Part 2: The Sorapiss Circuit

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Photo Albums » Italy - Dolomites 2007 » Part 2: The Sorapiss Circuit

The Sorapiss Group is particularly wild considering its close proximity to Cortina. A popular circuit around the mountain takes two days, staying overnight at an Alpine Club hut in a beautiful location. It's quite a tough undertaking and includes 2 via ferrate.

On our second day, we set off with laden packs on a mini-tour around a massif which rises to the east of Cortina, the Sorapiss group. It looked enticing from the campsite, featured two mid-grade via ferratas and gave us the opportunity to stay overnight in an Italian mountain hut.

Chris at Faloria

A stony outcrop provided the first natural place to stop and refuel, but it was a chilly and exposed spot until the sun burst through the clouds and prompted this grateful response from Jen!

Jen basks in sunshine

After a tedious and somewhat awkward descent down a hillside covered with stunted trees, their roots lying across the path ready to trip up the unsuspecting walker, we arrived at the jade green Lago di Sorapiss. An American tourist was brave (or foolish?) enough to swim in the icy water: we contented ourselves with dipping our toes in.

Lago di Sorapiss

We slept at the Rifugio di Vandelli down near the lake and made an early start the next morning, still faced with more than half the circuit including both via ferrata. Here I am geared up and ready for the first challenge of the day, Via Ferrata Vandelli (Grade 3B).

Chris in via ferrata gear

Jen also has her climbing gear on. Via ferratas require a special piece of kit: a short Y-shaped length of rope. One end is clipped into the climbing harness, the other two ends have quick-release karabiners which clip into the cables and ladders of the ferrata. Two karabiners are required to move the rope past pegs on the cable or between rungs of the ladder whilst always remaining clipped on.

Jen after conquering VF Vandelli

After safely negotiating the first ferrata and stopping for a hard-earned lunch break, we began a steep ascent into a rocky wilderness. Behind me is the south face of the main peak of Sorapiss. The snow patches are from a recent storm.

Chris below limestone wall

The red tin bivouac hut at the top of the climb is a more rustic option for an overnight stay - amazingly, there are nine beds inside. The hut is perched on the edge of oblivion, 4000ft near-vertical cliffs rising from the valley bottom off to the left. Not an advisable place to stay if you sleepwalk!

Bivouac Slataper

And here is Jen comtemplating the drop - yes, the path really does go down there. In fact, it's the start of our second via ferrata, VF Berti (Grade 3C), made significantly more difficult because we were to descend it, and also by the blizzard which swept across as we were halfway down!

Jen comtemplates the drop

This is what it's like to descend - the gradient is not exaggerated, and there's no escaping the vertigo-inducing drop between your feet. Fortunately, dry limestone offers good grip underfoot and plenty of handholds.

Jen descending VF Berti

106 Chris with Sunshine and Snow Showers

Once again the mountains come back into view, this time with a dusting of fresh snow. Needless to say, we christened the Cima Bel Pra, the high peak on the left, the

The walnut whip

Late in the day, the sunlit rocks begin to take on a bewitching quality. The glaringly white limestone cliffs begin to be suffused with a golden glow. By now, we were utterly exhausted and had already missed our last cable car down by a few hours.

A rare sight indeed on this September week - the Cristallo range to the immediate north east of Cortina with all the tops fully out of the cloud. There are via ferratas here too, but right now our thoughts were only concerned with getting down. We eventually tottered back into Cortina at 10pm and tumbled gratefully into a pizzeria.

Evening light on Monte Cristallo