The Sentiero Ferrato Ivano Dibona is a challenging high alpine route along the Zurlon ridge, the main crest on Cristallo, a mountain group in the Italian Dolomites, northeast of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the province of Belluno, Veneto, Italy. The use of a via ferrata set is recommended. The via ferrata is very well known because of the dolomitic scenery and the panoramic view. [1] [2]
The Ivano Dibona is a restored historical route, which was used by Italian troops during World War I. [3] [4] The route was explored in the 1960s by Freddy and Ivano Dibona, subsequently made safe for tourists, and reopened in September 1970. It was named after Ivano Dibona, who had perished on Cristallo in 1968. [3] Remains of military constructions from 1915 to 1917 are still visible along the route: casemate, barracks and ladders.
The route starts from Forcella Staunies (2,919 m), the top of the cable car (not in operation since 2016 - there is only one lift from Capanna Rio Gero to Rifugio Son Forca) at Cristallo's south side, and ends at Rifugio Ospitale in the Val Felizon. It takes about four hours to walk from Capanna Rio Gero (1698 m) below Passo Tre Croci to the start of the via ferrata at the Forcella Staunies for the ascent, which is arduous in the last part due to loose scree. The VF Ivano Dibona is not a climbing route, but follows the mountain ridge, via ladders, tunnels and bridges. The exposed parts are supplied with steel wires typical for via ferratas, while the parts that originally were difficult are supplied with remedies to make them accessible for walkers.
From the start at Forcella Staunies is some upward ladder climbing, a short tunnel, and then the bridge Ponte Cristallo, 27 meters long, and the longest via ferrata suspension bridge in the Dolomites. [1] [4] The bridge was shown in the action film Cliffhanger from 1993. The peak Cristallino d'Ampezzo (3,008 m) can be climbed via a short side route from the main Ivano Dibona. [1] [5]
Further the route goes down to Forcella Grande (2,870 m), and passes Forcella Padeon (2,760 m), Forcella Alta (2,687 m), and Forcella Bassa, and along the ridge to the peaks Zurlon (2,363 m), and Col di Stombi (2,168 m), and finally down to Ospitale. [1]
The total height difference of the tour is 1000 m in the ascent and 1720 m in the descent. In early summer, remains of hard snow can be a danger. There are refreshment stops in Rio Gere, at the Rifugio Son Forca and in Ospitale. There is an unmanaged shelter in the Forcella Padeon. [6]
The Dolomites, also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley. The Dolomites are located in the regions of Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli Venezia Giulia, covering an area shared between the provinces of Belluno, Vicenza, Verona, Trentino, South Tyrol, Udine and Pordenone.
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alpine valley, it is a summer and winter sport resort known for its skiing trails, scenery, accommodation, shops and après-ski scene, and for its jet set and Italian aristocratic crowd.
The Brenta Group or Brenta Dolomites is a mountain range, and a subrange of the Rhaetian Alps in the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group. They are located in the Province of Trentino, in northeastern Italy. It is the only dolomitic group west of the Adige River. Therefore, geographically, they have not always been considered a part of the Dolomites mountain ranges. Geologically, however, they definitely are - and therefore sometimes called the "Western Dolomites". As part of the Dolomites, the Brenta Group has been officially recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site under the World Heritage Convention.
A via ferrata is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except notably in German-speaking regions, which use Klettersteig—"climbing path".
Alta Via 1 is a 150-kilometre-long high-level public footpath which runs through the eastern Dolomites in Italy. It is also known as the Dolomite High Route 1. It passes through some of the finest scenery in the Dolomites. The path runs south from Pragser Wildsee, near Toblach, to Belluno. Prags can be accessed by bus, and Belluno has both train and bus services.
Monte Antelao is the highest mountain in the eastern Dolomites in northeastern Italy, southeast of the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the region of Cadore. The Monte Antelao is an ultra-prominent peak (Ultra).
The Giau Pass (el. 2236 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Dolomites in the province of Belluno in Italy. It connects Cortina d'Ampezzo with Colle Santa Lucia and Selva di Cadore.
