Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites: Vol 2. John Smith

are usually essential, and a rope is recommended. An indication of the timings for this combined excursion is as follows:

       ascent of VF Bolver Lugli (S.MAR 1) to Cima Vezzana 4½–5½ hours

       descent VF Gabitta d’Ignotti to Bivacco Brunner, Valle delle Comelle to Rif. Pedrotti Rosetta about 5 hours.

      This route is a very remote high-altitude ferrata which is quite short but demanding in its location. It is a way of climbing Cima Vezzana on a long mountain day from Rif. Rosetta (details above in S.MAR 1).

      Telecabina Colverde (still shown on some maps as a chairlift) opens at 0800hrs, but the cable car (Funivia Rosetta) doesn’t start until 0830 (times may vary during the season, so check locally). The logistics of attempting this route in one day up and down from San Martino di Castrozza are extremely tight; you would need to be very fit and have optimum weather and mountain conditions. It is therefore better to stay overnight in Rif. Rosetta, making an early start to ensure you have enough time to catch the last cable car down (or perhaps use the first cable car and then stay at the rifugio after completing the climb). Also be aware that the last cable car down seems to vary depending on season (and even weather!); in high season it is 1700hrs but at other times it can be 1630 or even earlier, so make sure you confirm times before setting off.

      The approach to the ferrata makes a fine day out in a remote mountain area simply for the walk alone. Descend from the Rosetta cable car to Rif. Rosetta (about 10 minutes). From Rif. Rosetta, 2581m, follow path 703/704 first east and then north north-east across the vast karsitic desert at the heart of the Pala mountains. Initially a laid path (almost like a road) leads down into Valle delle Comelle; it is well waymarked in red and cream paint. After about 40 minutes’ descent you are down to about 2310m in Pian Dei Cantoni, where paths 703 and 704 part company. Path 704 continues down Valle delle Comelle/Gares, and path 703 is signed Passo Farangole/Rif. Mulaz.

      Descending to the Val Strut bivacco

      Take path 703 as it climbs up to above 2400m and then traverses along a steep hillside. After 20–25 minutes some cables are encountered as you cross over Valle delle Galline; there are a couple of hundred metres of cables over a period of 15 minutes. The cables and bolts are in poor condition, and one could hardly call it a ferrata, simply handrails, though at times more of a hindrance than a help due to loose bolts. The path here is narrow on very steep ground, with some of the more exposed parts not cabled.

      About an hour from Pian Dei Cantoni, path 703 bottoms out at about 2250m, with spectacular views down into Valle delle Comelle, a flat expanse of over 1km of dry streambed. After climbing for 10 minutes an emergency helipad is passed on the right just before arriving at the junction of path 703 and 716. Path 703 continues towards Rif. Mulaz and 716 heads left uphill into Val Strut, with ‘Biv. Brunner’ painted on a rock. The path heads quite steeply uphill, waymarked in red, passing large glacial erratic boulders, one of which has ‘Bivacco Val Strut’ painted on it in very large letters. Snow can lie in this valley for most, if not all, of the summer, and so some of the waymarks may be covered early in the season. Navigation is quite simple, as all you do is head uphill, reaching Biv. Brunner, 2667m, after 35–40 minutes’ climbing from the path junction. The bivacco is well hidden from below, tucked right up against the rock walls of Cima delle Zirocole on the north side of Val Strut, and it is a surprise when you finally get there. An indication of how much snow lies here in the winter is given by the shovel secured high on the rock wall above the bivacco.

      Continue climbing up Val Strut following red waymarks. If there is old snow then this makes things easier, otherwise it is a very tedious ascent up eroded glacial scree. Stay on the right (northern) side of the valley and then the right-hand side of the now quite small glacier to Passo dei Val Strut, mapped as 2870m, but 2888m according to a painted rock at the pass, 50–60 minutes from Bivacco Brunner. There is an exceptional view down to Passo Rolle from the Passo dei Val Strut. ‘FV Strut’ and ‘Ferrata’ are painted on a rock at the pass, and the start is less than 10 minutes away from here, south and then east, across the top of the glacier. To reach the cables scramble up rocks and follow the cables for approximately 150m up a rocky rib on the east ridge of Cima Vezzana. A further 10 minutes up rough scree leads to the summit, about 4 hours from the cable car. The whole of this ascent is subject to icing and stone fall; it is not a place to be in bad weather. If you are just doing this as a high-level walking day without the ferrata then the timings for a return descent from Passo dei Val Strut are as follows: 30 minutes’ descent from the pass to Bivacco Brunner; another 20 minutes down to path 703. 25 minutes on path 703 to the first cable, and 15 minutes for the cabled section. 20 minutes takes you back to the junction of paths 703/704 at about 2300m. A 40 minute climb takes you up to Rif. Rosetta, and it’s a further 10 minutes to the cable car, making a total of about 3 hours.

      The descent from the summit of Cima Vezzana is the same as detailed in S.MAR 1.

S.MAR 3

      Sentiero Attrezzato Nico Gusella

Grade:	2
Seriousness:	B
Departure point:	Ristorante Rosetta (top station of Rosetta cable car) (about 2630m)
Ascent:	670m
Descent:	1780m (to cable car base station at S. Martino)
Via ferrata:	200m
Approximate time:	7½ hours
Highest altitude:	2791m, Cima di Val di Roda

      The following description assumes the use of the two-stage Col Verde Gondola and cable car from S. Martino, which is the least taxing option, but involves a long descent if you have to return to the town. Another option is to walk in from Val Canali to the south, whilst a stay in one of the three rifugios in the area (Rifs. Rosetta, Pradidali and Velo) opens up all sorts of possibilities for combining this route with others in the vicinity.

      This is a pleasant and undemanding route through some of the most dramatic scenery in the Pala. Since it sits at the heart of the group, the approach and walk-out can be quite lengthy, depending on your choice of route.

      The lift from S. Martino (S.MAR 1 for details) whisks you up to about 2630m in a few minutes, ensuring that for much of the rest of the day you will be walking downhill! The landscape here is extraordinary, the more so because of the speed of transition from the smart resort and the lush valley. The mural outside the building claims an altitude of 2700m, which is clearly wrong (our altimeter read 2630m).

      Rif. Rosetta (2581m) is about 10 minutes’ to the north-east, reached by a good path across a real lunar landscape. From the rifugio, take path 702, signposted to Col delle Fede and Passo di Ball. This heads generally southwards, initially over fairly level ground, before starting the long descent towards Col delle Fede. The route takes the slope at an easy angle, zigzagging down endlessly, so it comes as a relief to reach a section of path (about 2265m) which is straight, as you turn in a south-easterly direction on a pleasant terrace, partly cut out of the rock face, and with an impressive drop below you to the right. A green area, full of wild flowers follows, in marked contrast to the terrain you have traversed so far. You can now pick out Passo di Ball to the south-east, a couple of hundred metres above you, whilst the walls of cliffs around the intervening bowl of mountains are quite stunning.