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Dolomites 3000ers, July 2020 – Big and sometimes scary

Dolomites 3000ers, July 2020 – Big and sometimes scary


Postby RobW » Mon Jan 25, 2021 11:55 pm

Date walked: 27/07/2020

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Post-lockdown escape from UK (Episode 4)

July 27 - Aug 1, 2020. With Covid-19 restrictions making flights less attractive, a road trip around the Alps and southern Italy was an obvious choice for 2020, with plenty of 1000m prominence (P1000m) peaks to choose from (Ribus, named after the Indonesian word for 1000, as that’s where the Ribus list started life). When Britain and France lifted their mutual quarantine requirements, I booked at 2-month Eurotunnel ticket and headed for the Alps, with a long list of possible peaks, and a vague plan. As it turned out, the trip included 117 P600m peaks including 74 P1000s, five of them P1500m ultras filling gaps in my Europe collection. These high-prominence peaks are often range highpoints, and given their dominance they are usually excellent viewpoints.

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2020 Peakbagger ascents map: northern and central Italy

I'd driven via France (Episode 1) into Switzerland for a brief foray (Episode 2) before starting on the main focus of my 2020 trip which was the Italian Ribus. The country has 98 P1000s listed, mostly straightforward good quality peaks, several posing more of a challenge, and a few I wouldn’t be climbing – certainly not solo. I peak-bagged my way east (Episode 3), then a good weather week allowed me to tackle some of the harder Dolomites peaks.

July 27 Latemar 2842m P1097 has some moderate scrambling and an exciting via ferrata, with intermittent clouds keeping things cooler and adding atmosphere to the outstanding Dolomitic rock architecture.

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20200727 Latemar from Schenon del Latemar S ridge by Rob Woodall, on Flickr

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Via ferrata crux: downclimb into Forcella del Latemar grande

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Looking W from Latemar summit

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Schenon del Latemar crossed en route

See Ferrata Fun on Latemar for a fuller account.

July 28 The first 3000er of the week, Cima della Vezzana 3192m P1273

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20200728 Cima della Vezzana (centre) and Cimon della Pala (L) from Cima della Rosetta

started easily, with a cable car ride, but it was a hot day and Val dei Cantoni with its limestone walls was like an oven. I was wearing boots, partly to ease a sore foot which developed on the Latemar descent yesterday, but the steep snow slope at its head could have been interesting in trail shoes.

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Val dei Cantoni ascent seen from Passo dei Travignolo

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Vezzana ascent from Passo dei Travignolo (follow the snow up and R

The summit ridge is sensational, but never difficult.

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Vezzana summit ridge

1km SW, Cimon della Pala (3184m P234) looks much harder – another 9m would have made it the Ribu (and presumably off my agenda).

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Cimon della Pala from Vezzana summit

My descent included bonus P100s Cima Corona (socially distanced!)

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Cima Corona

and just above the cable car station, the dramatically situated Cima della Rosetta.

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Cima della Rosetta summit view: San Martino group

A large Radler (shandy) in the shade went down very well before the ride down to the (oddly cooler) valley floor.

July 29 The iconic Monte Pelmo 3168m P1191 had loomed like the sword of Damocles over my trip (it had been on my mind ever since I first saw it in 2017). I was unsure what to make of the notorious Ball's Ledge. Richard had done it unroped years ago. I had nothing better do to on Wednesday - and if I didn’t like it, I could turn back... It’s usually a 2-day route, but with a first-light start I was confident I could do it (or not!) in a day. The SE aspect shows well on the forested approach – only an Irishman could think there might be a non-technical route up there! The Dublin-born John Ball (naturalist, politician and first Alpine Club president) must have put a lot of telescope work (and perhaps Irish whiskey) into his planning.

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20200729 Monte Pelmo S face (Ball's Ledge crosses the partly hidden RHS face)

It was still early as I passed the Rifugio.

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Monte Pelmo ascent - route up there somewhere!? Trail junction near Rifugio Venezia

The start of Ball's Ledge isn’t at all clear, but once found, the route is unmistakable.

