Italian Dolomites September 2009

N Demmar , Matt Wyon-Brown, Martin Fowler, Graham Sheppard, Aidan & Adrian Woollaston

Neil's account - Day 1
The Team does” Dolomite”
Graham arrived as planned and left the Beamer at my house, Picked up Thompson (Martin) on the way to Bristol. Managed to squeeze in a pint of beer in a local pub before we left blighty! Weighed bags in car park to get things right. Used Graham’s scales, now we know why you thought you weighed less!!
Bristol airport as usual. Book in bags with Easy jet and their dodgy scales already reading 1.5 kilo! (We soon had that at zero) Neil won the heaviest bag again!!, yet to be beat. Then straight to Subway and have a good snack, customs, duty free, on plane. That was the plan anyway except the delay... Not too bad, also said hello to Neil Burge working on security at airport (nice suit!) Good flights, arrived picked up hire cars and enter the world of darkness on the wrong side of the road. Stopped on the way to Cortina for a road side fix of coffee and crisps. The team were in good spirit despite the late hour. Stopped at a small village near destination to examine the roadside pull off known locally as the Sheppard step (not Hillary step on Everest) although nearly as big! Years before GraHam (despite warning) flung a nearly new Merc of the road onto the step...It’s a long story. Got to destination eventually..Hurrah!! Opened door and saw several dead animals on the wall watching us enter. We roamed the large house for next few minutes deciding on what room looked the least haunted!! Some of the group seemed slightly on edge with the accommodation. Still we had the little something!! That our host had left for us to indulge. Little something yes..The small bottle of wine that no one ever liked was left for us. The Italian equivalent of a “Neisteiner Gutomple” and clears drains/Adrian.
Lights out (left a few on) off to bed.

Adrian's account - Day 2
Due to a very late arrival and a dubious bottle of Red in the early hours of the morning the day started slow with the party splitting in different directions in search of various supplies.The afternoon destination was decided as a visit to the Auronzo area, listed as Auro 2 graded 2B involving 550m of ascent/descent to a maximum altitude of 2298m. For some of the party this was their first experience of Via Ferrata (VF) climbing and for others a re-acquaintance with this type of protected climbing from our previous trip to the area in 2006. The drive in is well described in the guide book and over a 1000m of the ascent is achieved by ever tightening zig zag switch backs opening out at Pian dei Buoi at 1810m where we left the cars. It is a short walk up to Refugio Ciadeido accessing the waymarked path system. This is a circuitous route which circumnavigates Monte Ciadeido (2504m) taking about 4 hours. It is a very interesting introductory route; the photos cannot quite reproduce the stunning 360 panorama of the surrounding mountain ranges or the overwhelming presence of the rock and importantly the exposure of the route.

Neil's account - Day 2
All rose few hours later complaining of beds and being touched in the night!! Is it haunted? Met Mrs Emily the house keeper, she was fluent in Italian, Italian and Italian. We handed her a deposit and she showed us around the very large but below average house. Bit disappointed with accommodation despite the months of trawling internet and hrs of research. We split for shopping and things. Me Aiden and Matt headed for Codor Vitto had a coffee and toast for £21.00!!.All met at house later, decided on route as described in Adrian’s day 2. Team went up went along did a bit of via ferrata and went down. Plus the several thousand hairpin turns in the car. No beer on way home. Cooked, drank went to bed. (still left lights on!) Definitely haunted?

Adrian's account - Day 3
Cristallo Range
After the blow out of the previous afternoon it was thought prudent to build up steadily but to spread our wings to explore what other areas had to offer. The chosen route was VF Marino Bianchi listed as Cort 5 and is highly recommended 2B route (with a caveat that it is very popular) the starting point is from the terrace of Rifugio Lorenzi which is accessed by a two-stage lift from Rio Gere (above Cortina d’Ampezzo) the second stage is something of an experience with the ageing two person cars looking like a string of alternate red and yellow Christmas lanterns revolving their way up into the clouds. The attendants have a very curt manner but then you don’t have time to hesitate let alone argue about the niceties of customer service. The route takes you out to the summit of Cima di Mezzo (3154m) in a very airy atmosphere from the start, there is no great ascent/descent with this route, rather it follows the ridge line out to the summit with fixed protection for most of the way. The photos demonstrate the feeling of being in the clouds and consequently the amazing views became intermittent. Rifugio Lorenzi is the starting point for another more demanding 8 hour route (saved for another time) VF Ivano Dibona 100m of ascent/1600m of descent which incorporates the longest suspension bridge in the Dolomites this is clearly visible from the Rifugio and presented an irresistible photo opportunity, it is not hard to understand why it is a location used extensively in filming - Bond films and amongst others Cliffhanger (what a classic that was!)

