Climbing Val di Mello and Dolomites?

I was planning a trip to Italy to boulder in Val di Mello, but my climbing buddy bailed. I found another partner, but he's a trad climber, so the plan changed a bit.

We're thinking of climbing in the Dolomites for a week, bouldering Val di Mello for a week, then meeting up with some folks around Naples/Positano.

Does anyone have any suggestions on trad vs multi-pitch sport in the Dolomites? We were leaning toward multi-pitch sport because of less gear, but it sounds like it's a bit sketchier. Anyone have experience with any of the long sport routes out there?

Also, any advice on how to get to the Dolomites? Is there a train or bus, or is it better to just rent a car? Camping advice? Camp in the mountains vs hut vs in the car? Cheapest option vs most life changing option?

Also, for Val di Mello, where did you guys stay, and is there somewhere to rent a crash pad or do we need to bring our own?

Here's a good place to start:

amazon.com/Classic-Dolomite…

val di mello is awesome, there are several campgrounds in the valley to stay at. the best one is a bit further in the valley, not the ones at the entrance. I don't remember exactly about renting crash pads, I think it's possible but you definitely should find a second opinion on that.

The closest airport to the Dolomites is Venice VCE,than are also good Treviso TSF(only Ryanair flights) and Verona VRN.
Both from Venice and Treviso you can reach Calalzo by train, but it stops there. There are also buses heading north to the main villages like Cortina and the main passes, but I highly reccomend you to rent a car to be free to go around with no limitations, it could really be a pain to go climbing by bus, in many places....just impossible.
About sleeping....mountain huts are everywhere, some of them reachable by car, the halfpension price is more or less 40 bucks, nice experience especially if you go in one of the non car reachable. In the main villages you will find several campgrounds with toilets and showers. A great and cheap option is sleeping in a van or in a tent and in summer a lot of people do that. It's forbidden but, let's say, accepted, park your car better not in front of a hut or a hotel, set your tent not supervisible in the evening and remove it early in the morning, if you are in a van...no problem.
About climbing.....of course the Dolomites are a great trad place, but you can also find some sport routes, depending on the route, it would be a good idea to bring some nuts, cams and slings.
Check, for example, the Lastoni di Formin area with Nikibi, Supertegolina and other routes. Sella area with Oro e carbone, Ottovolante and more.
But , that said, the soul of the Dolomites is in their traditional routes, in the well known and easily accessible you will find good rock and a good number of old pitons and slings, so your rack doesn't need to be huge...you will also meet a lot of people :). If you prefer to spend a relaxed day on a trad route avoiding scary situations I could also recomend you some good friends of mine who are alpine guide.
Val di mello.....boulders everywhere, a nice sportcrag, Sasso Remenno, and a lot of trad routes on great rock....you absolutely cannot miss Luna Nascente. Also long hikes to reach some mountain huts where you can find a huge number of amazing trad routes in a different environment

For the Dolomites, you can get to Cortina by bus. Then hitch hike up the pass a bit and either hike from there or take a chair lift.

I would highly reccomned Refugio Scoiattoli. 5torri.it/rifugio-scoiattol…

It is a two minute walk from Cinque Torre which has some really fun single and multi pitch sport lines. There is Via Feratta in case the weather sucks. Honestly some of the best food I ate in Italy was here.

This is the view from the Refugio!

Larissa wrote:Does anyone have any suggestions on trad vs multi-pitch sport in the Dolomites? We were leaning toward multi-pitch sport because of less gear, but it sounds like it's a bit sketchier. Anyone have experience with any of the long sport routes out there? Also, any advice on how to get to the Dolomites? Is there a train or bus, or is it better to just rent a car? Camping advice? Camp in the mountains vs hut vs in the car? Cheapest option vs most life changing option? Also, for Val di Mello, where did you guys stay, and is there somewhere to rent a crash pad or do we need to bring our own?

Some good suggestions on this thread:

mountainproject.com/v/italy…

If you have a two week trip, I'd suggest renting a car.

Val di Mello is amazing. Trad climb there! Big routes. Popular for bouldering to be sure but there's long traditional routes there.

You could get by with a fairly modest/light rack for climbing most routes.

If you want to trad climb and boulder, go to Val di Mello. Wayyy better rock and sick cracks!