Dolomites - September 2022
We headed to Cortina for our 2022 International Summer Meet and had a fab time hiking, climbing and doing via ferrata. We worked with a wonderful team of female Italian Guides to provide a range of workshops throughout the week covering multipitch skills, lead climb coaching and efficient alpine ropework.
Staying in the International Olympia Campsite on the north side of town we went off each day in small groups to either take part in Guided workshops or adventure independently, before coming back together to share tales of apple strudel, icecream and maybe some climbing!!
The rocky mountains around Cortina itself provided via ferrata routes accessed from the valley, and car shares to nearby areas such as the Cinque Torre and the Falzerago Pass provided plentiful rock routes. A group of us ventured into the Passo Gardena and made a mass ascent of Via Ferrata Brigata Tridentina before rewarding ourselves with yet more apfel strudel!
“My eyes have been opened to a whole world of adventure beyond the UK, which I once thought was beyond my grasp!”
At the end of the week we went on a overnight trip up to the Refugio Fonda Savio in Misurina for rock climbing coaching and then multipitch ascents of Torre Wundt and the via ferrata Merlone. The theme of apple strudel continued with our wonderful Guardian proclaiming she made the best strudel in the whole Alps! It would have been rude not to taste test…!
With snow arriving almost to valley level on departure day we timed this trip well!!
Lucy summarises her experience on the Dolomites Meet:
When people ask me how my trip to the Dolomites was, they’re expecting me to start naming all of the climbs I did (I can’t remember any names!), rave about how cool the rock was (it was!), the weather (pretty alright) or even the food (that apple strudel ). Don’t get me wrong, they all get a brief mention, but the real highlight was the women! Living and adventuring with 15 other likeminded women for a whole week was SO good. Being greeted at the campsite by Marca asking, “How was your day; was it awesome?” (yes, it was!); having a female cheer team every day; teaching and learning from each other. I have come back re-inspired to live my life with mountains at the heart – to fully enjoy and share them. I have a new group of role models and supporters who have reminded me that this is possible. Thank you WAAC-y ladies!