In reply to beardy mike:
Thought I'd follow up on this now that I'm back in the UK as there is very little in the UK press about what happened in Italy.
So basically on the night of 28/29th October there was a hurricane over the Dolomites. The highest winds were centred over Marmolada with speeds of up to 200kmh. It was a catagory 4 storm which has caused huge damage to both infrastructure and the environment in the area. In just the area affected in Trentino, 1.2 million m squared of forest was felled in just a few hours.
Over the province border in Val Pettorina and Alto/Media Agordino, where my house is, there was an equal amount of damage to the forests. Furthermore a huge amount of damage occured due to water, and debris washed down from the mountain.
The worst happened at Palue which is a small hamlet of old Finile barns made of larch, and beautiful buildings. There material dug out by ENEL, the then national electricity provider, to produce a hydroelectric scheme was washed down the mountain by a deluge of water. People had been complaining about the dumping of this material for 50 years saying one day it would come down. Well it has, in a way unimaginable.
I was helping to excavate one of the barns, on the first floor balcony which is a goot 20 feet above the river bed. Opposite us another barn had rock debris on its roof and you could clearly see where the water had washed some of it off. The amount of material was prodigious and the army and rescue as of today are still digging houses out.
On another day I was working to clear a subterranean garage which was a good foot and a half deep in mud and silt, entered through a closed garage door. The well to the front of the house was even more full. The owners daughter had been there alone and feared that she would die and hid for the whole night on the third floor. Luckily the building survived.
There are pictures from the next day showing the valley floor which effectively became a river. Higher up the fantastic Sol e Nef apartments were devestated, again flooded by the river defenses (a good 15 feet high) being overwhelmed. At this moment I don't know if the owners will be able to open this season at all as structural damage was sustained.
Anyway, I've gone on a bit. As a climbing community I would be really grateful if we could show the valley our support - they need clients on an ongoing basis to help them survive this difficult time. If you are looking to go away for a winter holiday, please consider visiting the area - life is incredibly uncertain for them at the moment. A large part of the population is without running water as the main source which was transported through the fantastic Serrai di Sottoguda was damaged beyond repair. They are working full tilt to install a new more secure supply.
So, if you want a skiing holiday or to go ice climbing, book in. Flights to Venice are cheap at that time of year, the skiing is great as you have several resorts to choose from, the ice climbing is really varied and excellent. Access to the gorge may be difficult this year, but other areas are available too, and we are lobbying to have feed pipes installed in the new access pipes to feed the icefalls.
Take a look at the photos in the links below for a bit more information.
https://www.facebook.com/matteo.nesello/media_set?set=a.10156854665434207&a...
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOCZW_bMVMNY1L_fCsVqX_JgcVxcVCPF9zzpq7...
Most of all, if you do visit, use the local shops, restaurants and B&B's or Hotels, spend your money with them and help them to come back from this difficult time - it will make a world of difference to them!
Post edited at 21:42