Neil's account - Day 3
Up in good time to get out early! Weather still good. Heading high today as Adrian’s Day 3. Matt and I found out that if you swing a chair lift with Graham in it he turns a different colour. We had 20 mins of fun with that. Never got him to turn brown! Perhaps next time.Graham also impressed us when he exited the chair lift before the mat!! That had to hurt! We walked a few meters then got into little capsules that looked like a bean neckles going up the mountain. Impressive way to die! Got to top and got on the via ferrata ASAP. Met some Brits at top, on the way up, on the way down, some queuing but OK. Down via neckles lift and chair (Graham not in ours on way down) car, town and Beer!! Must mention the very hospitable lift attendants with a great warm sense of humour. Then there were the ones we had ARRGH...
Home after beer, food, Bed..

Adrian's account - Day 4
Passo Falzerego
This a spectacular high level mountain pass with substantial infrastructure for the ski season but is equally well serviced for access to the mountains with a good path network, cable car and bolted route climbing as well as traditional routes. This particular area is also of note for some thought provoking WW1 remains more exploration later. Today we are here for climbing and to find out what fun can be had on the bolted routes. Overlooking the car park, a relatively short haul to the base of the rock wall and below the cables is a selection of bolted routes at different and challenging grades, this is where we settled in for the day (later in the day Aidan went off exploring) there appears to have been some renewal of the bolts and signs remain of the original routes indeed most of what we found throughout the week was very well maintained from bolts to Via Ferrata wires and fixings.
In between climbing and belaying there is opportunity to take it all in – wherever you look it is spectacular from near, middle to far distance there is something to draw the eye; in so doing the ideas for day 4 started to form. The weather stayed good all day and we stayed until early evening trying out different challenges and hat off to Martin for his ability (and help)

Neil's account - Day 4
Everyone survived another night! Phew. Off to Passo Laz.....for some climbing, Weather good. A fun day being Rock Jocks (sounds like) Aiden went walkabout. Plenty of good routes, lots of people around. Never seen or heard so many motorbikes. All Cream Crackered after climbing. Beer.Car.Shopping .Cooking. Movie (Gran Torino) thanks Neil. More movies later that Adrian had brought?? Flying pigs or something .Went to bed.

Adrian's account - Day 5
Passo Falzerego – the return
Neil and Martin were destined for some trad route climbing they had scoped out the day before. The remainder of the party parted with €9.60 each and took the cable car to the immediate summit where there has been some reconstruction of the Austrian front lines from WW1 1914 – 1917. The Austrians commanded the high ground and the fields of fire across the pass below but the Italians achieved something which unless seen with your own eyes is hard to comprehend. The Italians secured a foothold on the Martini Ledge sheltered to a degree from the Austrians and from there embarked on a project which would see the Austrians abandon the summit. They started to tunnel into and up through the mountain, their plan was to place explosives below the positions above. They tunnelled up removing the spoil at night or during snow storms to keep from discovery, they used compressed air tools so had engine rooms and pipelines and for the workers, accommodation was built in with water supplies. As they neared their objective geophones detected the Austrians tunnelling down so a diversionary tunnel was also constructed. Eventually the Italians detonated a 33 tonne mine the effect of which is still quite apparent, a great victory was claimed however the Austrians had abandoned their positions and replied that it was a ‘hollow’ victory (pun intended) So why the history lesson? Our objective today was to descend through what remains of the Lagazuoi tunnel, amazingly 650m of vertical descent is still accessible with the occasional window to gauge your progress as your legs start to feel the burn! We returned to the car park by midday from where we embarked on the second leg of the day. Taking path 441 we struck out for Averau, a prominent rock tower that stands out alone in the landscape. The path follows a route around the back of Averau to Rifugio Averau – the guide book recommends the use of the ski lifts to the Rifugio – from where a path up the scree slope is signposted to the start of the short but perfectly formed VF, 75m graded 2A. Although short the VF is very much worth the effort with good moves and a chimney alternative route, but then it is a bit of a slog to the summit at 2649m. The route out and back from the Passo car park involves about 520m of ascent/descent and takes about 4.5 hours.

