Breathtaking views from Sentiero Gustavo Vidi

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Looking for a breathtaking day trek at the Brenta Dolomites? Well we have an excellent proposal or you. Go to Madonna di Campiglio and take the two-stage gondola up to Rifugio Stoppani and head towards Sentiero Gustavo Vidi.

Sentiero Gustavo Vidi can be counted as a very easy via ferrata but in real life it is more of a mountain walk with some protected sections. But don't let that fool you. Sentiero has a lot to offer on great heights at 2660 meters.

What makes this route quick is the fast gondola access directly from Madonna di Campiglio up to the Passo del Groste. It is a good idea to prepare schedules so that you are heading up before the siesta between 12-14 and be back at the middle gondola station before 17:00 when they close the line.

Route starts at 200 meters north-east from the Rifugio Stoppani where is a clear sign pointing towards the beginning of the trail. Trail ascents about 250 meters and descents down to the Groste middle station about 500 meters in about 3-4 hours.  During the walk there is about 500 meters of ferrata cables.

Route itself offers a good way to get used to the heights at mountains and trekking on the ridges. On some parts the route is narrow with steep walls on the sides and thus requires careful walking.

Sentiero Gustavo Vidi is a perfect way to get an overview of the spectacular Dolomite mountains even for ferrata beginners. For experienced ferrata trekkers or climbers the route is very easy but just the spectacular surroundings justify to complete the route. During the early summer few parts of the route might go cross snowy or icy sections and it is a good idea to check the status of the route if you are heading there during the early summer. And as usual at the the mountains weather conditions should be good before attempting this one. Recommended, one of the best experiences you can have during a day visit at the Brenta Dolomites.

Ferrata grade: 5/5
Route quality: 5/5
Security: 3/5
Surroundings/views: 5/5
Approach: 5/5
Exit: 5/5

See all photos:

Sentiero Gustavo Vidi, Madonna di Campiglio, 5.7.2015

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Trekking at Brenta Dolomites

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Sometimes when the weather gets just too hot in Arco and it is better to head up to the breathtaking Dolomites and enjoy one of the most beautiful mountain landscapes in the world. Today we had such a day with a perfect bright blue sky to have a visit in one of the rare natural heritage locations.

Madonna di Campiglio and Brenta Dolomites are only 70 kilomiters and 1,5 hours away from Arco so driving there takes time but is reasonable for a day trip.

To speed up our schedules and to maximize the time at the top we took the ski lift from Madonna di Campiglio to the top Rifugio Stoppani. Our goal was to have a half a day trekking at paths leaving from the rifugio. At the same time we had excellent opportunity to scout the snow conditions between the the Pietra Grande and Cima del Groste peaks and find the entry points of the nearby via ferratas.

There are numerous excellent ferratas at the Brenta area and two of them can be easily accessed from and to Rifugio Stoppani. The first one of them is easy but breathtaking ferrata Sentiero Gustavo e Natale Vidi. It can be completed from the Rifugio Stoppani to the Rifugio Groste and then to the middle lift station in about 3 hours. During the time of our visit ferrata was completely accessible without snow gear.

Sentiero Alfredo Benini is 2nd alternative for a one day session from Rifugio Stoppani to Rif. Tuckett and then back to Rif. Stoppani that can be completed in about 6 hours. Sentiero Alfredo Benini is more demanding but still relatively easy ferrata. During the time of our visit it was partially covered by snow and crampons are usually recommended for the route.

What can I say, we had an excellent half a day trekking session in a breathtaking scenery! Definitely recommended and just remember to have a camera with you when visiting the region!

See all photos:

Brenta Dolomites, 26.6.2015

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Via Ferrata Monte Albano is open again

Via Ferratas offers a quick and nice way to enjoy great views and heights without too much of a hassle. Instead of a multipitch climbing we decided to take a break from the normal routines and head to the Via Ferrata Monte Albano - Ottorini Marangoni. 

Monte Albano's ferrata has a respectable reputation but it has been closed since 2011. Luckily the
long maintenance project has been finally completed and route has been re-opened recently. We have been actually waiting several years to get there and now finally we got the long waited opportunity in our hands.

Route has been told to be the hardest outside higher Dolomite mountains by offering lots of open air. Route's grade is the hardest even it is only 350 meters long. Highest altitude at the end of the route is around 600 meters and the estimated time to complete the route is 4-5 hours including ascent and exit.

It seems that the route has been improved a lot during the maintenance and some of the old route
descriptions are not valid anymore. At the same time the surroundings have been improved too and there is an excellent boulder park with picnic tables and a public toilet just a few hundred meters before the ferrata.

For me it looked like that the beginning the route has been secured better than before as well are the airy traverses. Overall safety of the route is now in an good level. That may have turn the route slightly easier than before but we are not speaking about a Sunday walk here!

Route has splendid and exposed traverses what it has been known for. Lots and lots of open air around while traversing over the city of Mori makes this legend worthwhile to be experienced. And this route is not for a first timers. Having a good head for exposed rock walls and heights and some stamina is required.

