In reply to Moacs:
Was that by any chance the Fedele route on the Pordoispitze? It's graded IV+ but when we did it a couple of years ago, we thought it was a bit undergraded. Instead of translating as UK HS, we thought more like UK VS 5a for some of the pitches toward the 2/3 ledge. Awesome, awesome day out though!! Six hours' sprinting, trying to stay ahead of the 2 parties behind. Sadly, as their rack consisted of one wire and 2 Friends per pair, they moved a bit quicker than us! Definitely worth finishing up the 6 pitch chimney at the end.
To the OP: The Marikante (400 m, IV) around the corner is a better introduction for a first 'big' climb. You wouldn't want to get caught on the Fedele in a thunderstorm as the upper pitches of the first 21 or so follow a natural watercourse. Best guidebook IMO is '100 Classic Climbs in the Dolomites.' - photocopy the topos to take onto the route in a map case strapped to your sack - saves a lot of time on the changeover. Take a bandolier and plenty of slings. Gear is generally quite spaced, by necessity - you'll have a lot of ground to cover quickly, to avoid those afternoon thunderstorms.
