Grosse Fermeda

Grosse Fermeda is the large tower second from left. Photo from the south by Ejnar Fjerdingstad

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Setting; from the SW

Overview

The Grosse Fermeda is the larger of the two Fermada's in the Puez - Geissler (Odle) Group of the Dolomites. The Grosse Fermeda is the highest peak on the west end of the Puez/Geissler group. Beside the Grosse Fermeda there are such impressive mountains as Sass Rigais (3025 m) and Furchetta (3025 m) part of the range. The whole Puez/Geisler-group is a paradise for hiking and climbing, and there are also two (not so easy) via ferrata's on Sass Rigais. The mountains rise to the north above St. Christian and Wolkenstein (Grödnertal), which is also a good place to start the approach to the mountains of the Geisler-group. For details see the Puez - Geissler (Odle) Group page.

From the north.

The Grosse Fermeda is divided by the westliche Fermeda Scharte from the Kleine Fermeda, but seen from the southwest, both peaks seem to be one mountain. The south and north sides offer steep walls, but the rock quality on the north side is bad. So, the south sides and the ridges are the common ways to climb the Grosse Fermeda.  

From the SW.

The normal route on the Grosse Fermeda was included in the famous "100 leichte Routen" (100 easy climbs) by Walter Pause. The Southwest Face and the Southeast Ridge of the Grosse Fermeda are included in "Dolomiten Die 100 Schoensten Touren - Band 2 Westlicher Teil" (Dolomites the 100 Finest Routes - Volume 2 Western Part) by Gino Buscaini and Silvia Metzeltin with Gaston Rebuffat. The Grosse Fermeda was first climbed by K. Schulz with E.T. Compton, T.G. Martin and M. Brettega in 1887. The routes of the first ascent is still the normal route today (SW-face, rated UIAA II-III+, exposed, 2-3 h). Famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner was born nearby and did his first steps in the Puez/Geissler mountains. One of his first "real" climbing routes was at the Grosse Fermeda.

Getting There

Location Map. Green is the Natural Area.

Approaches start in Val Gardena Many parties will go to the Fermeda Hütte or the nearby Rifugio Firenze in Cisles, which can be reached from the Col Raiser (chair-lift from St. Christina). From the huts follow the path to the Mittags-Scharte / Sass Rigais (marked) until you can reach the base of the Grosse/Gran Fermeda easily. From there it's a short walk to the beginning of the different routes.  

From the west (Seceda). Kleine Fermeda & Grosse Fermeda blend together.

An excellent approach for doing the climbs in one day is to take the Furnes - Seceda lift from St. Ulrich. See the Seceda Website for excellent links and a great panorama map of the area.

Routes

There are many routes at the Grosse Fermeda, here only a few of them:  

SW Face topo

SW Face / Normal UIAA II-III+, 2-3h. SE-butress UIAA III-IV, 3-4h E-face UIAA III-IV, 3h Remember that the use of bolts isn't common at many of the classic routes of the dolomites. The stances are not bolted too ! So bring a medium rack and some slings. The rating of the climbs of the dolomites are often quite hard.

Guidebooks

AV Führer "Dolomiten - Geisler- und Steviagruppe", Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, München, ISBN 3-7633-1304-4 Klettersteigatlas (via ferratas), Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, München, ISBN 3-7633-8087-6

Red Tape

From the south.

No red tape. Fee for the chair-lift, this can be avoided if you hike up ... The Geisler Group belongs to the Natural Park Puez Geisler. Act according to that fact.

Camping

It's curious, but there are only a few camping places at this part of the Dolomites. Three at Cortina d'Ampezzo, one at Corvara, one at Canazei (south of Passo Pordoi). Those are very (!) expensive and very crowded. There are lots of hotels in the whole region. See the link page for a links ...

Mountain Conditions

Geislerspitzen in January.

From the south.

Val Gardena Weather

External Links

• Val Gardena (english) A lot of informations to the Val Gardena
• Val Gardena (german version) Deutsche Version der Val Gardena Seite, viele Infos
• Live Cam Col Raiser The Col Raiser Live Cam
• Camping Rochetta Homepage of the Rochetta-campground of Cortina d'Ampezzo
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Grosse Fermeda is the large tower second from left.Photo from the SE by viktor stuffer

In Memory of Stefan "kletterwebbi" Weber

This page was originated by Stefan. Stefan Weber, the member we all used to know from his climbing pseudonym kletterwebbi, died on May 28th 2004 in southern France. 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. Stephan's SP page