And now for the money climb! Four years ago, hiking through Tre Cime di Lavaredo was definitely a highlight. I wanted to climb it, and I was PUMPED that WE WERE GOING TO CLIMB IT!
Also, it was in that new Star Wars movie! 😛
So last time, Shane and I hiked to Rifugio Locatelli. This time, we drove to Rigugio Auronzo for the two nights we were gonna be here. This hut, being in a very touristy area, was definitely the worst hut we stayed in. It was more of a hostel inside the park. Instead of a kitchen/dining room, there was a cafeteria (though it had a good bar). The rooms were very beat up, the beds were bad, etc, etc… but these are first world problems, because we were staying in a large hut with running water for the night. Also the food was actually superb.
Anyways, since we had another big day ahead of us, so we woke up at 4am, and hit the trail at 5am. We took the 105 trail to the climbers trail…
The approach took us longer than expected. Regardless, we got there, and shortly after, so did an Italian/Bulgarian team of three, and a Swiss team of four.
We all chatted and how this was going to go down, and the Italians let us go first 🙂
And then they immediately climbed up alongside of us…
…and passed us 😛 The duo here were from Bulgaria, and it was their first trip climbing outdoors. They were super nice, and super stoked about everything. Not a bad intro to outdoor rock!
Things were a bit of a cluster as they passed us, as you can see ropes crossing everywhere.
But eventually, they got to be one-pitch ahead of us.
Stephen on his way.
Looking at Cime Piccola, you can see a team on the saddle!
Keith chillin’ and relaxin’ at the belay.
Not gonna lie… about 8-pitches in, I was thinking to myself, “sigh, this is a little repetitive..” but regardless, we had to keep moving up!
And up!
And UP! The Swiss guide kept his team of four behind us the whole time; which was really nice. It was funny, at the start of the climb, he had this giant look of disappointment when he learned that we were an American team. When the Italian team passed us and our ropes were getting crossed, he laughed at it, and told us, “the Italians always move very fast. They’ll be out of your way soon, so don’t worry about the ropes. You Americans are always so conservative, but don’t worry, we’ll stay behind you.”
At the finish of P14!
Next up was the cliff band traverse to the backside of Cime Grande, so we could scramble to the summit!
We started to hear thunder. The Italian team’s guide started to yell at his clients, “Hurry up!!! we have to move quickly! The devil is coming!”
At the top with the Italians! We actually beat them there :-). Fist bumps are apparently universally understood. High fives are so 1994.
Enrico, the Italian guide, lowering his clients.
^It was his first ever guided climb, as he had just received his guiding certification! He was definitely spirited the whole way up, and he showed us a shortcut off the mountain… which turned out to be a really crazy down climb through a shooting gallery of loose rock. There were definitely moments where we pulled some port-a-holds that nearly crushed our toes, nearly sprained our ankles, and were a little frazzled, but we beat the rain! That’s what important, right? His clients looked a bit spooked too, but we were all happy when we got back to the main trail, and more happy when we were back at the hut with some beers.
Stats:
- Date: 23-August 2018
- Objective: Tre Cime di Lavaredo – Cima Grande via the Dibona Arete
- Grade: IV+ (5.7)
- Height: 9841-ft / 2999m
- Length of climb: 14 pitches (1640-ft / 500m)
- Accommodations: Rifugio Auronzo