Tofana di Rozes  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Elevation:  8,500' Lat, Long:  46.5558, 12.058 Map Page Views:  6,059. Good page?    Administrator:  Tom Erickson Submitted By:  Jason Halladay on Aug 10, 2009 Make this area a Favorite What's New   Print a Mini-Guide with routes Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event

The main, classic south face buttresses can be see...

Description 

At 3225m, the Tofana di Rozes dominates the view around the Falzarego Pass. The huge, steep and expansive south face catches the eye and draws the climber in. The 800m South Face route, a big mountaineering route was the first route up the south face in 1901. The route combines pitches of climbing on solid rock interspersed with long sections of loose rock scrambling.
More pure climbing routes on the obvious “pillar ribs” that slash up the south face's right side are fine objectives for climbers. These buttresses are numbered one through three (and maybe more?) from right to left. Buttress #1, The “South Arete”, goes up at ~5.7 and 14 pitches. Buttress #2, The “Pillar Rib” goes up at 5.9 and 18 pitches. Also on Buttress #2 is the big and relatively more difficult “Pilastro” route at 5.11- and 14 pitches.

Getting There 

From the quaint mountain town of Cortina d' Ampezzo, the trailhead for Tofana di Rozes takes only about 25 minutes to reach by car. Drive up the Falzarego Pass road to marker 113.8km and turn right onto the well-signed paved road for Rifugio Dibona. A couple of miles up the paved but potholed road the road turns to dirt at the fork in the road. Go left here towards Rifugio Dibona on the dirt road to the parking area at the Rif. Dibona. The dirt road is passable by passenger car just go easy in a few spots.

Basecamp 

Hotels abound in Cortina d'Ampezza and it's a short drive up to the Rif. Dibona from Cortina. Renting a car for your trip is probably the best way to go allowing you early starts for the sure-to-be-crowded classics of the Falzarego Pass area. I suspect taxis and buses can be easily obtained but I don't know for sure.
The rifugio in the area, Rif. Dibona, offers a lower cost option of nightly lodging and is super close to the climbing. It also appears you can camp along the roads to the rifugios but I don't know what local ethics/regulations regarding camping are. However, as with many things in the mountains of Europe, it appears anything goes and you're not likely to get busted for anything. We saw many people camping in camper vans and tents.

Season 

The area is pretty high in altitude and obviously a great ski destination in winter so late spring, summer and fall are best. The routes on the south face of Tofana di Rozes are obviously sunny and warm and climbing in mid-summer can be hot but not bad. Afternoon storms can and do roll in as the valleys heat up during the day so starting early is a good idea.

Beta 

The English-translated version of the book “Classic Dolomite Climbs” by Anette Kohler and Norbert Memmel (ISBN 0-89886-693-6) published by The Mountaineers of Seattle, WA, covers the classic multipitch routes of the Tofana di Rozes' south face. I know there are others, perhaps try Chessler Books online.

The Classics

Featured Route For Tofana di Rozes

South Face Buttress 1, a.k.a. “South Arete” 5.7+ PG13  International : Dolomites : Tofana di Rozes

While it's the smallest buttress of the classic buttresses on the south face, the South Arete is a striking arete offering great climbing and fantastic position. It's a perfect warm-up and gauge for the other, bigger routes on the south face. Many of the belays are on nice ledges and while much of the climbing isn't directly on the arete, it still has an exhilarating, airy and exposed feeling it to. Because of the length of the route, it's difficult to describe in detail the pitch-by-pitch ac...[more]   Browse More Classics in International

Photos of Tofana di Rozes Slideshow

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Tofana di Rozes from the distance (View from the t...	South Face Pillars, Tofana di Rozes	Tofana di Rozes.