Italy and the Dolomites
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Hey everyone, My SO and I are starting to plan out our schedule for the summer and we’re thinking 3-4 weeks in Italy. We’re hoping to enjoy the Dolomites as well as the historical places around Italy. Of course we hope climbing is a big part of that— Sport, gear, alpine whatever’s fun in Italy. Since we’re still brainstorming ideas; does anyone want to share any of their experiences or beta on their climbing/travels to Italy? Anyone have experience renting and traveling out of a van in Italy? Any must do climbs, hikes, vistas? Any stand out days you experienced? Thanks for sharing! |
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The multis are really really chossy, but you can find good rocks if you stick to single pitches. The coffee will taste amazing and they cheese is unbelievably cheap. |
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I have a friend who might be able to Airbnb at the dolomite. He's climbed some out there are well. Would Airbnb be an option for ya? |
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Was there many years ago with non-climber friends. You will encounter lots of old fortifications from WWI. I wish I had read up on that front before going so that I could appreciate what I was seeing. Enjoyed the coffee, the wine, the wood-fired pizza, backpacking on the Alta Via, and doing a few Via Ferrata. Check out the one on the Cadinsptize, which we did from the campsite on the valley floor. Would have been better to do it from the rifugio. http://www.mollpix.eu/ferrata-merlone-nord-oestliche-cadinspitze.html |
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Single pitch sporto climbing in the Dolomites - seems like there are a million better crags around Europe for that sort of thing. Dolomites are about long, alpine, routes on proud looking towers and faces. Spent a total of 5 weeks there some 10 years ago and it was a blast. Rock quality and protection are part of the adventure (and really not too bad overall). To get your juices going, check out the Tre Cime di Lavaredo area for starters; eg. Spigolo Giallo on Cima Piccola, Cassin on Piccolissima, Comici on the north face of Cima Grande. All are amazing routes. |
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I have only done a few routes in one small section (Sella Pass) of the extensive area, so have limited personal experience, but disagree with the poster above who, in a very generalized 'sweep', described the multi-pitch routes as "really chossy", There are definitely a good number of those--and some even worse, but on the routes that we did, most of the rock was quite reasonable (I doubt if there is much rock that can be considered 'perfect' in the alpine environment), even excellent much of the time, and I am aware that there are many Dolomite climbs that fit this description, especially popular classics. I do agree with 'rpc', that unless very restricted by time or weather, the reason to climb in the 'Dollies' is for the multi-pitch, not the short sport routes--though the latter are fun for 'rest' days. |
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Cinque Torri is fun for a few days of cragging on towers in a spectacular setting. It is within a short stroll of two refugios with good food and drink. For pure sport climbing fun, Arco revolves around that and is a relatively short drive from the Dolomites. |
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I was there for three weeks last summer and we rented a camper van through indie camper.com. We chose to fly into Milan which has a van depot a few miles from the airport. Get the park4night app to help you find car camping spots. From Milan we went to lake Garda for a few days and sport climbed at Arco. The rest of the trip we focused on alpine climbing eventually going to Venice and back to Milan to make a loop. Lots of choss and janky gear on the alpine routes but if you keep the grade appropriate for your level it's a great time. I recommend spending a few nights at the Vajolet Hut near Val di Fassa for the experience. There's great alpine climbing right out the back door and they serve you incredible food. Very civilized experience compared to the U.S. |
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Thanks for all the answers so far everyone! Definitely gives us more to look up and get inspired by as we plan. Gumby King: if the Airbnb is within our budget we’ll probably be doing one of those for a couple nights a week at least! Chris M: thanks for the beta on your trip, really helpful! A little clarification: We want to check out the Dolomites for sure. We also want to climb anywhere in Italy (including the Dolomites of course) whether it be trad, sport, or alpine. We don’t have the intention of going single pitch sport climbing in the alpine lol |
