A short Via Ferrata trip to the Dolomites – Peter Smith

On the second week of July, KJ, Mat and I took a three day trip to the Southern Dolomites to do some Via Ferrata. This kind of trip is good for those short of time as many of the routes are easily accessible from the valleys. I did a trip last year where we were based in Cortina D’Ampezzo and we used cable cars on two days to give us the altitude. The Southern Dolomites mostly do not offer such convenience and you need to be prepared for long approaches and descents.

Day One:
After 3 hours on the tarmac at Gatwick courtesy of a broken valve in the flight control system, Mat and I eventually arrived at Verona airport where KJ had been patiently waiting in the shade of a giant Lingerie billboard. Now concerned about being benighted on the first outing we bombed down the motorway and into the twisty mountain roads to arrive at the Monte Baldo hut. The route, Sentiero Attrezzato Gerardo Sega – Monte Baldo, was mountaineering in reverse. We descended quickly down into a spectacular gorge for about a mile and then marched through some twisted woodland to the start of the route. There was some fine exposure and the Ferrata was fairly straight forward, mostly cables with the odd ladder and some ledge traverses.

We ascended more quickly than the guide book estimate but still had time for some pictures.

A forest track took us back to the hut before nightfall and we headed for our Chinese owned budget accommodation in Arco for some confused wrangling over bed sheets and prices (Hotel apartment: Ca Rossa – Had a kitchen and restaurant. Cheap and cheerful).

Day Two: Lake Garda has some stunning scenery and we were not disappointed with the views from our next Ferrata, Feratta Del Centenario SAT. The weather was hot and after a one hour climb and loss of body salts we arrived at the Ferrata. The most prominent feature of this route is the extensive ladders, and as the wind whipped up around us it did feel quite gnarly at times.

The rewarding scenery at the top can be seen in the photos. We finished this route in the estimated time and headed back to Riva Del Garda (the starting point) for a drink. As we still had some day left we did a short trip over to Sentiero Attrezzato Rio Sallagoni for a shaded and easy gorge Ferrata.

This one is popular with families so there was a bit of traffic. You can also follow the extension which brings you out behind a castle and on a road to a bar serving cold beer.

Day Three: We had planned another 4.5 hour Ferrata the day before but the heat of the day and exertion meant we decided to do the Gorge and then go for it on the last day. We did a route called Che Guevara which the guide book recommends to avoid on hot days. It has 1370 metres of ascent and you have to return by another sketchy downhill Ferrata if you want to cut off a couple of hours. The Ferrata is good with more actual climbing and only a few ladders. The views up the valley to a lake and castle are exceptional, the ubiquitous motorbike sound coming up from the valley only slightly impinging on the experience. The sun beat down, extracting the vital essences from our bodies but we made it up the route in the estimated time to arrive at the grassy summit from which the views were good and we could see the Brenta Dolomites where there are some good multi day traverses for those with more time. My three litres of water ran out just after we left the summit and we navigated the treacherous Ferrata that thankfully led down through a forest back down to the sweltering valley. We made a beeline for the nearest shop for some cold drinks.
It was a good trip but the long walk ins and the heat meant quite a bit of exertion. The Northern Ferrata have a lot more cable car/chair lift approaches.

Base: Hotel in Arco (also a good climbing area so would make a good combined activity trip)
Guide book: Cicerone, Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites: Vol 2
Maps: Didn’t bother as the descriptions in the guide book are generally accurate and GPS was used to find the starting points, although there are no GPS coordinates in the guide so I used Google Maps/Satellite view to work them out.
Costs: Flight, Car Hire, Accommodation. LIDL was cheap for food and eating out was not too expensive.