Col Rosa

Page history

* September 18th 2010: Page created

Overview

Col Rosa is a small mountain located north of the more than 1.000 m higher mountains in the Tofana group. So why climb the mountain, you might ask? Well I can come up with at least four good reasons:

1. It is located just 4-5 km outside Cortina, so you can climb the mountain in half a day and sip coffee in trendy Cortina the other half of the day.

2. A very nice Via Ferrata route, Ettore Bevore, climbs to the top.

3. You can combine the mountain with a tour of the canyon with the amazing Cascate de Fanes

4. If you are lazy (like me), you can ride your mountain bike half the way up the mountain, thereby only getting all the fun climbing and avoiding all that boring walking in the forest.

Getting there

For getting to Cortina see the general Cortina Dolomites page.

Nearest car park is at the National Park Office, approx. 0,5 km north of the Olympia campsite entrance and just before Hotel Fiames.

From the car park you have two choices for getting to the start of the via ferrata section.

1. The shortest approach is to take route 417 and later 408 and zig zag your way up to Passo Posporcora (1.720 m). From there a small path leads to the start of the ferrata. This approach takes about 1,5-2 hours.

2. Another longer, but nicer!, approach is through Rio Fanes towards Val de Fanes, since this allows you to pass by a canyon with two short via ferrate routes. From here you have splendid views of the Cascate de Fanes. The Cascata round trip can be done in 30 minutes, while the whole detour probably last an additional hour compared to option 1.

3. Option 2 is part of the Cortina mountain bike trail number "7" and you can go with your mountainbike all the way to Passo Posporcora. The approach via option 2 is quite hard on the last bit, while the route from the south from Cortina is much easier. The only little detail with riding your mtb to Passo Posporcora is that you have to downclimb the via ferrata route to get back to your bike.

4. Follow path 447 on the northern slope of the mountain to the top, but this route is better used for descend.

Routes overview

The Via Ferrate route is described in detail on the Ettore Bevore page

I can only add that according to my via ferrata book (Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites, vol. 1, by Smith and Fletcher) the route is graded 3B on a scale from 1A to 5C. I found it to be one of the harder 3B routes I have done, but it is only 400 m and good rock and good protection. But artifical help is limited.

Panorama showing a large part of the eastern Dolomites. Summit view from Col Rosa (2.166 m)

Maps

Tabacco 1:25.000 - sheet 03 - Cortina D'Ampezzo e Dolomiti Ampezzane
Kompass 1:50.000 - sheet 55 - Cortina d'Ampezzo
Free maps from the tourist office in Cortina
or maps from the Club Alpino Italino - Col Rosa in on number 3B and 3C

Images

View Col Rosa Image Gallery - 20 Images