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Monte Pelmo ascent: Ball's ledge

It’s outrageously exposed in places,

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Ball's ledge

and 500m long, but the only (semi-) technical parts have (brief but reliable) fixed ropes (by tradition, it’s not a ferrata route). The summit climb then takes the steep and mostly straightforward SE couloir, then an easy snow slope leads to the summit tower - which has its moments and a few route ambiguities.

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Monte Pelmo summit block

At the summit cross I felt smug and ridiculously pleased with myself – until I opened the summit register and realised that it sees an ascent every good weather day! The view to N is dominated by P1000s Tofana di Mezzo, with its memorable ferrata route, and Saturday's goal Punta Sorapiss

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Monte Pelmo summit view: Tofana di Mezzo (L) and Punta Sorapiss

Across the valley is Monte Civetta 3220m P1454 which Lee and I climbed in 2017 – just as dramatic, but that one has a via ferrata. I headed down, Ball's Ledge proving easier in descent as I knew what I was in for, and found a few holds I'd overlooked on the way up.

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Monte Pelmo descent: Punta Sorapiss from Ball's Ledge

July 30, after a morning ascent of the straightforward Monte Cornetto 1792m P799,

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20200730 Monte Cornetto ascent: view north

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Cornetto ascent: just one water fountain

I met Lee for the Rifugio Galassi hut climb. Our target, Monte Antelao 3264m P1735, “King of the Dolomites” (the Dolomites' highest, Marmolada, is Queen) was notorious for an exposed slabby section, even before the 2014 rockfall stripped away a layer of rock, and then another the following year left the route unstable. It had now stabilized, but we reckoned local knowledge would be a good investment.

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Monte Antelao from San Marco hut

Eduardo our guide arrived in time for dinner, and took us up the peak the next day, July 31. The scenery is outstanding, the scrambling is fun, but the Laste slabs are alarmingly polished, apparently needing a few decades weathering to restore them to something approaching their pre-rockfall condition.

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20200731Monte Antelao ascent: carefully up (and especially down) the Laste slabs

We were very happy to have this ultra in the bag, but neither of us plan to return!

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Antelao summitted !

Our descent was to a different hut, the San Marco, at the foot of Punta Sorapiss 3205m P1085. From Antelao this peak looks fabulous – and impossible!

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20200731 Punta Sorapiss from Monte Antelao

Next morning, it still looked impossible on the approach,

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20200801 Punta Sorapiss ascent

but a devious route weaves its way up the SE face, with a typically Dolomitic knotted rope in the key chimney (Alpine III+). Eduardo had us on a short rope, but in truth we could have done this one ourselves.

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Punta Sorapiss: crux chimney (descent view)

We had the tiny summit to ourselves. Due north, Monte Cristallo 3221m P1416 looks fabulous.

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Punta Sorapiss summit: Monte Cristallo

We should climb it sometime - preferably early season while the worst of the screes are snow covered and the peak is reasonably well stuck together.

On the long descent we were nearly wiped out by sheep-induced rockfall, and heavy rain started half an hour after we got back to the car park! I drove SW to escape the weather and continue my peakbagging journey, tackling the remaining doable NE Italy Ribus. I then bagged the five Slovenian Ribus (the Covid restrictions had been lifted by the time I arrived on August 6), before working through central and southern Italy, including island trips to Sicily and Elba, before meeting Lee again for the impressive Argentera 3297 P1295 close to the French border. Then after a selection of fine peaks in SE France (described in Episode 1) I linked with Lee again for a Swiss weekend (Episode 2) before spending my last week in Germany – a week there would count toward the Covid 14-day quarantine period required by the UK; I returned to Britain on Sept 12. An excellent trip exceeding expectations, with an ever changing plan, including many good peaks, some challenging, most of them easy, especially those in Italy.

Route descriptions, GPX route files and Facebook photo albums for the individual peaks, are linked from within this report and can also be accessed via my Peakbagger.com ascents page for 2020
RobW
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 26
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Joined: Dec 16, 2020
Location: Cambridgesghire

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