Winter in our beloved north-eastern Alps is rapidly coming to an end, the meadows are already green in many places and the summer temperatures are causing the below-average snow cover to melt even faster. Many of the usual steep face projects for this time of year are highly unlikely to be realized this winter.
Starting at an early hour with the destination Cortina d'Ampezzo. From the center of the renowned Olympic town, we headed in a few minutes towards "Passo Tre Croci" to "Rio Gere", where our first project was to take place. Once at the top and after the obligatory registration with the lift staff, we went via the "Rifugio Lorenzi" and the subsequent via ferrata, which was easy to master with crampons and ice tools in a comfortable 50 minutes, to the start of the "Canale del Prete-Vallencant".
A mountain guide with a guest gave us the lead and so we immediately got ready for the start. The gully was very attractive and mystical at the same time. We had a brilliant view down. Hopefully the snow conditions would be suitable for a descent! As there were already a number of slippery tracks in the entrance area, we decided to abseil down the first few meters into the gully. During the abseil, the snow already made a solid impression and our anticipation grew and grew.
Free from the rope, we tackled the first turn with full concentration: perfect, the snow was good and safety increased from turn to turn. The first approx. 100 vertical meters are over 50° degrees steep. The rest of the gully is between 45° and 50° steepness. Every meter was great fun and we soon came out of the gully with big grins on our faces. A short stop to look back, the view of the Cristallo Stock with the gully we were climbing was fantastic. Afterwards, we went over a steep step with subsequent crossings of the stream out of the valley to the road.
After carefully studying the Dolomiti bus map, we came to the conclusion that we were at the wrong stop and therefore no bus would be coming today. On the way to the right bus stop was a nice café with equally nice seating and a perfect mountain view, only the espresso was missing due to the afternoon rest of our Italian friends. Too bad, that would have made the waiting time much more enjoyable. Nonetheless, it was a brilliant start to the day, so it can go on!
After a wonderful ride into the sunset over the Falzarego Pass, we finally landed in Arabba in the evening and made plans for the following day over a delicious pizza.
The north face of the Marmolada
On Sunday, we headed to Lake Fedaia early to climb the north face of the Marmolada. We took the legendary barrel lift to the "Rifugio Pian dei Fiacconi", where we continued the ascent with our skins. We soon had the north face before our eyes and, after a close inspection, it appeared to be in very good condition. We then decided to climb the normal route and not the strenuous path with crampons through the wall. Once we reached the summit, we were greeted by a magnificent view, pleasant temperatures and no wind - fantastic summit weather.
After a long rest and a short chat with a mountain guide, who would much rather have climbed the north face with us than the normal descent with his guests, we made our way to the start of the wall. Only a few tracks were visible and we felt our way into the wall for the first few meters. Our impression of the ascent was not misleading, the wall was in excellent condition. In the uppermost steepest section, there was still set powder snow.
The descent was a real pleasure, we felt safe from the very first turn and we were grinning all the time. We skied down the wall at breakneck speed with full concentration and another huge grin on our faces. Wow, it couldn't have gone any better! The last few meters towards Lake Fedaia were in beautiful firn conditions. After this great descent through the north face, we enjoyed the rest of the day with a cappuccino and pasta in the sun.
After checking the weather forecast, we headed up the "Passo Pordoi" on Monday. To round off our extended weekend, we wanted to ride the "Canale Joel". The first clouds were slowly gathering and with binoculars we were able to see huge icicles at the exit of the channel - would they really form in the clouds? After extensive consultation with our guide Alex, we decided not to enter the gully and to head home. However, we did make a short stopover at a large boulder next to the road. Alex had brought a hand drill for bolts and we wanted to test it. After about 15 minutes, the bolt was in the rock and the stability test by the three of us pulling hard showed a very satisfactory result! It was good to know that setting a bolt would work well in an emergency situation.
So we finally headed back home. We had a brilliant long weekend in the Dolomites, two fantastic descents in a beautiful mountain landscape, delicious espresso, very good food, lots of sunshine and the certainty that we will be back to ride more great lines.
More pictures in the gallery
Overview of the descents
Canale del Prete-Vallencant
- Slope: 55°, 45°
- Elevation gain: 300 m
- Difficulty 5.2
Punta Penia - Parete Nord (Marmolada north face)
- Slope: 55°, 45°
- vertical drop 300 m
- Difficulty 5.1
Text: Christian Skala & Georg Hattwich | Photos: Christian Skala