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Hi Cesar, since you're looking for places besides the Dolomites as well, there's shedloads further south - I think of Italy as basically one giant rock spur running into the Med... I've been in Rome off and on for the last couple of years and only just scratched the surface, but some suggestions (running N to S roughly): - Finale, Liguria: world class sport climbing - Le Marche and Gran Sasso: trad and semi-bolted sport multipitching with an alpine feel on limestone peaks up to circa 2500M - Argentario (Tuscany): peninsula with some seacliff multipitches - Within 1.5 hour radius of Rome: more single pitch sport climbing in the wooded Apennine valleys than you can shake a stick at - Gaeta (near Naples): sea cliff multipitches - Palinuro (Cilento National Park in Campania): sea cliff sport climbing (belay from the beach, or in the sea) Some of these places are going to be pretty scorchio in the summer, especially further south, although I was climbing in Sicily in August and you do get used to it - as long as you're in the shade. As for historical places, where to start... I guess you can't really avoid Rome / Florence, but some of the lesser known places are definitely worth a look, e.g. Paestum (the temples!), Ostia Antica outside Rome (like Pompeii but fewer people), and some of the smaller hilltowns in the middle of Italy are pretty amazing places to wander round, like Gubbio or Spello in Umbria, and Pietracamela in Abruzzo. Anyway, I could go on... Drop me a line if you want any more suggestions or decide to head south when you're here and want to meet up to climb. And enjoy the trip! Cheers Will |
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Hello Cesar and anybody else interested in the Dolomites. I am a Californian who fell in love with the area many years ago. I recently bought an attic apartment in the geographic center of the eastern dolomites. It's in a tiny historic village called Sottoguda. Multi Pitch is everywhere and I agree with the folks who say the dolomites are about long trad more than single pitch. I am happy to share the space when I am there or rent it when I am not (it's very affordable for American standards and in an amazing location). Honestly, as much as I love my place, the Dolomites are best explored through the use of the Refugios. Feel free to contact me for general beta or if you need a place to stay. furnituremaker3@gmail.com.............................................................. oh, did I say I lead hut to hut via ferrata trips in the summer, and don't forget the skiing is out of this world. There is already a ton of snow. I'll be there mid feb to mid march, come on down. |
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PTR wrote: Those ladders are super fun and it's easy to get to Tre Cime from there (walking avoids the 25 euro toll road). Just a heads up, if you are staying at Fonda Savio I have a few tips. 1) Because of Covid, they aren't providing blankets. They are providing pillows 2) The food is fantastic 3) The hut is a CAI hut so super affordable for members. 4) It is run by a brother and sister duo. Both can be very surly. The sister rubs me the wrong way, I just smile and try to ignore her, hospitality is not her thing. Knowledge and experience, they both have!!! |
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Cesar, it sounds like you’re asking about climbing and other cultural sites as well. It’s a remarkable country. I’ve been four times and feel like I’ve just scratched the surface. I’ve climbed some on a couple of those trips. I spent a couple weeks doing hard sport climbing at Arco and my wife and I spent part of our honeymoon in the Dolomites just hiking and doing via ferrata. Make sure you visit the big three: Rome, Florence and Venice. Each is a remarkable city with a lifetime of things to explore. Unfortunately, lots of popular attractions like the Vatican and Colliseum require that you sign up with a tour unless you want to wait for three hours to get in (trust me you don’t). When in Florence, I suggest renting a car (reserve before you leave the US) and spent a couple of days touring Tuscany and visiting places like Montalcino, Montepulciano, etc. We buy a bottle of brunello every year to celebrate our anniversary and drive through that area. The Dolomites are remarkable. We stayed in Corvara, which is between Garda and Sella passes. Close to nice climbing (which we didn’t get a chance to hit) and some nice via ferrata, which we did. Try to time that part of your trip for July onward since it can be very rainy through much of June. The ski lifts will also be running, which make it easier to access some peaks and via ferrata. A car will be a big plus to get around since public transport doesn’t always go where a climber would. We wanted to do a well known via ferrata called the via tridentina but couldn’t swing it without a set of wheels. I also would recommend checking