We completed the route in about four hours and it could be completed even faster if you don't spend too much time for taking photos like we did. Recommended definitely!

Ferrata grade: 5/5
Route quality: 5/5
Security: 4/5
Surroundings/views: 5/5
Approach: 5/5
Exit: 5/5


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Monte Albano - Ottorini Marangoni, 25.6.2015

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Relaxing activity at Rio Salogoni and Lago di Tenno

If you just want to see the photos then click here.  

What an exhausted group of climbers can do after a long multipitch to recover? They can spend a

Juha and Nina in the lost valley.

relaxing half a day at via ferrata and then go swimming to the nearby lakes.

I have to admint that one of my favorite via ferrata is Rio Salogoni in Drena. We visited there the very first time during our last years trip to Lake Garda, so it was a familiar route for most of us (read more about Rio Salogoni from here). As a route Rio Salogoni is not the most demanding or technically difficult but it has a certain spirit of a lost world that I haven't experienced in other places.

I was proud to show this place to our new members Juha, Niina and Nora. All of them had the opportunity to experience the lost world in a peacuful mood without other groups rushing in to it. And that shows on the images.

Rio Salogoni is definitely a worthy half day adventure to take and for our non climber quests Juha and Nina the day was definitely exciting and challenging even. After my second visit here Im even more convinced of the Rio Salogoni's magic. A defnite place to visit, recommended!

Sami & Noro shows how to walk on a wire bridge.

After the half day adventure there was only one thing to do, to swimming in the nearby lakes. Our choice for the day was Lago di Tenno that is well know from its turquoise and lagoon like environment (read more about Tenno). This year the water level was extraordinary high because of the rains and floods. Anyway the swimming was refreshing after the day at via ferrata and a good ending for our rock adventures.

Reflections on the Lago di Tenno. Notice the trees growning from the lake because of high water level.

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Drena, Rio Salogoni, 9.7.2013

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Back to Italy 14.6. - 14.7.2013

We are finally heading back to our favorite summer camp, Lake Garda! Right now I can tell you that we are seriously busy while preparing all little details for the upcoming trip.

Traveling takes three days from Finland to Italy by car. Our trip goes via Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria to Italy. What scares us are the floods in southern Germany and Austria. It has been a mess out there and we shall see if all the main roads are accessible or not.

Our team is split into two waves this year. I'll be coming to Garda with Heta in the first wave and our reinforcements will be coming 28th and 29th of July ,just after the Finnish midsummer. So this year there will be total of 5 Rock Blockers adventuring at the Garda region.

To get into the right mood I decided to do some eye candy for our dear followers. Switch to full screen, turn on audio and see our summer teaser 2013. And remember to have fun!

See you at Lake Garda!

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Great views over Garda at Fausto Susatti Ferrata

View down to Riva and Arco from Cima Capi.

Trail starts from via Ponale.

As a last adventure for this summer we decided to summit Cima Capi (907 meters) by climbing F. Susatti Ferrata. Our day started slightly late and because of that the temperature was already around 34 celcius degrees, which is hot for a long ascent.

Actual route starts from Riva and goes along via Ponale. The first half an hour goes exactly at the same road that we pedaled to the secret spot to Punta dei Larici. While walking the old road it is easy to spot fortresses, tunnels and barrack on the sides. Old Ponale road has a long history. It been built already 1860 to protect the lake, Garda, the road and the Sperone aqueduct supplying Riva.

Sign at the Ponale road pointing
towards Cima Capi.

After the 30 minutes walk at the old war road we arrived to the point where the path number 405 heads towads via ferrata and Cima Capi. From this point forward the road gets more steep and is covered with loose rock. It takes a bit over an hour to get to the starting point of the ferrata from the crossroads.

Soon after the start the path heads towards a steep and open mountain meadows that were extremely hot during our ascent and only few parts ware nicely in the shadow. For us the ascent was one of the hottest that we have completed during the years that we have spent at Lake Garda. Having enough water and some snack was essential. Personally I reserved four liters of water for the day.

Steep ascent.

Exhausted traveller.

Views towards the lake and nearby peaks are magnificent and were getting even better after every step. The price for views is the demanding approach walk up to the starting point of the ferrata. Once we arrived to the ferrata luckily the wind was starting to cool the air and we didn't felt tired anymore.

The ferrata itself is easy and suitable for all who can walk to the starting point. It is not exposed so climbing should be easy for anyone. Ferrata is also split into several parts and it continues even for the descent path towards Bastione.

From the peak the ascent path is obvious to follow. But the ferrata, ascent and the route is not yet over. Soon after the peak descent is partially exposed at the ridge. Then after that ascent has several ferrata parts traversing on the edge of the mountain. Trail back to Riva follows first the path number 405 and then the path number 404 which goest via Bastione at the end. For us the ascent took about 2 and half hours so it was a good idea to have some additional water for the ascent. Our total time for the ascent, ferrata and descent was about 5 and half hours (including the time we spent for photographing).

At ferrata.

Summit.

