In reply to UKC Gear:
Thanks for all the positive comments.
Mike - Definitely sticking to the UIAA grades for a number of reasons. It's the grading system that's most commonly used in the area and the grades have naturally taken a while to get balanced as they're debated back and forth.
Converting them to an English grading system would be very complex because, as I'm sure you know, the vast majority of Dolomites trad routes contain a lot of in-situ gear. Some of the crux pitches (particularly those which used to be old aid routes) are filled with pegs of varying quality. This makes it difficult to state how protected said route is at any one time, as an E1 5b route might become an E2 5b route if someone decided to strip a load of the pegs.
Finally the grades also have a nice historic significance (or at least I think so). For example a number of Dolomites routes were instrumental in Messner's 'The 7th Grade' (though admittedly some of them have now been downgraded).
For the top end routes we've included a sport grade as well as the UIAA grade, as this is becoming an increasingly popular and useful point of reference. For example Huber's 'Pan Aroma' is XI-/8c, however it is not a sport route and the second grade is given merely as a useful indicator for climbers operating at that level.
Duncan - Every effort has been made to ensure the book is as accurate as possible. Any routes not done by myself or Lynne have been taken directly from someone with good knowledge of the route, and then checked against existing descriptions and topos for accuracy.
However as I'm sure you’re aware, many variations exist, even on classic routes. For example the Kasnapoff route on the second Sella tower can be climbed via five different variations. It is possible for 2 parties climbing on the same day on that particular route to only climb 2 or 3 pitches in common.
Where this is the case, the alternatives have been highlighted in as much detail as possible, and the most logical route described.
I would finally like to stress the point that this project has been a real team effort, with many friends and colleagues in the area offering fantastic support and guidance.
This summer Rockfax will be publishing a big new book to the magnificent Dolomites in northern Italy. This guide will cover everything you need for a climbing trip regardless of ability, whether it be sport, trad, via ferrata or a combination of all three.