out the WW I fortification, which we also missed but look remarkable. I’d love to go back with my boys in tow. I’d also love to do one of the longer hut to hut hikes like the Alta Vias. Hike all day through amazing mountain scenery and crash at a hut with beer, speck and pasta. Not bad. When visiting, I’d suggest figuring out where in the range you want to visit and pick a base to stay. Try to find a guidebook before you leave. I have one for via ferrata. If you need, I could copy and scan some of it for you (but I’d need to find it first). Just let me know. Arco doesn’t get a lot of love these days, but the climbing is great and varied. It’s also right by Lago di Garda, which is the biggest and cleanest of the three northern lakes. Excellent windsurfing if you’re into that, as well as plush days swimming and chilling. There’s also a nice campground with showers, a pool and the bouldering area right across the road where I met folks to climb with while I was there. I’ve stayed in Finale, which is a great beach area, but couldn’t climb since I didn’t have a car. Easy to hit the Cote D’Azur while you’re there, which is just a short train ride away. |
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I've done a couple summer trips to Arco + Dolomites (Arco mostly to wait out the rain). It is definitely one of my favorite places; can't beat doing over a thousand feet of climbing and then catch a glass of wine and a gondola back to the car! Arco itself is definitely hot in the summer but there are some higher altitude crags nearby so it is a fine spot to be based out of. I was never really pushing the grade in terms of the multi-pitches, but on many of the climbs I did the gear was more sparse than one might be accustomed to in say Yosemite Valley where one follows fairly obvious crack systems. I think it might have been the last location I placed tricams...The choss factor I found was quite minimal if one was on route, and got incredibly terrible off route (a useful tool to use...) One random spot to check out is the La Sportiva Factory outlet store if you like their shoes. Some good deals to be had there! :) |
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Agree with doing long multipitch if you are there, great lines and faces to do. Enjoyed the long climbs near Cortina and Sella pass. Less pro and harder route finding than you might expect, bring cord to tie off holes in the rock. Loved (unexpectedly) the via ferrata. Pick out the hardest ones and go nuts. Recommend strongly the Giovanni Lipella ferrata and the sketchy rusty ladders that go vertical for 100s of meters in the Brenta Dolomites. Lots of nice moving over steep stone in the Dolomites. |
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Hi Cesar, I live nearby and I started to climb in the dolomites, so for me the rock is perfect :P If you like granite, the center/west side of Alps are plenty of great climbiings. Dolomites have everything in a nutshell, this is the great charme: History, culture, landscape, food, hospitality, variety in less than 100km Cortina it's also at 2hr driving from Venice, so it could be a good combination. Feel free to contact me for info and betas Cristiano |
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I climbed in the Dolomites in 2019. Here is something I wrote for the Dolomite area comment section: |
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Following. Hoping to go in early September but hesitant to commit and get the airline tickets. Is the covid situation ok enough to pull the trigger? |
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splitclimber wrote: I'm set to go in about three weeks for a Dolomites ski trip. Covid requirements are not bad. Go to the State Department and CDC sites and read up. Italy does have a super green card or such that gets you indoor access. If your vaccination record is within 6 months of travel you qualify for one. I would wait until 60 days out or such before buying just as a general rule. |
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Cesar, There is more than one lifetime of things to do just in the Dolomites. A good intro for a climber would be to base out of the Canazei area or Cortina. Canazei may be more affordable but not by much. Both have very nice campgrounds if you're considering taking or buying a tent upon arrival. Showers, restaurants etc in the camps. The Canazei one is right in town so easy to walk to dinner or shops. Campitello also has a nice camp. The Cortina campgrounds are less convenient either north in the woods or at the south edge of town. Canazei climbing access is very good and to more manageable objectives. Cortina gets you to Cinque Torri easily. Wherever you go you'll be looking at hundreds of pitches just by walking out the door. We have in the past bailed out during wet weather to Arco or Finale. If it is not too hot you can climb Finale in the shade. |