Ferrata Gianni Aglio, Tofana di Mezzo
Ferrata Gianni Aglio, Tofana di Mezzo
Duration - 10 hours
VERY CHALLENGING
This is one of the most arduous and (as a result) challenging, via Ferratas in the Dolomites. It represents a longer day than the west ridge of Marmolada and contains some difficulty via ferrata sections, although it is not as technical (given that the Marmolada route encompasses 2 glaciers). The route summits 2 of the 3 Tofana peaks and represents some of the highest via Ferratas in the Dolomites. The route starts by using the Punta Anna ridge route (see previous section) and then traverses around the lower part of the southeast face of Tofana di Mezzo. As the path flattens out you reach a junction and, instead of continuing onwards as you if would if you were descending Punta Anna (on the Giuseppe Oliviera Ferrata), take the path on the left as it slowly zig-zags up onto the southeast ridge of Tofana di Mezzo. After a series of ladders and fairly straightforward via ferrata sections you take a route around the flanks of the ridge, at one point changing sides by going through a huge window in the rock.
After about an hour from the path junction, you reach a junction in the via Ferrata. If you take the route immediately upwards and to your left you climb a steep pinnacle, arriving on a small plateaued top after about 20 minutes. Despite the wonderful views, I don’t recommend this excursion as it is quite tiring (particularly given the distance you still need to travel) and the great views it offers will be surpassed anyway as you climb higher. The route down from the Pinnacle is the same as the one you took up. Proceeding past the junction you shortly arrive at the most heart-stopping moment I have experienced on any of the Dolomite Via Ferrata – a mercifully short but overhanging stretch of rock with a huge drop – and this, coupled with the time it takes to complete this via ferrata, is why I categorise this route a “very challenging”.
On regaining your composure continue steadily upwards to the summit of Tofana di Mezzo which will take another 40 minutes to an hour. The last stretch of the route is intermittently divided between Via Ferrata and non-protected sections. At the summit, you will notice the Bus de Tofana Refugio and cable car to the east some 300m away which you can use to descend the mountain if this is as far as you wish to go. Assuming you wish to continue to the neighbouring peak of Tofana di Pomedes (marked as Tofana di Dentro on this map) stay high on the summit ridge traveling in the direction of Pomedes until you pick up the start of the next piece of Via Ferrata.
The route then descends quite steeply for 20 minutes until you reach the saddle between the peaks. When I did this route in July there was still quite a bit of snow in the gullies, some of which was covering the wires. The ascent to the summit of Tofana di Pomedes takes a further 25 minutes and is very similar to the last section of the ascent to di Mezzo, involving a mixture of via ferrata and non-protected stretches.
The descent is largely unprotected and not as steep as the ascent as it heads north on a broad ridge to some old WW1 buildings and unmanned but perfectly good (for an overnight roughing it if you have) to Refugio Barraca Alpini at about 2,900m. It is very advisable to check with the Guides Office in Cortina on this stretch as, when I did the route in mid-July, there was considerable snow on this section which caused some concerns (as we were not carrying crampons or an axe).
From the Refugio continue to descend north to the next col (about 300m away) and look out for the descent route on the right. This route, again a mixture of protected and non-protected sections, takes you down to route 407 near the valley floor. As you near this route you can take a shortcut (easily seen in clear weather) up the re-entrant southeast, directly to the Ra Vales Refugio and lift station. If the cloud is low and visibility poor I suggest you descend to the marked route and then follow this to the Refugio. From the Refugio walk steadily upwards on the ski slope southeast for a further 20 - 30 minutes until you reach the start descent route of Giuseppe Oliviera via Ferrata (see the last section of the Punta Anna route for more details).
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