FIVE • MARMOLADA 131028 • Marmolada, Via Classica 134

SIX • PALE DI SAN MARTINO 141029 • Cima dei Bureloni, Via Zagonel-Langes 147030 • Cimon della Pala, Normal Route 152031 • Cima Immink, Spigolo Solleder-Fontein 156032 • Cima Pradidali, Via Tavernaro 160033 • Campanile Pradidali, Via Castiglioni 164034 • Cima Val di Roda, Via Langes 168035 • Sass Maor, Normal Route 173036 • Cima della Madonna, The Veil’s Edge 176037 • Cima Wilma, Normal Route 180038 • Cima Canali, Normal Route 184039 • Cima Canali, Traverse 187040 • Punta Centovie, Via Clessidromania 192041 • Cima Lastei, Via Cappellari-Lotto 195042 • Cima di Manstorna Orientale, Via Kees-Wisiol 201043 • Cima di Manstorna Orientale, NE crest 204044 • Pala del Rifugio, Via Castiglioni-Detassis 208045 • Pala del Rifugio, Via Esposito 212046 • Sass de Ortiga, Spigolo Wiessner-Kees 217047 • Sass de Ortiga, Via Scalet-Bettega 222048 • Sass de Ortiga, Diedri di Destra 225049 • Dente del Rifugio Treviso, Via Chiara Stella 227050 • Dente del Rifugio Treviso, Spigolo Franceschini 231051 • Punta della Disperazione, Via Giuliana 235

• CLASSIFICATION OF ROUTES ACCORDING TO OVERALL DIFFICULTY 238

• INTRODUCTION 5• TECHNICAL INFORMATION 6• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10• THE AUTHOR 11

ONE • ODLE, PUEZ, PUTIA 15001 • Sass de Putia, North Ridge 18002 • Odla di Cisles, SE arête 22003 • Sass de Ciampac, Via Adang 26

TWO • SASSOLUNGO 31004 • Sassolungo, Normal Route 34005 • Punta delle Cinque Dita, Normal Route 38006 • Punta delle Cinque Dita, NW Arête of the Pollice 42007 • Punta Grohmann, Via Dimai 46

THREE • SELLA 51008 • Piz Ciavazes, Via Rossi-Tommasi 54009 • Piz Ciavazes, Via Piccola Micheluzzi 58010 • Piz Ciavazes, Via della Rampa-Del Torso 61011 • Sass Pordoi, Via Dibona 64012 • Sass Pordoi, Via Diretta 68013 • Sass Pordoi, Via della Galleria 72014 • Sass Pordoi, Pilastro Piaz + Via Maria 76015 • Sass Pordoi, Spigolo Gros-Momoli 79016 • Sass Pordoi, Via Pederiva-Rizzi 82017 • Torre Exner, Via Kostner 86018 • Mur de Pissadù, Via C.A. Dalla Chiesa 89019 • Piz da Lech de Boé, Via Dibona 93020 • Piz da Lech, Via Dorigatti 97021 • Sasso delle Nove, Camino Castiglioni 101

FOUR • CATINACCIO 105022 • Catinaccio, Normal Route 108023 • Catinaccio, Camino della Cotoletta-via Dimai 110024 • Catinaccio, Via Steger 114025 • Croda di Re Laurino, Via Buratti 119026 • Torre Delago, Spigolo Piaz 124027 • Torre Winkler, Normal Route 127

1312

FIRST ASCENT: Gustav Jahn, K. Huter, Erwin Merlet, 22 July 1917

HEIGHT GAIN: 250 m

ROUTE LENGTH: 375 m

GRADE: AD+ max 4-

TIME: 3 hours

ROCK: excellent

EQUIPMENT: nuts, cams; pegs not required (all stances equipped with cemented rings)

SUPPORT BASES: route has a quick approach from the roadRifugio T. Demetz, Passo Sella

Climbed on 26.7.2003

PUNTA DELLE CINQUE DITA 2998 mNW Arête of the Pollice

GUSTAV JAHN(1879 - 1919)

Gustav Jahn was born in Vi-enna. In addition to mountain-eering he had a great passion

for the arts, and painting in particular. Naturally,

the main subjects he chose for his landscapes were mountains.He started his climbing career in Austria

(Dachstein and Gesäuse).

