I've just returned from a month exploring in Europe, doing a combination of Alpine climbing and via ferratas, and found the advice provided on UKC for the latter (which I had no prior experience of) to be useful, if a little limited. As a result I decided that writing about my experiences in the
Brenta Group could be useful for UKC users who are hoping to make an excursion here in the future.
I went to the
Brenta Group with a friend, both of us being experienced climbers and mountaineers, climbing around the HVS standard. We used the Fletcher and Smith (Cicerone) guidebook which covers the region (volume 2). I'd begin by recommending this book: we had the opportunity, and were partly forced due to the weather, to experience a few different areas around the southern Dolomites, and the book covers these comprehensively, as well as giving useful advice to first time via ferrata-ists in the opening.
The Bochette Way was recommended to us by a contact, but we had to do all of the research concerning transport, accommodation, gear and attitudes ourselves. The guidebook, which is aimed (we felt) at families or people less used to dealing with lengthy walks and climbs, would recommend that anyone attempting the complete Bochette Way (beginning near Madonna di Campiglio and ending in Pinzolo) should do so over a period of about five days, staying in mountain lodges. However, we were a little more ambitious, and keen to save money, so we attempted to bivvy as much as possible. As I mentioned, we didn't know anything at the out about via ferratas or the Dolomites.
The first discovery we made is that the Dolomites are prone to mountain storms. One prevented us from embarking on the first attempt we made at the route (we got as far as the Passo del Grosste before turning around during a hailstorm). This appears to be one of the reasons that the guidebook recommends shorter days ending in mountain huts, as storms are possible even on good weather days but are typically brief.
After returning a few days later with more reliable information on the weather we completed the first day and looks for places to bivvy around the end of the Sentiero Alfredo Benini (in the book as BREN1). In spite of the barrenness of the landscape we can confirm that we were able to find a spot. My recommendation to anyone who is looking for such a location is to head down the path (315 - to the north side of the obvious rocky ridge in the region) and keep checking over the shoulder looking back up the hill, as there are many large boulders here and some will allow enough crawlspace for an evenings rest. With luck you might even find the one we used, which we have carpeted slightly with a bed of rocks - this kept us warm and dry in what was to be a reasonably soggy night.
The next day of the route presented us with unpleasant weather throughout and we bailed on the via ferrata for the day, heading instead back down from Bocca del Tuckett to Rif. Tuckett to dry out. TAKE A RAINCOAT! I didn't, and regretted it. We spent the day at Tuckett, drying out and planning our next move. We slept there for the night, but actually could have feasibly headed back up to our bivvy spot (half an hour from the rifugio at a good pace, maybe more like 45 minutes at an average one).
Based on the guidebook and the signposts we had seen littering the range (which give very different and possibly more accurate times for the via ferratas) we anticipated making it through BREN 4 & 5, spending a night at Tosa/Pedrotti and then finishing the route via BREN 8 and either BREN 9 or 7, via the 12 Apostles rifugio down to Pinzolo, where a bus could take us back to Madonna di Campiglio. We made very good time, shaving approximately 2hrs off each section of the day, but wouldn't necessarily expect a casual hiker to make such good pace, particularly given that, specifically in the afternoon, the weather in the mountains (if not around them) is VERY changeable. Again, I must stress that this is a feature of the Dolomites, and that a good weather forecast for the surrounding area is, whilst not meaningless, not always the best indicator of the chance of a thunderstorm. At the rate at which we moved we arrived at Tosa/Pedrotti at 1130 (having left Tuckett at 0715), and at Rif 12 Apostoli at 1445. My recommendation is to move via BREN 7 - not 9 as the guidebook recommends for the Bochette Way - as it is higher (and hence less time is lost in descent and re-ascent) and a little more interesting to boot. But whatever floats your boat.
Were you to attempt the Bochette way with the intention of bivvying but not of crushing the last day, I should add that, whilst I can't vouch for their comfort or shelter, as I did not sleep in them, I found far more gaps in the rock on BREN 4 and 5 than I did on BREN 1, and these could be used by a bivvyer with a head for heights if the weather overnight was poor.
A note on ice equipment: my friend and I ummed and ahhed for a long time about whether to, as the guidebook recommends, take crampons and walking axes. If you're confident on snow and are in the Dolomites in July, after a warm year with little snow (as we were) then I should imagine you'd be fine (as we were) without taking ice equipment. But the routes do involve glacier crossing, and if you want to do the good ones snow is unavoidable, so be sure to be confident on your feet, wear decent boots at least, and try to plan so that the lengthier snow plods are in the afternoon, as the snow is very sloppy throughout the morning.
Hopefully this post will provide a few much needed answers to queries about the Brenta group and the Bochette Way specifically. I'd like to end by saying that the Way is not too technically challenging (although not to be underestimated, and make sure you're familiar with via ferrata kit before doing it) but is stunning and thoroughly enjoyable. I hope that after reading this a few people are incentivised to give it a go, at whatever pace and with as much support from the rifugios as they like.
