Via Ferrata shower

We panicked, we thought we wouldn’t get to do any Via Ferrata today.

Come late September, Dora is up for sale.   If you or anyone you know is looking for a reasonably priced motorhome then please check out the following link; https://www.2wanderers.com/dora-for-sale/ or if you have any questions email us at; info@2wanderers.com Thanks

 

Once we’d tested our capabilities and vertigo dealings in yesterdays first Via Ferrata (VF), we thought we would have been in a much better position to decide on the right routes for us. It wasn’t the case. We have now more factors to consider other than grades and exposure, such as length, distance and accessibility (we have a motorhome, not all roads leading to the start of the routes are made for big fat Doras).

We felt quite flattened when Martina recommended us a grade 3 route, she obviously thought we were capable of doing them. But we weren’t that confident in going straight for a 3B after a 2A, especially when the 3B VF was 650m long.

So that you understand the grading of the VF routes in our guide, here is a brief summary:

Grades

1 – Easy and short routes, ideal for inexperienced.

2 – Straightforward routes, for experienced mountain walker or scramblers. Head for heights needed.

3 – More difficult ones. Not recommended for beginners or people who suffer from vertigo. Excellent knowledge of use of self-belay equipment is a must.

4 – Demanding routes, involving steep rock faces. Those unsure of their confidence in mountain situations must avoid them.

5 – Routes highest technical, only suitable for highly experienced ferratists.

Seriousness

A – Straightforward outings with lots of escape routes available. Virtually risk free in the event of a change in weather.

B – Degree of mountain experience required. Access might be more difficult and opportunities for escape limited.

C – Routes only for experienced mountaineers, located in remote areas have passages very exposed or unprotected terrain.

 

Note: this post contains videos

So I think we will stick with grades 2 for a while but there weren’t any more where we were so we move on to Cortina. (Sorry Martina, but we really felt we weren’t prepared, maybe in a few days time).

There we found the following in our Cicerone Guide: Via Ferratas of the Italian  Dolomites: Volume 1

CORT: 5 VF Marino Bianchi – Cima Di Mezzo

Grade: 2B

VF: 200m

Time: 3-4 hrs

That would be perfect. A small step up from yesterdays (from 2A to 2B) and nice length since we still had to drive to Cortina, which is about 1 hours drive from here.

We arrive at Cortina at 12.00, this town is a nightmare. Long queues of cars in and out are likely to delay us in starting the route. And we still have to stop in Cortina to get some food and some VF gloves. My hands burnt last night after our first VF, I fear for my skin by the end of it. Besides, I shall look cool in them (it is  all about the kit )

After a painful hour of driving around Cortina, we find parking for Dora and walk down to the town centre. Another reason I I am intrigued about Cortina, Gary keeps talking about it. He was here when he was a teenager, probably one of his first times abroad and he keeps good memories of it.

The town is cute, but incredibly touristic. The high street is inundated by high-end of the market brands and Italian food stores selling pasta and bottles of olive oil at eye-watering prices. Yes, all items are nicely presented, wrapped up in luxurious packages, but still widely available in all supermarkets. I admire Italians for having created Italian food brand and being able to sell it so successfully around the globe. Unlike Spanish, we are very good at producing lots of things but very bad at selling them (this quote is not from me but from a person I know who works in the Exports sector).

There is only one big supermarket in town, the equivalent of El Corte Ingles in Spain or Harvey Nicolls in the UK). It is hard to find anything at moderate prices, let alone cheapy bits. We go for chicken, which had a reasonable price and a few vegetables. We went then to the sport section, they had VF gloves for €25, reasonable price, but we want to look around a bit more. We may come back.

A sport shop outside town also sells the gloves for €25. Clearly, this is the price we will pay around here, so we buy them.

The road up to the route is windy and narrow. It is already 14.00, we are pushing the time. Suddenly a chilling thought comes to our minds. To do the VF, we need to take two chair lifts there and back. Chair lifts normally stop at 17.00. We may be not be able to finish the route before then. We didn’t think about that, did we?

We get to the chair lift 15.00. So yeap! we were right, the last lift is at 16.45. We won’t be able to finish the VF before then. Also, the chair lift cost €24, very expensive VF! So this is another factor to consider in our VF choice; how long the chair lifts are, the longer the more expensive.

Disappointed, we get back to Dora, have some lunch and go back to our Cicerone book to look for a mini-VF around here that we could do this afternoon. We find this one:

CORT: 1 VF Giovanni Barbara – VF Lucio Dalaiti

Grade: 1A

VF: 100m

Time: 2 hrs

Very light but that’ll do us today.

This VF is well accessed. Two laybys are big enough for two or three cars, plus there is a parking space next to the Visitors Centre, which is the start of the route, but it has height limit, so Dora will have to stay by the main road.

The walk to this VF is rather boring, the path is well-paved and wide, it follows the river up, crossing it a couple of times, offering nice views of sporadic cascades.

Other times, the path hides through woods, there is not much scenery to see but plenty of shade available cooling us from the heat.

The river waters in the Dolomites have a particular grey-light green colour, as they come directly from glaciers, carrying all kinds of sediments from the recently melted snow and ice.

We cross the river again. Quite a few people linger along the river banks, shyly dipping their toes into the water. Even that is quite brave, I bet the water is super-cold.

After 30 mins walk on dull pavement, we reach the start of the VF. Most people divert towards other trail tracks that also start from this point.

This VF starts at the top of the canyon taking you all the way down and then back up to here, crossing the biggest waterfall of this river on the way. It should be fun.

Gary getting seriously ready for this undertaken. A few people looking at him inquisitively go a few metres down the path to see what are we getting so ready for?

The protected cable starts quite early in the route.

The views of the canyon reveal themselves. The path is in good conditions, it can be easily walked without aid. The cable here is mainly to protect you from the vertigo effect.

The strong noise of the water suggests the waterfall is approaching.

And there it is.

So noisy, it sounds angry.

Here is our first video of the route

 

 

To get to the other side, we should walk behind it.

Beautiful but wet.

We just get slightly damp, the water is freezing.

Anxiously, I walk fast to the sunny spot to warm up.

So far, the VF has not been more than a path with a cable protection. Now the fun starts.

A steep walk down to the bottom of the gorge involves scrambling down with the aid of stemples and hand holes, finishing with a vertical but short ladder.

Here  is our second video of the way down

A group of three adults and a few children are waiting for us at the bottom. As soon as we finish, they start their way up, we watch them. Interestingly, the adults and one of the kids are wearing the wrong equipment; ‘home-made’ system consisting of a couple of slings and rock climbers karabiners. These, although they will give you a sense of security, won’t protect you from a long fall. These guys are putting their lives and the children’s in danger.

The rocks are damp and slippery, as well as the protection, so care is needed at every step you take. But the rock is good throughout.

Gary, satisfied with his scrambling down.

We cross the river, more like a stream here and starting heading back.

Which means, climbing up. We like climbing up, sometimes it is easier than coming down, especially in VF.

Occasionally, cable is the only protection to rely on, there are neither stemples nor ladders. Smearing and looking for rock handholds are the techniques we have to use.

15 minutes of scrambling up and the VF is over. We are now back at the starting point.

And a couple of short videos of our way up

My new gloves no longer look new. Such a good buy, they’ve been incredibly useful. My skin was suffering badly last night.

And now the same way back to Dora.

What do we think of the route?

It has been easy and fun. Not very long, anyone with little experience could attempt it.

It can be undertaking in all sort of weather conditions, although extra care should be taken in wet weather.

We’ve done it in the estimated time, 2 1/2 hours.

Although a lower grade than the one we attempted yesterday, we are rather satisfied, considering we could not have done any VF today.

We recommend it for a half day fun outing.

6 kms

2.5 hrs

SM