| South edge Cobertaldo-Pezzotti Route |
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| South edge Cobertaldo-Pezzotti   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Italy, Europe Route Type: Trad Climbing Season: Summer Time Required: Half a day Difficulty: IV, IV+ Number of Pitches: 7
| Route Quality: | | | | Loading...
| Page By: RenatoG Created/Edited: Aug 31, 2008 / Sep 1, 2008 Object ID: 437186 Hits: 471 Loading... Page Score: 88.56% - 14 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview
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Cobertaldo-Pezzotti route is a very famous route, running on the south edge of Sass de Stria.
In the summer sunny days, this climb is overcrowded: you can meet alpine-guide with their customers, climbing course and common climbers, and at the belays you'll never be alone and you could chat, making new friends from all the world...
Almost every alpinists climbing in dolomites had climbed this route at least once in their climbing-career, so the hand-holds of the harder passages are nowadays smooth and poolished like marble.
The secret of this success, like for other similar routes, is in the easiness, beautiness, medium lenght (neither too long, nor too short). In addition, bealys are all safely equipped, the descent is by a nice and short path and the approach doesn't take more than 30 minutes...
Resuming:
PROS
short, but not too much (good for an half-day climb)
various and amusing passages (slabs, chimneys, dihedrals, cracks)
panoramic
safe belays
short approach
short and easy descent
suitable for beginners
CONS
very crowded
crux passages very polished
not so wild environment
suitable for beginners
In my opinion, this route is heartily reccomended for any medium-low skill climber, but start not after 8.00/8.30 a.m. if you want to avoid crowd!
First climb: A. Cobertaldo - L. Pezzotti, 1939
Difficulty: IV with the last pitch of IV+ UIAA (avoidable by a couloir with pp of III)
Lenght: 250m, 7/8 pitches
Altitude: 2250m-2477m
Rock quality: Very good, but often smooth
Best season to climb: since early july to early september
Approach
Leave the car at a parking area along the route between Falzarego and Valparola pass, near a big rock. From there, take the path descending towards the sport climbing area. Leave it on your right and go up along the rocky east side of Sass de Stria. Cross an area of mugo pine, then climb toward the south edge east face. A peg signs the start of the route (30min from the parking)
Route Description  Sketch of the route seen from the bottom
 Topo of the route by cingolo
Cobertaldo-Pezzotti route is relatively easy and amusing: the route climbs the south edge at the beginning on its east face, then on the true edge, finally traversing under its east face and taking a crag straight to the summit
Belays are all equipped with fixed iron rings. There are some pegs along the pitches, but consider the possible need of integrate the protections with further gears.
Pitch 1: climb up a couloir (II). At the end of the couloir, bear on the left (III): the belay is behind a rock (25m, 1 peg, II 1p III)
Pitch 2: Climb a polished dihedral (IV, peg) then climb to the edge (III+) to the belay (30m, 1 peg, IV)
Pitch 3: Keep climbing on the edge to the next belay (25m, 2 pegs, IV)
Pitch 4: Move on your right to a chimney (IV, 2 fixed ring) then, at the exit of the chimney, climb on your left to a terrace (25m, 2 fixed rings, IV IV-)
Pitch 5: Climb up a cliff (III+), move around the edge on the right and climb up a crack (blocked friend) to a fixed ring (35m, possibility of belay); continue climbing to a chimney with an embedded rock (peg on the left); enter in the chimney (II but exposed) and make belay (45m, 1 fixed ring, 1 blocked friend, 1 peg, IV)
Pitch 6: Walk along a ledge to a couloir; climb up the couloir (I, 1 p. IV) and exit on a terrace (25m, walk, I, 1p IV)
Pitch 7: From the terrace, climb directly the dihedral with crack (IV+, 2 pegs, very polished, good hand-holds on the left) for about 15m, then on easy slabs and gravels to the summit: you can belay on a rock or on the big iron cross (50m, 2 pegs, IV+, III/II)
This pitch, the harder of the route, can be avoided climbing an easy couloir on the right of the dihedral (passages of III), leading to the summit
P2 the dihedral |
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P3 |
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P4 the chimney |
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P.5 |
P6 the easy couloir |
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P5 the chimney |
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P3: amusing climb! |
Descent
The descent is by the well marked normal route: 45min to Forte Intraisass, then 10min along the route to passo Falzerego, to the parking (see also Sass de Stria page)
Descending by the normal route |
Essential Gear
Helmet
Some narrow slings (dyneema) and cords
Some friends medium size
Some pitons and nuts
Two 60m ropes are advised
External LinksOther report of this route:
BredyArt
Vickynga@Madteam.net (in spanish)
Pareti Verticali
Sassbaloss
Weather links:
ARPAV Dolomiti Meteo - meteo bulletin for Dolomites and Venetian Prealps
Guide, Maps and Books:
Best map (scale 1:25000) is Tabacco Foglio 03
Best guide is Bernardi, Arrampicare a Cortina d'Ampezzo e dintorni, ed. Athesia, 2005 (also in german)
Images
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