Croda dei Toni (Zwölfer)

Overview

A complex mountain, a massif, with high (up to 700 m drop) walls and many summits.
Very different views from the different sides you glance from :
- a big wall from west (can be seen very well from Paterno)
- a giant and indented ridge from north (val Fiscalina)
- a big tower structure from val Giralba
No easy way to get the summits, even the normal routes require skill and are serious for difficulty and drop. Here you can even find an ice route (first ascent was done using the channel between the main and the central summit) that is better to avoid in good weather days or stone fallings ...
Crossing the main ridge can be dangerous in some points and (I don't know anybody who made it) perhaps can require to bivuoac.



It belongs to the "Dolomiti di Sesto" (sextner alpes)".
It's boundaries are :
North-East - Forcella Giralba
East - Val Giralba
North-West - Forcella Croda dei Toni
West - Val Gravasecca
South - Forcella dell'Agnello

Summits and routes overview

It's main ridge is oriented North-South
on the north side two little branches have some interesting summits and the south border is a interesting ridge oriented west-east

Summits and routes :

north-west branch's main summit is the Anticima Ovest (3011 m), well detached from the main summit and with difficult routes on the N wall :
- via Molin-Corte Coi - 500 m - ED inf
- Schranzhofer - 500 m - ED inf

north-east branch has some interesting summits : Cima Piccola (2917 m) - Dame Vicentine, a group of 3 spires, Cima Piccolissima (aka Torre Glanwell - 2728 m) with some medium and difficult routes (from AD to ED inf)

main ridge has the main summits, the most known :
Croda dei Toni (3094 m) with :
two medium difficulty normal routes :
West wall (500 m - AD inf) --- East wall (650 m - AD inf - wonderful light effects in the "mirror cave")
some interesting and difficult routes on the N and NNE wall :
NNE wall (Siorpaes-Dimai - 700 m - D - the "classic", interesting, amusing but serious !!) --- N gorge (Dimai-Siorpaes - 700 m - D) --- N edge (Schranzhofer - 700 m - ED) -- N wall "diretta" (Mauri-Del Vecchio - 650 m - ED inf) --- and a fine and amusing route on the SW edge (Castiglioni-Tutino - 650 m - AD)

Croda Antonio Berti 3029 m with some interesting routes :
East wall right side (normal route - 650 m - AD inf) --- East wall left side (Castiglioni - 600 m TD sup) --- West wall (Comici-Fabjan - 550 m - TD) --- West wall (Bolte-Wolf - 550 m - TD) --- NW edge (Castiglioni-Bramani - 500 m - D)

Cima Sud 2945 m - has some routes, all almost difficult :
West route (Dibona-Mayer-Rizzi - 350 m - D) --- NE edge (Rizzi-Faccio - 650 m - TD) --- East wall (Pisoni-Castiglioni - 550 m - D) --- East wall (Castiglioni-Tutino - 600 m - D inf)

the last important summit is the Cima d/Auronzo 2914 m, a big tower with some interesting routes :
from Forcella dell'Agnello (normal route - 350 m - D) --- South wall (Comici-Casara - 400 m - ED) --- Sout-west wall (Mauri-Del Vecchio - 350 m - TD sup) --- West wall (Livanos-Stenico - 400 m - ED) --- East wall (Castiglioni-Tutino - 650 m - D inf)

On the east wall of Cima Sud a huge monolith, the Torrione Carducci (2785 m) has two interesting accesses : from west side a not difficult (PD) normal route and a fine difficult route on the East wall (Rizzi-Faccio - 500 m - TD)

Other minor summit (most important is Cima Witzenmann - 2820 m) close the south side of the massif

...

Getting There

Approaching this massif can be done arriving from :

north side : val Pusteria (Pustertal) along the road to Lienz :
Bressanone (Brixen) - S.Candido (Innichen) - Sesto (Sexten) - S.Giuseppe - Val FiscalinaIn this beatiful valley a road allows to arrive to a big parking near the "capanna di Fondo Valle" (1526 m) where you can start walking to get the Rif. Comici - 1h 30' from the parking

south side : by car from Cortina - Passo 3 Croci - Giralba (935 m) - val Giralba - Rif. Carducci - 4h 30' from the parking

Huts :
- Rif. Comici - 2224 m
- Rif. Carducci - 2297 m
- biv. De Toni - 2567 m (Forcella dell'Agnello)

Red Tape

natural park of sexten dolomites

When To Climb

july - september
careful in this area !!!
these summits are not frequently climbed, paths and hiking routes a little more, but it remains a little wild : bad weather can be very dangerous and rescue is not so easy as in other dolomite groups

Camping

no campings in the area, huts can give all support for climbers.

Images

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