Yet again we got a great adventure but sadly it was our last for this year. I'm still happy that I had the opportunity to do most of the planned activities. For this year we had to skip the more demanding via ferrata Ottorino Marangoni at Monte Albano that seemed to be closed for some reason. We also had to skip few of our planned alpine multipitch routes and we missed the local freerider's weekly ride at the Skull route. But three weeks is only three weeks. I gues that we have to come back again next year. We'll see.

Heading down.

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Via Ferrata Rio Salagoni

Ferrata started nearby the parking.

It was time for the second ferrata. For today we selected relatively easy via ferrata Rio Salogni. Exceptional route is traversing in a cave like environment surrounded by a rich and a beautiful nature. The ferrata starts from outside the city of Dro and ends up nearby to the old castle of Drena.

Ferrata starts 600 meters from the parking at the road SP84. Starting point of the ferrata was like an entry point to a fantasy land that lies between smooth rock walls and a small rivulet at the bottom.

Finding the start of the ferrata was easy.

This ferrata is completely different from the others because it is traversing most of the time on a wall of a limestone rock valley. Temperature on the ferrata is almost 10 degrees less than at the surraunding countryside, wich makes it even more enjoyable.

Start of the ferrata.

Ferrata follows the rock walls by traversing slowly upwards. After about 20 minutes the first part of the ferrata ended into an outstanding green valley. The valley looks like a lost world because of the distant sunlight and smooth colors of green and brown. One of the most exciting locations that I have seen during the summers that I have spent at Lake Garda. From here the ferrata continued through a bridge built out of three iron cables. Via ferrata continues then after the bridge and climbs towards the castle of Drena.

Finally we ended up to the spot where guides usually take hteir groups towards the path that leads to the castle. That traditional path turns left over a small wooden bridge. But today we chose a different trail. We continued our adventure by travelling further the valley.

Mika on the cable bridge at the lost valley.

Trail continued with iron steps but without the cable. Most of the time it was ok, but on same cases connecting the via ferrata kit to the iron ladders seemed to be a good idea. Path continued for about 15 minutes until it ended to Drena.

At Drena we decided to take a look to the old castle. Castle was nicely renowed and it was also possible to visit at the tower to see the nice view to the Sarca walley. After visiting the castle we headed towards our car by following a nice but rocky trail.

Once we ware at the car everyone felt that the via ferrata was definitely a worthwhile to climb. Recommended because of the great cave like environment and beatiful scenery.

See our photos from Flicker.

Heta and Sami at the tower of the old castle of Drena.

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Via Ferrata del Colodri

Our initial plan was to take the final practice for the multipitch climbing at Corno di Bo. But as usual things didn't went as planned. After a busy morning and afternoon we had only few hours to do something fun. After short planning session we decided to climb an easy but nice Via Ferrata del Colodri.

Testing via ferrata kits.

Our trip started with a short walk through the city of Arco where the first goal was to buy a via ferrata kit. After 45 minutes of testing different kind of carabiners we were ready.  With the brand new equipment we headed towards the Arco camping area where from the via ferrata trail starts. At that stage time was around 18:00, leaving us about 2 hours to get to the top and back before the sunset.

Ferrata starts nearby the camping area.

Finding the via ferrata was relatively easy. First we headed to the Arco camping area and then located the trekking path number 431(bis). All trekking paths are marked with red and white stripes and numbers so locating the right path was easy. Then we just followed the ascending path with red markings towards the cliff. After a walk of 10 to 15 minutes we were at the starting point of the via ferrata.

Via ferrata was easy and it had a nice view over the Sarca valley. The climbing part took about 40 minutes. During the last third we had to rush a little because of an upcoming thunderstorm. Once we got our summit the thunderstorm reached Arco. Descending via ferrata was not an option. Being at the same altitude with the storm and connected to a lightning rod (steel via ferrata cables) wasn't a good idea.

Sami setting up his helmet camera.

I started to rush towards western side of the mountain to find the exit path that leads towards the Santa Maria di Laghel. To get down there the first mission was to locate a small path on leading down on the western side of the Colodri. Finding the path wasn't an easy task but finally after 15 minutes I managed to spot a narrow path hidden between the woods and bushes. At that stage we also "rescued" a german family from the storm by guiding them to the right way down. The exit path was narrow and steep with loose rocks. After about 80 - 100 meters we found a rope and then after descending that we continued the rocky path towards the main road. Sudden thunderstorm was the most thrilling part of this adventure.

See photos from Flickr
 See photos on our journal

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Towards Lake Garda

This blog is a diary about our team's mountain adventures at Lake Garda in North Italy. Majority of the posts will be about climbing, mountainbiking and via ferrata trips at the Lake Garda region. You can follow our adventures via this blog, a journal and twitter.

Our team: Heta, Mika, Jarkko and Sami

Mountainbiking has been the major sport for me but  this year's goal and challenge is to climb first multipitch routes on alpine walls. This may sound like professional, but actually my clibing career started just a year a go at Lake Garda. 15th of August 2011 I had the very first top rope ascent on a real rock. And the rest of the team started rock climbing soon after that. Now after a year of training and coaching from alpine guides we are ready for the multipitch climbing challenges on alpine walls.

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