Situated along the northern border of Italy and Austria the Dolomites are the birthplace of modern alpine rock climbing. The rock is a compact white and grey dolomite and limestone often weathered yellow and the first thing the visiting climber becomes aware of is the unaccustomed steepness of the walls. Some of the world’s finest climbers learned their craft here. Locals such as Preuss, Solda and Dibona were early climbers and guides here, putting up routes on the steep walls and aretes that were decades ahead of anything done in the USA at that time. This generation was succeeded by the masters of the 30’s and 40’s; Comici, Cassin, Dimai and others who directly climbed the steepest walls. Places such as the North face of the Cima Grande with its vast overhangs and shadows were ascended with primitive gear and equipment, soft steel pitons, hawserlaid ropes and no harnesses. Even today these routes demand respect and are serious undertakings. This area ranks right up there with other world famous international climbing destinations such as Yosemite and Chamonix.

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All in all climbing in Italy is just plain fun, with an exotic feel but with the accoutrements of Europe.
Some of the best climbs are those put up before and after the second World War. Most are rated in the 5.6 to 5.9 category and while this may not seem too hard by modern standards of 5.14 these are still difficult routes. For this trip we will try and pick the best of the best and combine them in a perfect climbing vacation. Exactly what routes we climb will depend upon a number of factors; participants skill, weather other groups and, of course, what we feel like that day.

Itinerary
For these trips we assume that you will be flying into Munich. This is the most readily accessible destination for those traveling from the USA although there are many other options that we can talk to you about. We will pick up a rental vehicle there and drive south to the climbing areas.
The below is a general routine, subject to change.

Day 0 Arrive in Munich.

Day 1 First actual day of the trip. We will load up the rental vehicle and drive south into Italy. This is about a four hour drive and takes us across Austria and into the mountains. Our first stop will be in the Sella Pass area and the town of Canazei This is in the Val de Fassa a well known tourist spot but also with great climbing. If town allows we will do a quick warm up before going to our hotel in the village of Alba just up valley from Canazei which will be home for the next few days.

Days 3-6 Climbing in the Val de Fassa region. We have lots of choices here and below is a sample of just a few options.

The West Face of the Third Sella Tower 5.8; Lovely but demanding corner and groove climbing on solid rock
The Trenker Route on the First Sella Tower; A classic but a bit polished. Five pitches of up to 5.8 climbing
The Kasnapoff Route on the Second Sella Tower; One of the best. Great exposure and steep grey dolomite 5.8 with a quick pull up on a fixed piton.
The Violet Towers; Just down the valley are these steep towers with great 5 pitch climbs the SW Arete of the Delago Tower climbed in 1911 is one of the best in the Dolomites. A narrow arete with perfect rock just ten minutes from the hut.
The Jahn Route on the Third Sella Tower; Easy but long. Thirteen pitches of only 5.6 maximum following the footsteps of Jahn and Dyhrenfurth.
The Rossi-Tomasi; A little bit of everything; chimney, face and slabs at 5.6 before a walk down the amazing narrow “Ledge of the Chamois”. And a fifteen minute stroll from the vehicle and only twenty from the restaurant and bar!

Days 7-9 We will move over to the valley of Cortina a little to the west for the second half of the climbing program. Cortina is a beautiful little town but often very crowded. However at our chosen time of the year there are few people, few climbers, but superb climbing. Routes here vary from short fun routes to long all day affairs.

Some of the options here are;
The Via Merriam on the Torre Grande; A 5.9 first pitch and then four steep wonderful pitches. The first ascent was by the guiding brothers Dimai with American Miriam Underhill in 1927. The route was so good that the guides repeated it six times right afterwards.
The Torre Grande, Guides Route; A perfect 5.6 introduction to the beautiful Cinque Torre with it’s rock spires and towers scattered amidst high pine forest and alpine grassland.
The Punta Fiames; South of Cortina a few miles but prominent from in town is the “Flames Arete”, a knife edge arete that soars to the top of the Fiames. 5.8 climbing on perfect solid rock and one of the great classics of the area.

The Torre di Falzarego; Sunny, warm with fixed protection this splendid arete was first climbed by Emilio Comici in 1934. Combine this with the Torre Grande for a total of eleven wonderful pitches of 5.8
The Second Pillar on the Tofana; The Tofana is a huge mountain with enormous sweeping buttresses and aretes. The second pillar is the sharpest of these and offers 14 pitches with a short 5.9 crux and an easy descent down a trail. A climb to work up to and the perfect culmination of the vacation.
Day 10 Return to Munich.

Notes
The best guide to the area is “Classic Dolomite Climbs” by Anette Kohler and Norbet Memmel and published in English by the Mountaineers. You can get it from Amazon.