UKC

Hi all, 

I'm heading to the Dolomites in a few weeks with my family for my Dad's 60th and was looking at ascending Punta Penia via the West VF Route. I would be doing this solo so am wanting to avoid the glacial descent, as although I have some experience of walking on ice/crampons/glacier crossings, I don't feel comfortable doing this without a roped partner. 

So, my question is, I see there is the panoramic platform and chair lift at Punta Rocca a short distance from Punta Penia. Is it possible to walk from Penia to Rocca and descend via the chairlift? Once off the mountain I can arrange a pickup back to my original starting point at Lago di Fedaia. I had looked at just coming back down the VF route but I am concerned about the amount of ascending traffic there may be in August which could cause issues. 

Would appreciate some guidance from anyone who knows the area well/has been up recently, as information online is a little sparse, and most is out of date (referencing the Fedaia chairlift which no longer exists).

Thanks!

I don't think that's feasible (without full rock gear) as far as I know. I think the only way you could do it is to descend the VF on the E face of Penia and walk back up to either the top station or the middle station from there, which would mean a long stretch on the glacier.

The two summits look really close on the map but there's actually really challenging terrain and quite a bit of descent and reascent to get between the two.

No. You could descend the way you came though. Seen people do it.

As above, I have just reversed the VF when solo. Twice the fun.

No, you’d still need to pass the heavily crevassed bit between them.  Reverse as above would be best option but would be a pain at certain points of the VF depending how many are still coming up.  You could of course have a night in the refugio on top, then descend early before people have got on the VF from the Forcella. 

I should add you still have a snowfield to ascend to the Forcella where the VF starts,  you also have a snowfield from the top of the VF.  You’ll still want ice ace and crampons for those, even if relatively easy terrain.

Thanks all! I did suspect that was the case as couldn't see a route on the topo and looked sheer. Had only seen mention of it by someone who visited Ponta Rocca on the cable car so was not a reliable source, so thought I would check! 

@brass, thanks for the heads up. Ill have crampons/ice axe etc as had seen the route to the VF still requires crossing a glacier field, but have read it is dry so less chance of hidden crevasses which makes me more comfortable soloing without a roped partner. 

Looks like doing the VF descent is the way to go, will just try and time it to avoid peak ascending traffic, otherwise I'll have to stay the night!

Cheers!