UKC

Hi,  we're planning a route on the marmolada and I was wondering if someone might be kind enough to offer some tips ! 

We plan to do the route over two days,  fancy a bivy and the opportunity of enjoying the route without the added pressure of time !  So first question , how big is that ledge ? 

The guide refers to a water source , is this a sure thing ? 

Having topped out , where am I heading ? There seems to be a number of ski lifts. Also we're there the beginning of September , will the lifts still be open ? 

Thanks in advance

The ledge is massive and there are some flattened areas with rock walls around for bivvying (check my photo gallery for pics).

We carried our water, I don't remember seeing many/any water sources on the led (it had been hot without rain for over two weeks).

The descent depends on the route, but there are two abseils to the glacier across a mini bergschrund, then walk left uphill to the cable car station. They finish fairly early and it's a fair trek down the glacier and back to the car (we managed to thumb a lift, but it's a fairly quiet valley).

Thanks Alex , great photos ! 

To jump on the back of this thread a bit... On the descent does anyone know what you'd be able to get away with on the glacier? Is it a full boots, crampons, axe type thing or would you be ok with just trainers and an axe?

We did it in approach shoes and it didn't feel too dodgy, but the conditions were very dry. The slots and crevasses were obvious and fairly limited in number. With fresh snow, conditions could be far different however.

We descended in approach shoes with no problems, and perfectly doable without an axe as long as you are competent.

Thanks both - sounds ideal.

A word of caution, the state of the glacier can vary drastically year on year. Did a day trip on it back in July 2011 and it was a basic slow plod. Didn't rope up, but had full winter kit. There are a few crevasses you wouldn't want to fall into!!

Descended down in it August 2016 after doing a route, thought the summit was quiet, soon found out why!! The glacier was simply horrendous, not a flake of snow on it, just pure hard and smooth ice, with rock debris.  Would have been impossible to descend without crampons, falling still not an option though! We only had one ice-axe between us, but it would have been extremely hard to arrest a fall.  

Maybe best to recce the glacier first or use the Westgrat via ferrata as a descent route. There is some ice at the base of this, but it is only a remnant of a glacier and not that long.

If you do descend the glacier there's an entertaining open bucket lift from Pian Fiacconi to Passo Fedaia, it should be open daily to 5pm up to mid September and only cost a few euros

did Don Quixote a couple of years ago. 29 pitches with the hardest towards the top. 

The last cable car leaves at 4.00pm. We went light weight and simu climbed the first 8 pitches. Hit the halfway ledge at 8.30am and made the cable car at 3.45 pm with 15 minutes to spare.

We were fit and had climbed yellow edge, comici route and second pillar on the tofana earlier on the trip as preparation.

if we had carried bivi gear we would never have got to the top.

my tip would be to get really fit and go fast and light.

the descent of the neve slope to the glacier proper in trainers was  character building!

When you say never got to the top with bivy kit do you mean in one day? We intend on taking two days. 

We took some bivvy kit when we did Don Quixote. The route would have been much more fun staying in the hut for a night and having less in our bags (it made the easy chimneys low dow unpleasant).

That said it was an amazing bivvy, I've never seen so many shooting stars

 This is what we're after to be honest,  just a nice journey , plus we are a rope of 3 so that's going to slow us down anyway

We went to do it ten years ago but got rained off before we started it.  Get really light weight trainers for the descent - I now use Walsh PB Elites.  Some lads also took those little strap-on spikes to help them across the snowy icy bits between the top of the route and the cable car station.

Thanks for the info all - I've got some lightweight crampons that can fit on my trainers so might take those just in case it's icy.

In september the lifts usually shut around the 10th of the month, although to be sure, you can look at the Dolomiti Superski website for the relevant lift which will give you a season end. This year has been very snowy late in the season so the glacier is still well covered with snow. But by September I expect this not to be the case, I would expect there to be large amounts of ice.

So crampons for sure ?

Do you know if there's water on the mid ledge ? 

Same here. Did your approach, too. Just managed the lift back down! Thankfully! Wouldn't fancy the long walk down, did it some other time...One difference we took lightweight crampons which I was really glad off, my partner would have been fine without though.  Wasn't adding too much. Now I would probably just take some of the strap on spikes for trainers. That'll do!

The climbing wAs tough enough without having to climb with rucksacks. There is a technical pitch with lots of pegs towards the top which some guides give 6a and others 6c. A joy with a light sac but a lot of pulling on pegs with bivvi gear.

we didn't stay in the hut but walked up from the valley as hut was full.

we left the 'halfway ledge' at 8.30 and only just made the cable car.

I think the best descent if you don’t take the cable car is to walk down to the cable car station( not the very top one, the one below) walk through the tunnel and main station then follow some cables down, this brings you out close to the bottom cable car station and is much quicker than following the glacier all the way down to the top of the pass and then a long slog around on the road.

Ive done both, the former is probably 3 hours quicker.

What size of rack do people recommend ? 

A friend and I did the Vinatzer-castiglioni and Messner Direct from the hut in a day a couple of years ago. We missed the last gondola down and didn't fancy the glacier so bivvied in a small room at the cable car station; I don't recommend it without any bivvy kit....

In terms of gear, as with the rest of the Dolomites there is a lot of fixed gear around. Quite a few quickdraws means you can clip stuff and move fast (obviously using some judgement on its quality). Other than that, just a fairly standard rack I think.