VIA FERRATAS OF THE ITALIAN DOLOMITES
VOLUME 2: SOUTHERN DOLOMITES, BRENTA AND LAKE GARDA AREA
by
Graham Fletcher and John Smith
Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal LA9 7RL
About the Authors
When Graham Fletcher started climbing, you had to file the threads out of nuts to make running belays and Bonington was clean-shaven. However, the demands of an academic life and, later, a busy professional career took care of the next 30 years. After rediscovering his sense of priorities, Graham took early retirement and took up where he left off. He’s still trying to figure out how Friends work.
John Smith has been walking and climbing mountains around the world for about 30 years, but his first visit to the Dolomites was not until 1998, when he fell in love with the mountains, culture and Via ferratas. In ticking off routes with a growing passion, he recognised the need for an up-to-date English-language guidebook, and also found that many routes existed which had not been published at all in English. Researching the new routes for this second volume has provided many more enjoyable and exciting days in the Dolomites.
© Graham Fletcher and John Smith 2003
Revised and reprinted 2005, 2008, 2012, 2015 and 2019
ISBN 13: 978 1 85284 380 9
ISBN 10: 1 85284 380 2
All photographs © John Smith and Graham Fletches unless otherwise indicated
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Dedication
We want to dedicate this guidebook, and give special thanks, to all the people we have met in carrying out our research. Their friendliness and helpfulness, especially in the face of our limited Italian language skills, has been a very warming experience. We give particular thanks to the Trentino tourist offices and their people, without whose help and information this book would have been a lot more difficult to produce. Many thanks to everyone.
Route Closures
Anyone planning a trip to the Dolomites area should be aware that via ferrata routes are closed from time to time, either to repair damaged protection, or to assess the stability of areas of rock. It is always difficult to say with any certainty how long routes will remain closed, since it is necessary to arrange for funding for proper assessments of rock stability, and the works judged to be necessary to return the routes to a safe condition.
While these closures may be inconvenient for ferratists trying to plan trips, we should take comfort from the fact that the local sections of CAI, and the local authorities, are impressively vigilant in ensuring our safety.
Updates to this Guide
While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/380/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal LA9 7RL.
Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk.
Front cover: Climber on a high level traverse above the town of Mori on Via Ferrata O. Marangoni, Monte Albano (ROVER 4)
CONTENTS
Map Availability and Place Names