As part of our 10 day Best of the Dolomites Trek in September 2024 I scheduled two rest days in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. On most of our adventures I try to schedule something that is somewhat outside of my comfort zone, whether it be parasailing in Aruba, hot air ballooning in Utah, paragliding in Switzerland, or glacier hiking in Iceland. For the Dolomites, it was an easy decision – try a Via ferrata.
Via ferrata translates to “iron path” and consists of a protected hiking/climbing route. The protection consists of cables, rungs, ladders, and railings embedded into the rock along the route. The hiker wears a special harness that has two leashes which the hiker affixes to the cable along the route with caribiners. If the hiker/climber falls, their fall is limited to a much shorter distance and they remain attached to the rock.
The Dolomites have a lot of Via ferrata routes, many of which were constructed during World War I. These routes were used by Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops to aid the movement of the troops throught he limestone mountains. These routes vary in length and difficulty but definitely require one to feel comfortable with heights. The Dolomites have 9 well known long distance hiking trails, numbered Alta Via 1 thru Alta Via 9. With the exception of the most popular trail (the Alta Via 1), all the other trails include sections with Via ferratas on them. Our Best of the Dolomites Trek included hiking on the Alta Via 1, 2, 3, 4, & 9, but did not include any of the Via ferrata sections.
I reached out to Enrico Maioni with Guide Dolomiti six months prior to our trip and arranged a private morning Via ferrata with him for our first rest day in Cortina. We were to meet with Enrico at our Cortina hotel the evening prior to the Via ferrata to discuss exactly where we would be going and what our expectations were. I gave him our trekking itinerary so that he knew which areas we would already be visiting and I mentioned that Colin had rock climbing experience (mostly bouldering, but is certified to belay) and that I had no experience whatsoever. We were looking for something in the middle ground, that I would physically be able to do, but wouldn’t be too boring for Colin.
The day before our scheduled Via ferrata the Dolomites were hit with an early season snowstorm, wrecking havoc amongst all trekkers. Colin and I had to change our itinerary because our original itinerary had us hiking 12.2 miles at high elevations and it was deemed unsafe to do so with the severe weather. Instead, we explored the World War I tunnels at Lagazuoi and then hitched a ride to Cortina d’Ampezzo. We met with Enrico at 6pm in our hotel lobby and even though the weather was poor he urged us to meet with him the next morning and see how the weather played out. Forecasts showed that the storm would be clearing by 10am the next morning.
Just as Enrico had predicted, the weather was looking promising the next morning. We met him in the hotel lobby and he drove us about 20 minutes outside of Cortina up into the mountains to Rifugio Duca d’ Aosta at 6,880 ft elevation. It was ironic that we were supposed to have been at this rifugio the prior day on our trek. The rifugio sits on the south-east side of the Tofana mountains. The Tofana ski area is home to the famous slopes of the Olimpia and the Schuss di Tofana which hosts the women’s Alpine skiing Work Cup race every year and will be home to the 2026 Women’s Olympic Alpine events.
Enrico provided all of the safety equipment for the Via Ferrata including: helmets, gloves, and harnesses. We placed the equipment in our backpacks and then hiked a short distance to the start of the Via ferrata route. The snow added a magical touch to the views which looked like something from a fairytale. Enrico was giddy with excitement as he said he doesn’t get to climb this Via ferrata very often in the snow. There was about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground as we hiked to the start. We would be climbing the rock tower called Ra Bujela (meaning “needle”) using the Via ferrata Maria e Andrea Ferrari. There is a second rock tower called Ra Pegna (meaning “churn”) nearby and the race course for the Women’s Olympic Downhill runs between these two towers. The Via ferrata up Ra Bujela is rated as moderate and the Via ferrata up Ra Pegna is rated as easy. When I questioned why were not doing Ra Pegna, Enrico’s exact words were, “you look strong”. Mental note – don’t look so strong.
A few minutes before we reached the start, we put on our safety gear (helmets, gloves, and harnesses). At the start of the route, Enrico also attached a safety line (not sure of the exact term) to the three of us. This was considered our second anchor point. In some of the photos you may see that we only have one caribiner clipped onto the cable, this was because we had the safety line as our second anchor point. We were aware that you should normally have both caribiners clipped to the cable. Enrico was in the lead, I was in the middle, and Colin brought up the rear. The first part of the Via ferrata is the most difficult. It is very steep and has some slight overhangs. Enrico and Colin were extremely encouraging throughout the climb. Enrico offered words of encouragement and tried to lighten the mood when he saw I was beginning to panic, and Colin offered helpful tips on where to place my hands and feet.
Once we reached the first bridge the climb got a little easier. We continued along the south face until we reached another bridge. After reaching the second bridge we returned back to east face and continued along the ridge. We saw what we thought was a herd of mountain goats on the mountain, but after looking closer at our photos, we believe it was a herd of deer. It was so peaceful being the only people on the route. It was so quiet and the scenery was spectacular. My episodes of panic weren’t related to the height (and we were high), but had more to do with not knowing where to place my hands and feet and if I was going to be able to pull myself up.
We reached the small summit and then started back down the same way we came for a short distance before turning onto a different route that leads down to the meadow below the tower. Especially with the snow, this section is actually more dangerous than the Via ferrata because we were no longer clipped onto anything. Enrico was like a mountain goat going down thru the meadow, while Colin and I were much slower, afraid of falling, taking in the spectacular scenery, and reveling in our accomplishment.
We were back in Cortina in time for a late lunch and some shopping. This was one of Colin’s favorite days of the trip. I would highly recommend Guide Dolomiti if you are interested in trying a Via ferrata. Enrico was personable, funny, and safety conscious. He was born and raised in Cortina and still lives there today. He became a Certified Professional Mountain Guide in 1984 and has been a member of the “Scoiattoli di Cortina” (Squirrels of Cortina) since 1981. Fun fact – he worked on the movie set of the movie Cliffhanger starring Sylvester Stallone, which was filmed in the Dolomites.
Photos in this post were taken by Enrico, Colin, & myself