Neil's account - Day 5
Another night survived!!
Thompson and I up early to climb South Arête on Torre Piccola di Falzarego V + 230metres.Got to foot of climb by 9.30am. Already several teams on route more arriving!! We did 2 pitches and decided that queuing on this route was wrong and dangerous! We abed off. Spent a while feeling grumpy and looking for something else. Finally decided on West Face Torre Grande IV+ 230 metres.  2499m high. Went for it, no one else on route, thank god. Top pitch was like climbing through a bag of rice!! Lots of shouts of below....Finished route ,horrid descent, Beer, Shopping, Cards, Thompson stroped off to bed early saying Crap music, crap cards.....All went to Bed.

Adrian's account - Day 6
Misurina
This is another pass between mountain ranges but has a number of hotels and again is set out for the adventurist ski, trek climbing or fishing in Lago Misurina. The path we were looking for proved elusive and resulted in a more direct approach through the scrub until the path revealed itself. Eventually we reached the base of the rock face upon which Neil and Martin were going to test themselves while the remainder of us picked out a couple of single pitch routes to continue our education on trad leading. It became apparent through the day that this area, again, is well provisioned for climbers with bolts placed for belay and abseil points. On return to the cars, we discovered that the path we couldn’t find at the start is cunningly disguised behind a hotel and information sign – very helpful! Some of us took the opportunity to stretch out our legs around the lake before returning to our base for a cleanup and a night out in Cortina.

Neil's account - Day 6.
All survived again.
Thompsom apologises for being grumpy last night.
Weather still OK, All off to Lake Misery Ok Misurina. Parked near path we thought. Finding the path through the trees was like some people finding their wallets to buy beer (impossible!) We went off road and straight up. Legs burning...Found path and soon at foot of crag. Weather changing.
Thompson and I headed for East Face of “Mazzorana” IV  130m. End height 2224m. 2 really good pitches and a couple of very average ones. Watched others disappear from view as they had finished their climbs for day. Remember Matt..Always make sure the rope pulls free. Prevents the E1 down climb!!
Car,Beer,Shops home, shower and back to town (Cortina) Good meal, crap beer, all tired, no really good places to drink, cramped car drive home (thanks Graham for driving) Cards. Bed.

Adrian's account - Day 7
Col Rosa
This was a revisit from our previous trip in 2006 but why not? - This is a fantastic route even if the descent is pretty hard.
Col Rosa is summit ed at 2166m by VF Ettore Bovero 300m at grade 3B and 900m of ascent and descent in total. The approach to the climb is on good paths which zig zag steadily up through the forested landscape to a path junction and then on up to the start of the VF. The climb follows an exposed ridge for a good part with a very airy and exposed feel. The climb is over all too soon and a lunch stop on the summit is followed by some exploration of the War remains as the summit has been hollowed out to allow a virtual 360 of the ground below. The descent path is quite direct and is particularly hard on the legs. For those brave enough a dip in the melt water of the river alongside the path will soon make you forget the agony message from your legs and virtually numb any and all other senses.
Our final day done and suitably exhausted, we retired to Hotel Fiames for a celebratory drink and to reflect upon yet another ‘excellent adventure’ (to quote Bill & Ted)

Neil's account - Day 7
Up good time weather OK Headed for a Via Ferrata some had done before. Parked at the Fiames airfield! Good walk in See Adrian’s day 7. We had a coffee at Fiames hotel the scene of many laughs a few years ago. Yes still the same staff.. Pink bath! Car, Shopping, Ferraris in Cortina (Wow) Rain, Rain...Cooking, Packing Cards, Bed.

Neil's account - Day 8
All survived.
Going home...Car..Airport delays..Car (batteries, remote control, Landover not working Matt..Batteries Landover working..Home..Arrrrhhhh.
Great holiday again....
See U all soon Neil.