His activity in the Dolomites started as a

result of the start of the Great War. Between 1915 and 1918,

Occasionally, even waiting in line and chatting on the stances with other climbers while they attempt to untangle climbing ropes has its fascination. You are at least guaranteed to spend the day in company. This route, the Pollice (“Thumb”) of the five fingers is a perfect opportunity for socialising, given the low physical, technical and psychological demands, the solid rock, cemented ring belays and excellent protection, as well as a virtually non-existent approach and easy descent. Best avoided at weekends in high season and on cold days. Even so, this is a route well worth doing.

APPROACHFrom Rifugio Demetz climb R to the base rocks of the obvious Pollice to beneath a short wall with a black streak, above which starts a large scree-covered ramp-ledge which leads R to the edge of the arête, above the first sharp detached tower named Leone (“Lion”) (5 mins from the rifugio).

ROUTE DESCRIPTION1) Climb the easy-angled wall on good holds more or less in the centre, initially slanting R, to reach the extreme L of the large scree-covered ramp above. 30 m; 3, move of 3+; 1P, ST 2P.2) Follow the scree-covered ramp R easily, then scramble up to the notch between the first tower of the arête and the arête itself. Climb up easy broken rocks along the arête, to beneath the first vertical section. Belay on a spike or large thread formed by a jammed block. 150 m; 1 and 2.3) Climb enjoyably up the first vertical section of the arête, following its edge or staying to the R, to reach a ledge. 30 m; 4-, 1P, ST 1CR.4) Immediately above the stance, traverse towards the arête and descend an easy chimney, to reach a notch with boulders, beneath the final steep section. Then climb a deep crack or the yellow wall to its L, above which there is an enormous thread. Continue easily along the arête to reach a stance. 35 m; 4; ST 1CR5) Continue enjoyably following the well-worn but sharp rock

Simone Guanin on pitch 4

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of the arête, in a splendid position, passing 2P (possible stance), until the next ST CR. 35 m; 3+; ST 1CR.6-7-8) Continue easily along the arête, now vertically, staying mainly to the R (good rock and many holds), with three excellent pitches of about 30 m, to reach the sharp summit (climb the last part of the crest on the side overlooking Rifugio Demetz; the last stance is on the crest approx 5 m to the L of the end of the arête). 100 m; 3, 4-; some P, all stances with CR.

Alternative startRecommended when there are parties queuing at the usual start.From the usual start, follow a climbers trail R for approx 20 metres until beneath an obvious crack which runs slightly L to R.1) Climb this easily (rock good but with some scree). Belay after 20 m on a pulpit. 20 m; 2, 3; No in-situ anchors.2) Continue up the crack easily to reach a point where it opens out, some scree, just beneath the end of the crack itself. 30 m; 2, 3; Belay needs setting up (medium and large nuts useful).3) Continue to the end of the crack (move of 3, some loose rock), then climb obliquely L on improving rock with good holds, to emerge about halfway up the easy ramp of the usual ascent line. 30 m; 3; ST 1P.

DESCENTFrom the last stance downclimb easily S (towards the index fi nger), on easy rocks (10 m 1, or short abseil) to reach a cemented ring which is the fi rst of a series of abseil stations which lead easily to the base.With three abseils (AB1, AB2 and AB3) of 25 m each, descend vertical-ly to reach the col between the Thumb and Index fi ngers. The Normal Route (Route 005) passes at this point.Descend E down the gulley below the col (towards Passo Sella), for a few metres to reach a good platform (1P).Traverse the small gulley and make a short traverse R along a ledge above this same gulley, staying on the Thumb side. Then turn the arête of the Thumb (10 m, 2, move of 3, 1B, 1P) to reach a large cemented ring above an easy-angled slab.AB4: 30 m down the slab to another ring (just before this there is an-other anchor with 2P).AB5: 25-30 m continuing down the slab to the scree covered rocks of the Piano Inclinato.Abseils 4 and 5 can be avoided by downclimbing grade 2 rock, prefer-ably staying towards the R edge of the slab.

