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| Page Type: Route Location: Belluno, Italy, Europe Route Type: Hiking, Mountaineering Season: Summer, Fall Time Required: Most of a day Difficulty: PD+ I/II 1p III UIAA
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| Page By: ganesh70 Created/Edited: Aug 14, 2008 / Aug 24, 2008 Object ID: 431498 Hits: 754 Loading... Page Score: 90.41% - 28 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
OverviewSorapiss from Forcella Grande
| face | south |
| elevation | 3205 m |
| elevation gain | 1400 m from Rifugio San Marco |
| Difficulty | PD+ I/II 1p III UIAA |
| Time required | 7/8 hours |
As Gabriele says in the front page this is a forgotten mountain, admired and photographed by thousands of tourists from Cortina and Misurina, but very rarely climbed: its normal route is simply too long, too strenuous and not much appealing for the modern alpinists. And this route it’s not for everyone: although the only “real” alpinistic difficulty is the climb of a chimney with a short passage of the III UIAA degree, there are many passages of the UIAA I/II, very exposed in the last part, so you have to stay focused all the way, and it’s not easy especially while you’re going down and you are very tired. The quality of the rock is not good, and even simple passages on ledges can be very dangerous.
Anyway this is one of the best normal routes of the Dolomiti, and you will be very proud to sign the summit book of this mountain ( where you will find very few signatures ).
This route was done for the first time ( as descent ) by the famous Paul Grohmann with the the alpine guides from Cortina F. Lacedelli and A. Dimai on September 16, 1865. The strange thing of this great exploit of the dolomitic alpinism is that Grohmann and his guides, although they had studied well the mountain from all sides, didn’t go down through the chimney and the easy ledge that goes straight to the Fond de Rusecco but they crossed all the lower part of this side of the mountain and they had to use the double rope to go down, because it was already dark and they couldn’t find an easy way. It was the first rappel in the Dolomiti.
For Antonio Berti, the pioneer of the Dolomiti, the summit of Sorapiss offers the best view of the Dolomiti Orientali. And it’s really fantastic, it’s impossible to describe the beauty of this amazing sea af dolomitic mountains that you can see around you.
Approach
Antelao
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Pelmo
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From San Vito di Cadore take the road to the Rifugio Scotter-Palatini. After a few km you will reach the chairlift station for the hut where you can park your car. The hut can be reached by car also but the road ( in very bad conditions ) is open only from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 a.m..
From the Rifugio Scotter take the path n° 228 that will take you in 20/30 minutes to the lovely Rifugio San Marco, from where, if the weather is fine, you can enjoy a terrific sunrise on Antelao and Pelmo. Being the route very long and the hut very nice and old, spending the night there can be a very good option.
Take the path n° 226 to Forcella Grande ( gorgeous view of the Torre dei Sabbioni, the Bel Pra group and the Sorapiss group) and then turn left following the indications for the Bivacco Slataper( path n° 246 ).
Antelao from the beginning of the route |
Just before the bivouac you have to turn right ( big red arrow that could be erased… ) and start to go up on the strenuous scree slope ( Fond the Rusecco ) that will take you to the beginning of the route ( big red dot ). ( 2 hours and 30 minutes from the Rifugio San Marco ).
| Rifugio | Elevation (m) | place | Tel. number |
| Rifugio San Marco | 1823 | Col de Chi da Oss | +39 04369444 |
| Rifugio Scotter-Palatini | 1580 | Pian dello Scotter | +39 0436 99035 |
Route Description
The route begins with the climb of short section of the UIAA I+ degree ( not mentioned in the guide books but if you’re lucky like me you could find it completely wet and it becomes quite tricky… ) that takes you on a ledge that you will follow until you will see, on the right, the chimney with a big rock stuck in the middle.
The ledge is good but requires caution because is not clean ( like all the ledges of this mountain… ), so it’s better to go slowly and be careful on every step.
After a first short climb of the UIAA II degree, that you can climb unroped, you can prepare a belay ( there aren’t pitons ) and start the climb of the chimney ( 5 meters of the UIAA III degree and another 10 of the UIAA II ). Of course if you’re a good climber you can climb also the chimney without belay. The cord put to help the climb of this passage was broken, so no more useful.
The next belay ( 2 pitons with a cord, that you will use for the rappel ) is on the left. Once out of the chimney you can leave there some heavy stuff ( not the helmet! ) and go on following the red dots.
The marked path goes on towards the Croda Marcora but it’s better to turn right ( cairn ) and follow the original route of Grohmann. There are some rare cairns but you can find your own way ( it’s a fun climb of the UIAA I/I+ degree ) until the ledge where you will see again the red dots. The ledge goes up on the right until the base of the final castle of the main summit where you will find another tricky and very exposed passage ( I/II ).
 having fun between the ledges
From there in a few minutes you will be on the summit ( where there isn’t a cross but only a cairn with the summit book, 2 hours ).
Same route for the descent until the belay above the chimney from where you have to rappel to the base ( exactly 30 m ). Then follow the ledge until the scree slope ( very good for the descent ) and take the same path of the ascent to Forcella Grande, Rifugio San Marco and Rifugio Scotter-Palatini ( 3 hours ).
last view of the Torre dei Sabbioni |
Summit views
Antelao
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Meteo and WebcamsVeneto weather forecast
Dolomiti Webcams
Maps and BooksTabacco 1:25000
03 Cortina d’Ampezzo e Dolomiti Ampezzane
G. Buscaini, S. Metzeltin - Dolomiti. Il grande libro delle vie normali – Zanichelli Editore
A. Berti – Dolomiti Orientali vol I – CAI TCI
H. Kammerer, R. Goedeke – I 3000 delle Dolomiti – Tappeiner
L. Visentini - Antelao, Sorapiss e Marmarole – Athesia
Essential gearHelmet, harness, a 60 m rope, a couple of pitons, slings, cords, carabiners and a descender. Images
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