Via Finlandia, Torre Grande, Cinque Torri, Dolomites
UIAA VII
The Cinque Torri lie on the south side of the road that links Cortina
with the Falzarego Pass in the Dolomites. They are a series of
free-standing rock towers clustered together sitting on top of the Novolau
plateau and look strangely sinister from a distance. However, close up the
trees around the base and sociable atmosphere make them seem more like a
big kids playground. They offer some great, easily accessible, often
bolted routes which can often be done when the big faces are out of
condition. The Alpine Club guidebook has good coverage of the more
established routes in the area but for the full range of sport climbing
options you need to seek out the local Italian guidebook. Although this is
an easily accessible area, it's worth bearing in mind that this isn't
exactly roadside cragging. The routes are up to six pitches long and some,
like the Via Finlandia, are pretty steep. Some of the more famous routes
in the Cinque Torri are the Via Miriam (UIAA V+) and the Dimai (VI+) on
Torre Grande and the North Face of Torre Lusy (IV). Torre Grande is the
largest of the towers and weighs in at a hefty 2631m. This is split into
Cima Nord and Cima Sud parts by a huge chimney and the classic line of Via
Finlandia is on the east face of Cima Nord. The route was first climbed by
visiting Finnish climbers, W. Gstrein and M. Jokinen in 1959 after the
face had resisted many attempts by the famous Scoiattolli group of Cortina-based
climbers. There's an eclectic mix of protection throughout the Dolomites
but when we climbed this route the belays were all bolted and there were
many intermediate bolts for protection on the pitches. It's a good idea to
carry a rack in case you do come across any blank sections.
In common with many other routes in the Dolomites, from below, the face
looks impossibly steep. However, the thing about Dolomitic limestone is
that you can guarantee that there will be holds and even the steepest
faces can often have more than their share of jugs and corners. Via
Finlandia begins underneath a big corner. Think the classic HVS corners on
the left-hand side of High Tor and you won't be far wrong. After a short,
scrappy pitch to get onto a big ledge at the base of the corner, the fun
really starts. The second pitch bridges up the corner and is a lovely long
pitch following the corner line right to the top. The guidebook describes
a move right onto the face at half height but we found staying in the
corner to give the best climbing. There's nothing desperate here, just
enjoyable, fun bridging all the way to an exit left at the top. The next
pitch launches up and out onto the steep wall above and the character of
the route changes. Although this is only a short pitch the holds are
substantially smaller and there's a tricky little right and then back left
traverse to arrive at another good stance. Next, the route climbs the
short wall behind and up a groove over bulging rock to a large and
spacious ledge. The guidebook suggests splitting this pitch but with 50m
ropes and some careful rope management you'll make it to the ledge without
problems. The next pitch goes up the steep wall behind and through a
little roof (you'll find the hidden jug if you look hard enough) to arrive
on another big ledge just below the summit of the tower. A short final
pitch takes you up the juggy wall behind to the summit and a great view
over the valley below and across to the South face of Tofana de Rozes.
This being a tower, it's a good idea to give a bit of consideration to
the descent. There are various ways down described in the guidebook
involving a greater or lesser amount of abseiling. We followed the
standard scramble descent down to a terrace before scrambling east onto a
huge wedged block and making a spectacular 50m abseil down the east side
of the gully which separates Cima Sud from Cima Nord. This leads to
cemented-in abseil anchors from which another big abseil takes you to your
sacks, avoiding any nasty walking around action.
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