of the route face N or NE.

descent ...
Normal route goes starts down roughly by the summit cross, at first a little SE, then overall E. Sustained steep, lots of slippery scree, scrambling sections, some cable sections. Some traverses not easy to find - red paint marks might be faint. Allow plenty of time and energy for the descent. It's a long way down (1000 vertical meters) to the main trail. Then more ups + downs + scrambling on the main trail, NW then N back to the Rifugio Coldai hut.

statistics ...

• Palafavera hike to Rfg Coldai = up +625m vertical over 4.6km distance
• Rfg Coldai hike to bottom of VF = up +310m vertical over 3.0km distance
• VF Alleghesi to Civetta summit = up +850m vertical over 1.9km distance
• descend Normal route to trail = about 1000m downward over 3km distance
• bottom of Normal hike to Rfg C = up +180m vertical over 3.3km distance
• Total = up +1965m vertical over 15.8km distance

VF Cesare Piazzetta on Piz Boe

Piz Boe is the highest summit of the Sella group of the Dolomites, above Passo Pordoi which is between Canazei and Arabba - see on Map

GPS latitude longitude approximate ...

• parking near war memorial (N46.4911 E11.8275)
• via ferrata bottom start (N46.5022 E11.8304)
• via ferrata top finish (N46.5046 E11.8315)
• Piz Boe summit and hut Rifugio Fassa (N46.5088 E11.8283)
• Pordoi lift top station (N46.5004 E11.8077)
• Pordoi lift bottom station (N46.4885 E11.8108)

key ...

• hut serving snacks on top of Piz Boe.
• good for riding mechanical lift back down (after a significant hike from the summit hut to the lift top station).
• not much opportunity for "free" rock climbing moves -- mostly done with the Aid of grabbing the steel cable.
• fairly strenuous starting Aid section -- eastern Alps VF difficulty rating D/E.
• I brought a 16-meter section of climbing rope (and some biners to help direct the rope), climbed ahead and above Sharon, set up anchor on VF fixed hardware, gave her a normal rope belay -- so for her that hard section was like following a multi-pitch climb.

Thanks for this trip report. I am over in Treviso a couple times a year and will definitely check some of these out. I did Col Dei Bos for my first Via Ferrata back in June and had a great time. I am looking for some harder routes for my next trip so thanks again!

I used a couple sites to track down some routes while i was over in Italy. Links are below.

ukclimbing.com/logbook/map/… - Just use the formatting to the left of the map and then the map pulls up pins for routes. Good for all types of climbing anywhere.

alavigne.net/Outdoors/Featu… - Pretty cool interactive map with a limited amount of Via Ferrata routes, but worth a look.

Yes I thought Col Dei Bos was a nice enough via ferrata. But for me the descent was no fun at all. If I did it again (especially if Sharon were with me) I'd instead try to continue hiking (including more uphill work) to the top station of the Laguzuoi lift, then descend through the Lagazuoi Tunnels route (or ride the lift down).

alavigne.net has helpful detailed reports in English with lots of photos. I contributed some detailed reports and route descriptions on the forum of that site.
Looks like Andrew the site manager has not done any more Dolomites VF climbing in recent years - no new route descriptions - (only one of my five are on his website). And the forum has been inactive for a while.

UKclimbing logbooks -- Thanks for that suggestion. I had not checked them much. For most routes, seems like the descriptions and comments are very short -- though useful enough for what they do say -- not a substitute for a guidebook description.

Then for some of the Dolomites VF routes, I'm seeing helpful detailed descriptions, I think contributed by James Rushforth who is also the author of the recently published guidebook by RockFax. I own a copy of the guidebook, and it's rather helpful (as are other RockFax guidebooks for other regions). Oddly I think I recall noticing that at least one of those detailed VF descriptions had been removed from public access on the RockFax.com website, but continues public on UKclimbing.com. (But so far the UKclimbing.com pages had not come up with high ranking in Google search -- so I found more helpful planning details from non-English websites).

What I miss in those old-fashioned "prose-y" descriptions on UKclimbing (and the RockFax guidebook) is more GPS waypoints (and sometimes compass directions in addition to "left" or "right") . (and numerical distances instead of "a little ways"). I got confused by one of the RockFax descriptions and wasted significant time on the approach to one VF route. I've found that once I misunderstand a couple of the prose description points, sometimes the further ones don't make sense -- or I think I'm on track but really I'm in a completely different location.

Having GPS latitude longitude (and sometimes compass directions) cuts through those interpretation problems. You might not stay on track, but at least you can discover quickly that you've gotten off track. So I've given more of those -- compare my description of VF Magnifico Quattro with UKclimbing.com or the RockFax guidebook.

AlpenVerlag -- Really I think the best VF guidebook is the German-language one from AlpenVerlag. (Also very worthwhile is the Alpenverlag guidebook for VF "klettersteig" in Austria which includes VF in adjoining Germany areas.) Much of that guidebook is in symbolic form or diagrams. English-language summary of each route. Comes with a CD-ROM disk that includes all the GPS waypoints. Makes the English-language Cicerone VF guidebooks for the Dolomites seem like thirty years behind the times.

Ken

I just tried adding a detailed comment to the Logbook page for the VF Magnifici Quattro route on UKclimbing.com

The formatting of paragraphs is terrible for long comments or reports. It's really set up only for short comments.
So I deleted the comment.

Maybe the formatting will work better if I can add a whole new description.

So I just tried that for VF Magnifici Quattro.
Indeed the formatting works much better.
But my submission must be reviewed first by a Moderator, so we'll see in a few days(?) how (or if) it comes out on the public website page.

Ken

Hey man thanks for the awesome report, this is my country so I'm proud of those climbing spots, next you should try the Apuan alps, a lots of nice route,,, cheers