Getting There
In September 2004 David and I flew to the Dolomites in Italy to climb
some Via Ferrata (Klettersteig in German). These are climbs protected
by a permanent steel cable that you clip on to for protection in the event
that you should fall. More difficult sections have ladders or stempels
to assist the ascent. The highlight of the week (described below)
was the ascent of La Marmolada which, at 3343m, is the highest mountain
in the Dolomites. We climbed one of the easiest routes up but this involved
not only a via ferrata but also traversing the glacier that covers the
top of the mountain.
We awoke to a glorious sun rise and a 20 minute drive up the valley
brought us to the ‘chair lift’ at around 8:45am. This would whisk us 500m
upwards to the start of the route. In fact it was more akin to a series
of shopping trolleys suspended from a continuously moving cable than a
chair lift and ‘whisk’ is perhaps an overstatement. The man at the bottom
asked ‘solo’ or ‘due’. Misunderstanding what he meant I replied ‘due’. We
were promptly pushed together into a moving ‘trolley’ just large enough
for two people. Unfortunately we were carrying large packs on our backs
and found ourselves pressed so tightly together we were unable to turn around!!
We spent the trip discussing our strategy for disembarking at the top which
I’m pleased to say was successful.
