Rosengarten

Our second outing in the Dolomites has been to the Rosengarten region, a much more touristic spot with easier access. We spent two nights at the Vajolet refuge, accessed with a 45-minute walk, and there is even a road going there as well for the privileged few.

Anyway, the first day we tried the Steger route on Punta Emma, another 15-minute access from the refuge. It was pleasant except for a very scary 10-meters of pure decomposed dolomite fun that Cathy successfully lead and I successfully fell from due to braking holds. Below is Cathy following a fine slab pitch on the top of the climb, with the refuge below:

Our second objective has been a little bit more serious - another Steger route climbed in the 1920s (yes, we are advancing from 1915 to 1920...) up the impressive Rosengarten Spitze - face in the first picture of this post. Our route is a 600-meter wonder that runs through the middle of that face. We started early, and were climbing by 6 am. Below myself somewhere in the middle of the long long climb:

Below is Cathy following the awesome second before last pitch:

It all went according to plan and by 2 pm we sumitted, by 4 back to the refuge, a sweet place with manageable prices (12eur/night) but not that good food.

Finally, here is the dream - the south face of Marmolada as seen in the distance from the top of Rosengartenspitze, waiting for the future ascents: