Italian Ice is the best...

Yes, we managed it to organize a week of ice climbing despite a bad weather forecast for almost the whole alps – Cogne and Chamonix would get a dump of 1-2 metres of snow, Kandersteg too warm. We found not much ice – but still enough for 5 full climbing days in the Dolomites/Italy!!!

2 years ago I had been in the Dolomites for climbing the south face of the Marmolada, but I never had been there for ice climbing. Jeroen suggested to go there. We found a nice appartement at airbnb. Yasna and Danilo were great hosts and we spent 6 days close to serrai di sottogudda, the second major ice climbing spot in Italy besides Cogne/Aosta.

The climbing area is located in the gorge below the Marmolada. Normally there are 29 ice and mixed lines climbable, rated from WI 2 to WI 6+. This year had been very dry and a lot of ice falls hadn’t build up enough. We climbed different routes between WI 3+ and 5+. Generally good but thin ice. The routes felt hard for the grade but we really enjoyed! One day we went to Kolfosco/Corvarra.

Here are the routes and some pictures. Enjoy.

Good topo from Mario Sartori, 600 ice routes in the Alps.

• Monday: excalibur, 110m, WI 4+, spalla della roccia, 45m, WI 5
• Tuesday: Damocles, 100m, WI 4, unknown route (first pitch), 50m, WI 4
• Wednesday: Cathedral right hand finish, 100m, WI 4+, Cathedral central finish, 100m, WI 5, del sole 60m, WI 3+
• Thursday: excalibur, 110m, WI 4+, toperope, cascata della traversata, 80m WI 4+
• Friday: Cathedral left hand finish, 90m, WI 5+, Catheral central finish, 60m, WI 5, Cathedral right hand finish, 60m, WI 4+

 start of excalibur

start of spada della roccia, cool route!

start of pitch 2

 on top of excalibur, a lot of rain, but real fun...

 almost 55m and under the bridge

 next day: Colfosco, to the left Damocles...

start of the second pitch, very brittle ice...

 Jeroen on the pillar of pitch 3

early morning preparation at the foot of the Cathedral, 

start of pitch 1 right line of the Cathedral

second pitch of the right line, in the background you can see how steep and thin the left line is!

 preparation for the left line of the Cathedral, exciting

 first metres are always interesting, but if I get into the rhythm it's great

 screws were not always bomber...

 very long vertical part...

 central line of the cathedral

nice view on the left hand finish...

 Bernd on the central line...

 Jeroen on the top of the pillar of the right hand finish, this was very wet...

Nando and Bernd on del Sol, WI 3+

cascata della atraversata, cool route...

 Jeroen on the pillar of the right hand finish of the cathedral during our second ascent of the route on friday