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo, also called the Drei Zinnen, are three distinctive battlement-like peaks, in the Sexten Dolomites of northeastern Italy. They are probably one of the best-known mountain groups in the Alps. The three peaks, from east to west, are:
Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites, is the best-known peak of the Pale di San Martino group, in the Dolomites, northern Italy. Although it is not the highest peak of the group, the Cima Vezzana being a few metres higher, its slender point, which can be seen from the Rolle Pass, dominates the landscape.
Tofane is a mountain group in the Dolomites of northern Italy, west of Cortina d'Ampezzo in the province of Belluno, Veneto. Most of the Tofane lies within Parco naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo, a nature park.
Cristallo is a mountain massif in the Italian Dolomites, northeast of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the province of Belluno, Veneto, northern Italy. It is a long, indented ridge with four summits higher than 3,000 metres. The mountain range is part of the "Natural Park of the Ampezzo Dolomites".
Cinque Torri comprise a small rock formation belonging to Nuvolao group in the Dolomiti Ampezzane north-west of San Vito di Cadore and south-west of Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Piz Boè is the highest mountain of the Sella Group, a mountain-range in the Dolomites, Italy. It has an elevation of 3,152 metres (10,341 ft).
Angelo Dibona was an Austro-Hungarian and Italian mountaineer. He is remembered as one of the great pioneers of climbing in the Dolomites and is responsible for many first ascents throughout the Alps. The Aiguille Dibona in France, the Campanile Dibona and the Dibona-Kante on the Cima Grande di Lavaredo are named after him.
Tofana di Rozes is a mountain of the Dolomites in the Province of Belluno, Veneto, Italy. Located west of the resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, the mountain's giant three-edged pyramid shape and its vertical south face, above the Falzarego Pass, makes it the most popular peak in the Tofane group, and one of the most popular in the Dolomites.
Lagazuoi is a mountain in the Dolomites of northern Italy, lying at an altitude of 2,835 metres (9,301 ft), about 18 kilometres (11 mi) southwest by road from Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Veneto Region. The mountain is part of the "Natural Park of the Ampezzo Dolomites".
Sorapiss, also referred to as Sorapis or Punta Sorapiss, is a mountain in the Dolomites within the Veneto region of northern Italy. Situated in the comune of Cortina d'Ampezzo, it has an elevation of 3,205 metres (10,515 ft). In its vicinity is a mountain pass of the same name, as well as Sorapiss Lake, at the foot of the mountain. The mountain range is part of the "Natural Park of the Ampezzo Dolomites".
Cadini di Misurina is a group of mountains in the eastern Dolomites in the Province of Belluno, Italy. These mountains rise to the west of Auronzo di Cadore, north-east of Cortina d'Ampezzo and south of Dobbiaco, in a position overlooking Lake Misurina. They are part of the Dolomites subsection of Sesto, of Braies, and of Ampezzo, and belong to the municipality of Auronzo di Cadore. The highest peak is the Cima Cadin of San Lucano.
The White War is the name given to the fighting in the high-altitude Alpine sector of the Italian front during the First World War, principally in the Dolomites, the Ortles-Cevedale Alps and the Adamello-Presanella Alps. More than two-thirds of this conflict zone lies at an altitude above 2,000m, rising to 3905m at Mount Ortler. In 1917 New York World correspondent E. Alexander Powell wrote: “On no front, not on the sun-scorched plains of Mesopotamia, nor in the frozen Mazurian marshes, nor in the blood-soaked mud of Flanders, does the fighting man lead so arduous an existence as up here on the roof of the world.”
Croz dell'Altissimo is a mountain in the Brenta group, a subgroup of the Rhaetian Alps in the Italian Region of Trentino-Alto Adige, with a height of 2,339 metres (7,674 ft)). The mountain is mostly known for its imposing South-West face that rises with a straight vertical 900 meters from Val dell Seghe, above Molveno, up to the summit ridge. The mountain has actually two distinct summits, a NW and a SE summit, of which the former is slightly higher but the latter bears the cross. The east and north sides of the mountain are quite easily accessible for hikers.