Rifugio Firenze, in Val Gardena, became a training centre for the Austrian army’s mountain-eering instructors, and Gustav was one of the most active.Taking advantage of this base

during the war, he was able to open sev-

eral new routes, in particular in the surrounding groups (Odle, Sassolungo, Sella), which were

at a safe distance from the front line.

In (1917) the ridge route on the Pollice

delle Cinque Dita started to gain popularity, and this was in no small part down to him. The route, described in this guide, starts just 5 minutes’ walk from the chairlift. It follows a perfect line on excellent rock, and has become one of the major Dolomite classics. In the same year, he made the fi rst ascent of Campanile di Venere, which is opposite the Pollice. Some of the famous and popu-lar climbs on the Third Sella Tower also bear his name.In 1918, he made the fi rst re-peat of the classic Pichl Route on the north ridge of Sassol-

Follow cairns NW to the edge of the Piano Inclinato above Rifugio Demetz. A cairn marks the fi rst CR anchor of the fi nal series of abseils.AB6: 15 m to reach another CR.AB7: 20 m to a small ledge with another two cemented rings (along this abseil there are two threads with slings for alternative abseils of differing lengths).AB8: 25 m to reach a comfortable ledge. On its lower edge there are 2 CR (one new, one old on the R).AB9: 25 m to reach the foot of the face, a short distance from Rifugio Demetz. 2 hours from the summit.Take the cable car or a 30-minute walk down to Passo Sella.

See photo Route 005.See www.quartogrado.com for more photos.

ungo (just one day after its fi rst ascent; a fact he was unaware of at the time), a new route on the Shoulder of Sassolungo.He died in a fall in 1919, during an attempt to open a new route

on the Ödsteinkante.

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PUNTA GROHMANN 3126 mS Arête – Via Dimai

FIRST ASCENT: Antonio Dimai, J. Summermatter, I. and R. von Eötvos, 11 August 1908

HEIGHT GAIN: 500 m

ROUTE LENGTH: 550 m

GRADE: D max 4, pp. 4+

TIME: 6 hours

ROCK: good

EQUIPMENT: nuts, cams; 3-4 pegs (only lower stances equipped)

SUPPORT BASES: route has a quick approach from the roadRifugio-Albergo C. Valentini, Rifugio F. August, Rifugio S. Pertini

Climbed on 29.7.2003

Despite being named an arête, the route in fact climbs the S face. The line of the route is complex, with traverses, chimneys and cracks. When we repeated it, we followed a pointless variation just after the char-acteristic Menschenfalle (“Mantrap”) passage, which was more difficult and on dangerously unstable rock. Needless to say, the description below does not follow this line. Pitches 11-14 have therefore been provided by other sources, and not from personal experience.Apart from this inconvenience, this is a worthwhile and interesting route for the varied climbing and notable length. This is a long climb with a long descent, and thus physically demanding.

