Ferrata Renato del Pol, Cristaldo
Ferrata Renato del Pol, Cristallo
Duration - 5-6 hours
MEDIUM
This is a relatively straightforward route situated on the northern flanks of Monte Cristallo, known as Punt Ovest del Forame. Whilst the Via Ferrata is pretty simple the views are wonderful and much of the route is punctuated with old WW1 positions which makes for an interesting day.
Start at the café Cimabanche, accessed by car or bus from the road leading north, then east out of Cortina D’Ampezzo. The route is best undertaken in an anticlockwise direction, ensuring that you are climbing most of the Via Ferrata sections. From the café head southwest on the old railway track for about a kilometer and a half, past a couple of small lakes, until you reach the track junction with Via Ferrata Renato del Pol clearly marked.
The route enters the trees immediately after leaving the road and soon starts to
climb quite steeply. After about 75 minutes you start to leave the treeline
whereupon you are confronted by 3 man-made caves in the rock ahead of you, made during WW1. Shortly after this point, the first bits of cable appear as you reach the start of the rock cliffs, followed shortly after by another WW1 hollowed-out cavern in which a visitor’s book resides. Here the route takes on a mixture of protected sections (with cables, metal stables, and a metal ladder) and on the less steep ground, unprotected sections as you climb without difficulty to the top of Punta Ovest (2385m), the first of 3 peaks which represent the Forame group. This is pretty much the end of the via Ferrata as the route contours around, a little precariously as you pass under the central peak of Forame, before climbing higher to the third peak of Forame al Fuori. It takes between 2 1⁄2 - 3 1/2 hours from leaving the café to reach this point.
From here you descend the steeply inclined ridge to the saddle, Forcella Gialle, marked by a post, from which you can descend via some old WW1 buildings on a narrow winding path. I do not recommend this route as it is very steep and a lot of the path is washed away, making the section below the building difficult. Better to keep going past the saddle, contouring around another peak, until you reach the second saddle, Forcella Verde, to find the main path which descends less steeply northeast. The route is joined on the left by the precarious route (previously described) and descends, on either side of a stream, until it drops into a gorge. Here route selection is important. When I did this route in early July there was a lot of snow that had gathered in the gorge, blocking out the route. After various difficult attempts at descending via the river bed we eventually found the correct path in the woods to our left. The route takes you directly to the café at Cimabanche takes a couple of hours (from whichever saddle you have taken from the ridge).
Would you like a guided tour?
Please get in touch if you would like to arrange a private guided via ferrata tour of the Dolomites.