Piza Grohmann / Grohmannspitze / Punta Grohmann

Overview

Grohmannspitze is on the left.

One other of the great mountains of the Langkofel group is the Grohmannspitze, the second highest peak of that group. As all mountains except the Plattkofel this is a real "alpine" summit with wild flanks, gullys, ridges, pinnacles and steep faces. The mountain is named after the famous Paul Grohmann, one of the early pioneers of the dolomites. During the Mussolini-regime in the 1930's the name was changed to "Sasso Levante", but todays the old name "Grohmannspitze / Punta Grohmann" is used again.

The Grohmannspitze has two major neighbours: north the Fünffingerspitze is diveded by the Fünffingerscharte. West of the mountain the other big peaks Innerkoflerturm and Zahnkofel are located. Between the Grohmannspitze and the Innerkoflerturm there is the Grohmannscharte.

During the time of the first ascent there was a glacier at the north side of the mountain ("Grohmanngletscher"), and many of the culoirs where filled with ice and snow. But most of this ice and snow is melted today as a result of the higher temperatures of the last years. Below the snow a lot of rubble is now filling those areas and some of the old ascents are not very recommended because of that conditions.

Beside of those uncommon routes the Grohmannspitze offers some very good routes, all of them are somewhat demanding because
of their length and some difficulties to find the right way up. Even the easiest route ("E/NE-ridge", todays used as the regular route) needs at least the UIAA grade 4- and about 4-6 hours from the Sellajoch and is big thing for a regular route !

Getting There

There are different villages below the Langkofel / Sassolungo Group: Ortisei / St. Ulrich, St. Christina and Selva di Gardena / Wolkenstein in Grödnertal / Val Gardena, Canazei and Campitello in Val di Fassa. Traveling to the Langkofel / Sassolungo Group most times means travelling to one of those villages. Grödnertal / Val Gardena and Val di Fassa are connected by the Sellajoch / Passo Sella. The common approch to the Langkofel / Sassolungo Group is done from Sellajoch / Passo Sella, which can be accessed by car or by public transportation from both sides.

Approach from S

• From the south (Lago di Garda, Trento, ...) take motorway A22.
  
• Leave it at Auer / Ora and follow SS48 through Val di Fassa to Campitello or Canazei.

Approach from N

• From the north (Germany, Austria, ...) take motorway A22 from Brenner / Brennero.
  
• Leave the motorway at Chiusa / Val Gardena and follow the road through Grödnertal / Val Gardena to St. Christina and Wolkenstein / Selva.

Approach from W

• From the west (Switzerland, Bodensee, ... ) take the road to Reschenpass / Passo Resia and travel SS38 through Vinschgau / Val Venosta to Meran / Merano and Bozen / Bolzano.
  
• Turn off onto SS241 east across Karerpass / Passo di Costalunga into Val di Fassa.
  
• At Vigo di Fassa take SS48 north to Canazei.
  
• Alternatively take the Brenner motorway A22 north from Bozen / Bolzano until you reach Klausen / Chiusa.
  
• Here turn off into Grödnertal / Val Gardena.

Approach from E

• From the east (Cortina d'Ampezzo, Sexten Dolomites, ... ) follow SS48 via Passo di Falzarego to Arabba.
  
• From Belluno (coming from Venezia or Friuli) you can reach Passo Pordoi using the Canale d'Agordo Valley until you reach Alleghe.
  
• A bit further north the road from Falzarego joins and leads you to Passo Pordoi.
  
• Cross the pass and turn onto SS242 to Sellajoch / Passo Sella.

Approach for the regular route is done via the Fünffingerscharte. From the Sellajoch follow the trail numer 525 to the Langkofelscharte (or take the chair-lift). From the Langkofelscharte follow a trail below the S-face of the Fünffingerspitze to the culoir heading up to the Fünffingerscharte. Hike up this culoir (rubble, sometimes, snow, exhausting). It may take about 2 hours from the Sellajoch (even with the chair-lift).

Approach to the S and E face routes is from the Forcella Rodela via a grassy ridge leading to the base of this faces. From the Sellajoch take the trail numbered 4-557 "Friedrich August Weg" until one is reaching the Forcella Rodela (10 minutes from the Sellajoch). There a climbers path bends right and up to the base of the mountain. It may take about one hour from Forcella Rodela. The Forcella Rodela is also reachable from Campitello at the Val di Fasso using the cable car to Col Rodela.

Routes

There are several good routes at the Grohmannspitze. Most popular is the "Dimai/Eötvös" at the S-face. At this route
and also at the regular route at the E/NE-ridge there are some bolts. Most other routes are NOT bolted, so the usual kind of protection for the dolomites has to be used: pitons, rocks, friends, slings.

• "E/NE-ridge": 4-, 4-6 hours from the Sellajoch, demanding, wild scenery, steep cracks and chimneys, no "easy fun climb". First ascent by J. and E. Enzensperger and Luise von Chelminski in 1895.
  
• "Lorenz-route": 3, 5-6 hours, this route is at the N-flank and is only recommended for persons who like to have a big classic epic. First ascent by H. Lorenz, L. Norman-Neruda, O. Schuster and E. Wagner in 1895.
  
• "Dibona": 4, 6 hours, a good, exposed route through the S-face but rarely done. First ascent by A. Dibona, L. Rizzi, G. and M. Mayer in 1911.
  
• "Harrer": 5, 8 hours, this direct route through the S-face was first done by famous Heinrich Harrer (one of the first climbers of the Eiger N-face). The route offers some very good climbing but is demanding because of protection and orientation problems.
  
