UKC

Thinking of heading to the Dolomites for a week in October. Really for a holiday but hoping to do some easy VF, climbs etc. I have not been out there before but gather this is the off season, is it still going to be feasible to get anything done or will the closed lifts prevent (easily assessable) play?

Any advice or suggestions welcome
Thanks

In reply to monkey man:

Go and do the routes around lake Garda. We had a trip there last October and had a great time. The VF routes are in the south Dolimites guide book and the climbing around Arco is good and all the VFs don't need lifts to get to them. The flight to Verona is easy as well. I hope you have a good time.

In reply to monkey man:

You are correct - it is the off season. But that does not mean its a bad season. For some reason the locals seem to think that no one will be interested in holidays then! Probably because the rest of Italy goes on holiday during Auguist and all industry shuts down during August because its stinking hot. So that is the absolute high season. At any rate, the mountains are quiet, the accomodation is cheap and the weather can be excellent - early October is usually better than late. You are correct, all lifts and many huts will be closed but look past that and you have a situation which is actually really pleasant - pack sarnies yourself and have the place to yourself! We are one of the few places which stays open through all the seasons and it is one of the things we are trying to promote as we simply don't get it! Sure shopping is a little more awkward as the smaller shops stay shut, but everything is cheaper - flights, cars etc...

In reply to monkey man:

I went at the end of sept a couple of years ago and had 10 days of superb weather. Plenty or VF's are accessible direct from the roads (as long as you have a car?) without using lifts.

We stayed in corvara and were surprised that the town was so quiet and half the establishments seemed closed, but there were still several resturants and shops open.

In reply to monkey man:

October is one of my favourite months, it's quiet, the weathers often good and from a photographers perspective the area is arguably at its most beautiful as many of the trees change colour.

As others have said there's less infrastructure in place though. The lifts are closed as is some of the accommodation and restaurants. However there are very few climbs and only some via ferrata that require lift access. If you can work around the logistics it's a good time to go.

In reply to James Rushforth:

I have been there three times in Oct. First time weather was cold and clear and provided routes were south facing the climbing was great.

second time it was very wet, after a week of mainly rain we ran away to Arco.

Third time, first week grerat, then it snowed so much we had difficluty getting the minibus back from the falzaerego Pass!

Lot of lifts and huts closed. But cetainly no que for routes!

I would probably not do Oct again by choice.

In reply to monkey man:

Thank you all for the replies!