Dolomites - Part 1

[Mike P.]

Nice pictures, I must get back to Europe, we were in Italian Alps. I've already mapped the trip out, I just have to stay active/alive & wait for the kids to get into their teens.

 

[Head]

WOW! Siiickkk photos Darren! (picking jaw up from floor...) What class routes were you guys on in the Via Ferrata section?? Thanks for sharing the shots!

 

[darren]

What class routes were you guys on in the Via Ferrata section??

The Via Ferrata rating scale gives a number and a letter. The numbers go 1 to 5 and specify the technical difficulty of the rock climbing moves required. The letters are A through C and specify the seriousness of the route, meaning the mountaineering experience required - length of route, lack of bail out points, route finding (between cabled sections), risk of stone fall, etc.

The routes we did by ourselves were 1A and 1B. The route we did with the guides was not in my books so I don't know what the rating was. They did not speak English very well so the most I could figure out was that it was "medium" and "short". It required some decent rock moves, so I think it was probably a 3A. It was 500' straight up, which doesn't sound like an A, but judging by the other routes we did, I would say that it was an A. We did some 1A routes that while the cabled sections were fairly easy (although very exposed) there were sections with no cable in between cabled sections that were very serious. One slip would mean a 2000' fall and certain death. We were kind of surprised to find out that there were sections like that on 1A routes, but I guess their sense of exposure is different than ours.

One of the 1A routes had 5 or 6 sections that were 100-200' long each that had no cable and if you slipped you would die. No two ways about it. I had two different guidebooks and one said the route was considerably airy through geologically interesting terrain and the other guidebook said the route was suitable for children (?!?!?!? novice maybe ?). I think it is a case of poor translations from Italian to English. There is no way children belonged anywhere near that route.

- darren