• "Dimai", 4, 4-5 hours, another S-face route. This is the most popular route of the Grohmannspitze. There are some spectacular moves and the route is very exposed for a route of this grade. Like with the Harrer-route there are orientation difficulties. Overall a very recommendable but demanding climb. First ascent by A. Dimai, J. Summermatter with R. and I. von Eötvös in 1908.
  
• "Johanneskamin, Preußkamin": flippers and snorkel required; very uncommon and very wet routes.
  
• "Glück", 7-, 8 hours, a hard, demanding route on the E-face. Especially the crux is very hard. No bolts, very bad pitons, bring a full rack. First ascent by F. Glück with B., G. and M Rezzara in 1934.
  
• "Rabanser", 6, 10 hours, another, newer route on the E-face, hard, long, sustained, rarely done. First ascent by I. Rabanser with S. Comploi in 1992 and 1994.

First ascent

The first ascent of the Grohmannspitze was made by Michel Innerkofler (solo !!!) using a route at the W-face in 1880.

Red Tape

No red tape. Fee for the chair-lift to the Langkofelscharte or for the cable car to the Col Rodela (can be avoided if you hike up...).

Accommodation

Val di Fassa

• valdifassa.it
  
• dolomitibooking.com
  
• fassa.com
  
• Moena
  
• Vigo di Fassa
  
• Campitello di Fassa
  
• Canazei

Grödner Tal / Val Gardena

• www.valgardena.it
  www.groeden.info
  
• St. Ulrich / Ortisei
  
• St. Christina / Santa Christina
  
• Wolkenstein / Selva di Val Gardena

You can find a number of campgrounds in Val di Fassa:

• Marmolada
  via Pareda
  Canazei
  Tel.: +39 0462.601660
  Fax: +39 0462.601722


• Catinaccio
  via Avisio 15
  Pozza di Fassa
  Tel.: +39 0462.763305
  Fax: +39 0462.763501


• Soal
  via Dolomiti 32
  Pera di Fassa
  Tel.: +39 0462.764519
  Fax: +39 0462.764609


• Vidor
  Località Vidor
  Pozza di Fassa
  Tel.: +39 0462.763247
  Fax: +39 0462.764780

Weather Conditions

Maps & Books

Books:
There is one very recommendable book, Sella - Langkofel Extrem, which the original submitter kletterwebbi used to help put up this page. It gives an overview over hundreds of climbing routes in the area. One third of the book deal with the Sella Group.

• Climbing
  
  • Sella - Langkofel Extrem
    Richard Goedecke
    Alpenvereinsführer
    Rother Verlag
    ISBN: 3-7633-1315-X
    
  • Val di Fassa - Guida alle arrampicate sportive
    Renato Bernard/Gabriele Bonnano
    Dora' Publisher, Bolzano
    
  • Sella e Sassolungo
    Luca Visentini
    Ed. Athesia, Bolzano/Bozen. (both in Italian and German languages)
    
  • Classic Dolomite Climbs: 102 High Quality Rock-Climbs Between the Uiaa Grades III and VII (also available on CD)
    Anette Kohler, Norbert Memmel
    Mountaineers Books
    ISBN: 0 8988 6693 6
  
  
• Vie Ferrate
  • Klettersteige Dolomiten
    H. Höfler, P. Werner
    Rother Verlag
    ISBN: 3 7633 3096 8
    
  • Hülslers Klettersteigführer
    E.E.Hülsler
    Bruckmann Verlag
    ISBN: 3 7654 4161 9
  
  
• Hiking and Trecking
  • Höhenwege in den Dolomiten
    H. Dumler
    Bruckmann Verlag
    ISBN: 3 7654 3860 X
    
  • Dolomiten
    P. Fleischmann
    Kompass Verlag
    ISBN: 3 8705 1409 4
    
  • Dolomiten 3
    F. Hauleitner
    Rother Verlag
    ISBN: 3-7633-4060-2
    
  • Dolomiten 4
    F. Hauleitner
    Rother Verlag
    ISBN: 3-7633-4061-0

Maps:
I have been using the maps by Kompass Verlag. There are several which differ in scale:

• Val di Fassa, Marmolada, Gruppo di Sella
  Kompass Map WK 686
  ISBN: 3 8549 1768 6
  Scale: 1:25000
  
• Sellagruppe / Gruppo di Sella
  Kompass Map WK 59
  ISBN: 3 8549 1066 5
  Scale: 1:50000
  
• Val Gardena & Alpe di Siusi
  Tabacco Map 05

In Memory of Stefan "kletterwebbi" Weber

A note from the SP staff
Stefan Weber, the member we all used to know from his climbing pseudonym kletterwebbi, died on May 28th 2004 in southern France at the age of 37.

Stefan joined SP early on in 2002 and contributed a number of excellent pages and routes to this site. He was an accomplished climber excelling in difficult alpine and technical routes. The Dolomites, especially the area around Gröden / Val Gardena were special to him, as it was his old ancestral home.

kletterwebbi was always willing to share his knowledge and experience with other climbers, mainly here on SP, but also on other sites. He contributed his IT expertise as webmaster of his local section of the German Alpine Club, where he also engaged in leading trips for fellow members. Besides his climbing and mountaineering activities he was a musician, a composer of contemporary music. Stefan will be greatly missed by us all.

This page will be kept in honor of kletterwebbi, one of SP's most talented, knowledgeable members, and without a doubt, one of our greatest fellow mountaineers.

Additions and CorrectionsPost an Addition or Correction

Images

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