Ferrata Tomaselli, Punta Sud
Ferrata Tomaselli, Punta Sud
Duration - 4 hours
CHALLENGING
Park in the ample car parking facility at the Lagazoi cable car at the top of the Falzarego Pass. Take the cable car to the top of Lagazoi and then descend on foot due north, past some WW1 tunnels, on Route 20. Follow this as it drops gently into the valley with the peak of Tofana di Rosa overlooking you on the right. Keep to the right where you can, particularly where the path becomes less discernible until you see a prominent route (20B) in the scree on the slopes of Punta Sud to your right. Move over onto this route follow it as it closes to the cliffs and meanders up, using some steps on the way to the remains of an old WW1 building and down to the start of the via ferrata at the start of the rocks.
The route goes immediately up and then left, as you traverse around an overhanging premonitory (a tough piece where I found it necessary to haul myself up on the wire), before resuming its upwards trajectory. It is strenuous, particularly on the arms, put interspersed with good ledges to take a breather. Whilst the via Ferrata is steep, but not overly tricky, it is very satisfying as you gain height very quickly. After about 30 minutes you break out onto a flattish spur, with more evidence of WW1 troop positions, and a chance to break off the route, avoiding the second half of the Via Ferrata, by descending off the mountain on the eastern side of Punta Sud (useful if the weather turns bad and you don’t fancy retracing your steps). Please note that I did not use this route and have no experience with how difficult, protected, or well-marked it may be (nonetheless a number of guide books refer to it).
The second half of the Via Ferrata is similar to the first, although not as challenging, Initially the route is unprotected, just a zig-zag scree path until the protection recommences. You climb steeply, interspersed with ledges for a further 30 minutes, ignoring the route that goes off on your left (see photo) unless you wish to do a bit of exploring, to a smooth summit slab of rock that provides a 10 metre exposed and very enjoyable haul to the top. Although you are strictly not at the very top (this can be reached after a brief walk along the ridge if you wish) you have effectively reached the top of the Via Ferrata climb. From the summit the views out to the Tofanas and Marmolada are wonderful. This takes between 2 to 2.5 hours from the Lagazoi cable car station.
The route down, on the eastern side of Punta Sud, is very steep but you are protected by cables all the way. It is not easy looking for footholds below you and care needs to be taken to avoid overbalancing. After about 3 minutes you reach a col where the cables finish. Now the route down is basically due south, zig-zagging on steep scree in a series of funnels until you reach Col Forc Travenanzes after about 40 minutes. From here connect to route 402 and descend back down to the Lagazoi car park.
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.