APPROACHFrom Passo Sella (Val Garden side), follow the road towards Col Rodel-la. After approx 300 m climb R beneath the cable car to an obvious grassy ridge, which marks the watershed between Fassa and Gardena, and which finishes beneath the rocks of the SE arête of Punta Grohm-ann (small track). Now scramble up rocks and scree (max 2) along the base rocks of the mountain, trending L (cairns and climbers track) to-wards the centre of the S face. Start just before the large black streak which comes down from the enormous water course in the middle of the face (which higher up forms a forbidding black chimney between two imposing pillars). The route is complex but stays to the L of the water course. 1 hr 30 mins from the pass. Altitude approx 2500 m.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION1) Climb easy rocks diagonally L to belay ST 1CR, 5 m before the black streak. 25 m; 2; ST 1CR.2) Traverse L and pass the black streak, continuing diagonally, to ap-prox 15 m beneath a steeper black wall. 45 m; 2; ST 1CR.3) Climb up good rock to arrive beneath the wall above (1P at the top), continue up this enjoyably, trending slightly L (1P and thread) to a small terrace at its top and a stance (ST 1P + TH not easy to spot). 40 m; 2, 3; 2P, ST 1P + 1TH4) Traverse L easily along the ledge, then climb L to reach a niche. 40 m; 2; ST 1CR.5) Turn the overhang above and continue up enjoyably, heading to-

ANTONIO DIMAI(1866 – 1948)

Antonio Dimai was one of the most famous guides from this classic period, which spanned

the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He

was a member of one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the Do-lomites. Born and bred in Cortina, he was the son

of Angelo, himself a guide and Paul

Grohmann’s climbing partner during the explora-

tion of the normal routes on the Dolomite giants between 1860 and 1870.Antonio Dimai was climbing at a time when the most sought after lines were new routes up the biggest walls along the line of least resistance possible. The results were often complex, often dramatic lines which led literally into the bowels of the mountain. The technical difficulty tended to be limited to just a few moves, which rarely exceeded 5-. Even today, his routes are still great classics and offer superb adventures for any climber looking for mid-grade routes and who enjoys the challenge of scaling big faces.

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Being a guide by profession, a great many of his routes were named after the clients he was leading, as was the norm at the time. The most famous are the two Englishmen Phillimore and

Raynor. For this reason, many routes opened

originally by Dimai are known as “vie degli inglesi” (The English Route). The most notable is

the extreme and largely unrepeated

route on the north face of Piccola Civetta,

climbed in 1895. A route of almost 2000 m in length which weaves about all over the face, much like his route on the south face of Antelao. Also famous are the two Hungarian women of noble stock, Ilona and Rolanda von Eötvös, who scaled the massive south face of Tofana di Rozes with him in 1901.Other routes he opened between 1896 and 1908 have become much more popular, being more logical and provid-ing excellent quality climbing. Every route is a historical milestone, and numerous passages have become rightly famous, thanks to the intuition of the Cortina guide: the final traverse on Tofana di Rozes, the Menschenfalle (“Mantrap”) on Grohmann, the Phillimore passage on Bartoldo, and the Cotoletta (“Cutlet”) chimney on Catinaccio.His sons, Angelo and Giuseppe, were also major fig-ures in the following period in the history of Dolomite climb-ing, with the arrival of grade 6. As well as the numerous routes at this level opened by him in the area around Cortina, he is

