3rd Pillar - Pompanin-Alverà

Overview

The Pompanin-Alverà route on the third pillar of Tofana di Rozes is, for my feeling, the most amusing route of the whole wall, maybe also the most "old fashion" (no crowd and almost deserted):

- definetely more difficult than the classic Dimai and less dangerous for falling stones
- as difficult as the Pompanin-Alverà on the first pillar but longer and on better rock (the key passage is on yellow bad rock !) and less crowded
- less difficult than the Costantini-Apollonio on the second pillar (big satisfaction but a little too difficult to be really amusing - and this is also for the other, more difficult, routes on the wall)


You climb in a wonderful environment, surrounded by vertical red walls giving you a big impression for the total exposure ... but on very fine quality rock and with the help of very few pegs (I remember I have used only 3-4 pegs along the whole route)
And the key passage, exiting in the total empty, from a big comfortable cave almost at the end of the route, gives the same sensations you can find on the N walls of Lavaredo : the difficulties are lower and the amusement is total, if you don't suffer from vertigo of course !

I only regret we had taken very few photos: in a wonderful weather day we were 3 rope teams, but one of us gave over so we had to make a rope team of 3 climbers and started to climb at 11 am ... we liked better climb in a hurry, without "loosing time" for the pics.

The difference of elevation of the pillar is more than 600m (2000ft) and the development is about 800m

Getting There

Access: from Falzarego pass down toward Cortina, on the mountain side (left coming from Falzarego, right from Cortina) a dirt road leads to rif. Dibona (in July and August the road will be closed after 9 o clock . ask for info)

From the car parking follow the path to Tofana and Rifugio Giussani.
Once you find the sign for Ferrata Lipella follow this path (left) toward the base of the wall.
A track toward right leads to the channel left of the third spur.
Enter the channel to get the rocks : the starting point is the right border of a ledge on the wall on the right side.
Time to get here 30-40 minutes from Rifugio Dibona

Route description

there where no difficulty is pointed out you must read IV UIAA



Descent:
follow some not well defined narrow ledges toward right descending, where possible, toward the tracks coming from the Second and the First pillars
follow that track to arrive to the channel descendin toward Rifugio Giussani
Warning : debris and very dangerous if iced

here a good description of the route with a beta
I think I've climbed, somewhere in the lower part, out of the route :)

Essential Gear

50 metres rope, a small choice of nuts and friends, some bindings

add on - latest info

from Planetmountain

Landslide on the Tofana di Rozes
Enrico Maioni, the Mountain Guide from Cortina, informs that a landslide on the Tofana di Rozes has changed the descent from the routes on the Pilastro, Primo Spigolo and Terzo Spigolo.
A recent landslide on the Tofana di Rozes, the majestic peak in the Dolomites, has radically changed the descent path used by alpinists climbing routes on the right-hand side (east) of the spectacular South Face.

On 7 September 2011 a continuous mass of rocks started falling onto the path which gives access to the narrow ledge used to descend to Rifugio Giussani and Rifugio Dibona. The ledge is well-known to alpinists who have climbed on the Rozes as, despite not being the only descent, it is far and away the most popular.

The characteristic, narrow ledge can no longer be used and the new descent follows cairns up the gully to the left (west) of Punta Marietta. Used during the Great War, remains of the First World War can still be seen along this route.

Difficulty table

Images

View 3rd Pillar - Pompanin-Alverà Image Gallery - 6 Images