Dolomites “Via Ferrata” Weekend 2016

An established UWC Adriatic tradition is the annual Dolomites “Via Ferrata” weekend, which is a special opportunity to climb on some protected via ferrata routes in spectacular places. The weekend of 30 September – 2 October this year was without doubt a highlight for all concerned. We stayed at the ex-Grand Hotel in Dobbiaco, built in the late 1800s along with the railway. Today a part of the hotel complex is converted into the Ostello della Gioventù. Though most of the students were beginners we achieved three full days of challenging climbing.
The first day saw us climbing the Via ferrata Maria e Andrea Ferrari Ra Bujela, newly opened in June last year by the Cortina Mountain Guides (Ra Bujela means needle in the local Cortina dialect), returning by the Via ferrata sentiero Astaldi, which traverses at the bottom edge of the steep cliffs of the Tofana di Rozes.
On the second day the whole group tackled the Sentiero De Luca/Innerkofler leading to the summit, Monte Paterno, 2745m. in the Sesto Dolomites. Traversing a system of tunnels and trenches built during WW1 requires the use of headlights. The rewards were magnificent views in all directions, including the famous towers of the Tre Cime di Laveredo. Descending to Rifugio Tre Cime-Locatelli, we found we still had time for the impressive Torre Toblino VF delle Scalette. The summit of Torre Toblino, 2617m. was an important Austrian observation point during WW1 but could only be reached under cover of darkness, since the north-east wartime access route (today the normal way of descent) was exposed to Italian fire. Hence, the vertical north chimney was equipped as an alternative approach. Four of the original wooden ladders were retained when the via ferrata was created in the late 1970s.
The final day we descended the Lagazuoi Tunnels VF in order to escape the rain. For two years during WW1, Lagazuoi was site of fierce combat, the Austrians defending the top of the mountain whilst the Italians were attacking from the Martini Ledge below, constructing a labyrinth of some 1100m of tunnels up through the mountain. The remnants of this network still exists today with storerooms, barracks, passageways, and other artifacts well preserved and still visible. Vie ferrate have much of their origins in war. This weekend the particular vie ferrate provided some fun climbing while getting closer to history and learning more about a conflict which was just one hundred years ago.
The climbing activity operates on local cliffs (Carso and Duino cliffs), with the aim to develop personal skills and technical skills including emphasizing attention to safety. Participation of students in roles of leadership is seen as an important goal and indeed an essential aspect in terms of the success of the activity.
The group was led by Guida Alpina, Alberto Ieralla, with the support of Anne Brearley, Fabiana Coslovich, Milos Busarcevic and Maurizio Torchiana.