wards a yellow, overhanging wall. Stance at its base. A few metres to the L is a 2-peg stance of Via Harrer (belay 10 of Route 005 in volume 2 of this guide). 40 m; 2, move of 3; ST 1CR.6) Traverse R almost horizontally on good rock (1CR, unneces-sary stance), and head round a very rounded arête with an exposed traverse R (move of 3+, 2P, excellent rock). Once past this, you are again in sight of the large water streak on the face. Be-lay on threads. 40 m; 3, 3+; 3P, ST 2TH.7) Continue enjoyably up good walls which lead to a crack-groove, whose L side is an overhanging yellow face, while the R is a good grey slab (1P). Climb the crack and reach a first yellow niche (1TH + 2P along the crack) and then a second, above which the crack becomes wet and vertical. 45 m; 3+, 4; 3P, 1TH, ST 1TH.8) Traverse right following a good horizontal crack (1P up high at the start). At the end of this you will see the Menschenfalle passage (“The Mantrap”, a smooth diagonal ramp). Climb this enjoyably using friction moves (10 m, 4+, 4+, 3 posts), to return to a point directly above the previous stance in the chimney to the L. Climb this (vertical but on good holds) to reach easier ground above. 30 m; 4, 4+; 4P, ST 2P.9) Continue up the chimney, first easily, then more steeply (move of 4+, 2P; take the deep crack to the L of the vertical bottleneck in the chimney). Above this the chimney is less steep. Pass a terrace (2P on the L. Possible stance) and belay on two old pegs, beneath another yellow vertical section of the chimney. 30 m; 3, 4+; 2P, ST 2P.10) Follow the chimney, often wet (move of 4+) and exit L to a ledge. It is also possible to climb the easier rocks on the L, which are less steep and easier. DO NOT continue L: this is where we went off route, as undoubtedly have numerous other unfortunate parties before us. 35 m; 4, move of 4+; ST 2P.11) Climb directly up the crack which starts to the R of the stance, until the angle eases. Traverse beneath an overhang (1P) and then continue more easily to almost reach a scree-filled gulley. Belay where it is most convenient (no fixed gear). 50 m; 2, move of 3.12) Climb one rope length enjoyably on well-featured rock to reach a large scree-covered ledge beneath the summit block. 50 m; 3.13) Climb L of the vertical yellow rock band above, aiming for a deep vertical crack which splits the band (arriving on the L is our mistaken variation), continuing L more easily up broken rocks, to arrive beneath the final pillar. 100 m approx. 1.14) Head up easy-angled rocks and a short narrow chimney (move of 3+), just to the L of the deep chimney which splits this last part, to reach the el-ementary crest, which is followed to the summit. 130 m; 1, 2, 3, move of 3+.

DESCENTThe long descent follows the Normal Route (see also Route 004 in “volume 2 of this guide”) on the NE face (towards The Cinque Dita). Faint red marks on the large base rocks and cairns are almost always visible. Two ropes of 50 m required.Follow the cairns E (towards Passo Sella), to reach the start of a long crest. Start descending this NE down easy rock steps (100 m, sections of 2) to above a col, past which there is the Fourth Tower. AB1: 15 m from a TH to reach the col (or downclimb, 3). Climb the Fourth Tower (10 m, 2, cairn), then descend this a few metres R to reach the next abseil anchor. AB2: 20 m to the col which divides the Fourth Tower from the Third Tower. Climb to the top of this and descend the crest on the opposite side, exposed, but not difficult, (30 m, 2, caution) heading towards the Cinque Dita, until you reach ST 1TH or ST 1CR. AB3: 45 m slightly diagonally L (looking out) to arrive at the deep chasm which separates the Third Tower from the smaller Second Tower. It is possible to split this abseil into two (25+20 m) using an intermediate CR but this is not easy to locate. Pass through the chasm and locate the abseil ring on the summit of the Second Tower. AB4: 20 m NE to the deep col beneath which divides the Second from the First Tower (which is the same height as the second, a few metres opposite). AB5: 25 m from a cemented ring in the tight chimney of the Normal Route (towards the NE) to reach another col with another anchor formed by a large jammed block. AB6: 25 m down the small gulley below to the col at the top of the base rocks of the mountain.Carefully follow the cairns and faded red marks, trend-ing L (200 m, sections of 2, one abseil possible down the steepest section, others possible but no in-situ anchors) to reach the Forcella delle Cinque Dita, 2785 m (2 hrs 15 mins from the summit). Now descend the boulder-strewn gulley towards Passo Sella, at the base of which a path leads off L, skirting round the base of the Cinque Dita, finally arriving at the path that leads from Forcella Sassolungo beneath the cable car to the pass (1 hr from Forcella delle Cinque Dita). Total time from the summit to Passo Sella 3 hrs 30 mins approx.

also famous for having opened the celebrated route on the north face of the Cima Grande di Lavaredo in 1933 with Emilio Comici, but their achievement was tainted by the arguments

that followed it rather than the merits of the

ascent itself.

Descent down the Via Normale

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