Dolomites


The Dolomites or Pale Mountains are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley. The Dolomites are in the regions of Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, covering an area shared between the provinces of Belluno, Vicenza, Verona, Trentino, South Tyrol, Udine and Pordenone.
Other mountain groups of similar geological structure are spread along the River Piave to the east—Dolomiti d'Oltrepiave; and far away over the Adige River to the west—Dolomiti di Brenta. A smaller group is called Piccole Dolomiti, between the provinces of Trentino, Verona and Vicenza.
The Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park and many other regional parks are in the Dolomites. On 26 June 2009, the Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Adamello-Brenta UNESCO Global Geopark is also in the Dolomites. The Geological Museum of the Dolomites is located in Predazzo, Fiemme Valley.

Etymology

The Dolomites take their name from the carbonate rock dolomite. This was named after the 18th-century French mineralogist Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, who was the first to describe the mineral. The prior local vernacular name of Monti Pallidi came from the mountains' reddish to purple hues viewed at sunset from said carbonates' reflection of the shone alpenglow.

History

For millennia, hunters and gatherers had advanced into the highest rocky regions and had probably also climbed some peaks. There is evidence that the Jesuit priest Franz von Wulfen from Klagenfurt climbed the Lungkofel and the Dürrenstein in the 1790s. In 1857 Irishman John Ball was the first known person to climb Monte Pelmo. Paul Grohmann later climbed numerous peaks such as the Antelao, Marmolada, Tofana, Monte Cristallo and the Boè. Around 1860 the Agordin mountaineer Simone de Silvestro was the first person to stand on the Civetta. Michael Innerkofler was one of the climbers of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Later very important local mountaineers, known for many first ascents, were Angelo Dibona and Giovanni Piaz.
During the First World War, the front line between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian Army ran through the Dolomites, where both sides used mines extensively. Open-air war museums are at Cinque Torri, Monte Piana and Mount Lagazuoi. Many people visit the Dolomites to climb the vie ferrate, protected paths through the rock walls that were created during the war.
A number of long-distance footpaths traverse the Dolomites. They are called alte vie, and are numbered 1 to 10. The trails take about a week to walk, and are served by numerous rifugi. The first and the most renowned is the Alta Via 1. Radiocarbon dating has been used in the Alta Badia region to demonstrate a connection between landslide activity and climate change.

Geography

The region is commonly divided into the Western and Eastern Dolomites, separated by a line following the Val Badia–Campolongo Pass–Cordevole Valley axis.

Current classification

The Dolomites may be divided into the following ranges:
The Dolomites are renowned for skiing in the winter months and mountain climbing, hiking, cycling and BASE jumping, as well as paragliding and hang gliding in summer and late spring/early autumn. Free climbing has been a tradition in the Dolomites since 1887, when 17-year-old Georg Winkler soloed the first ascent of the pinnacle of the Vajolet Towers. The main centres include: Rocca Pietore alongside the Marmolada Glacier, which lies on the border of Trentino and Veneto, the small towns of Alleghe, Falcade, Auronzo, Cortina d'Ampezzo and the villages of Arabba, Urtijëi and San Martino di Castrozza, as well as the whole of the Fassa, Gardena and Badia valleys.
The Maratona dles Dolomites, an annual single-day road bicycle race covering seven mountain passes of the Dolomites, occurs in the first week of July.
Other characteristic places are:
NameMetresFeet
Marmolada3,34310,968
Antelao3,26410,706
Tofana di Mezzo3,24110,633
Sorapiss3,22910,594
Cristallo3,22110,568
Monte Civetta3,22010,564
Cima di Vezzana3,19210,470
Cimon della Pala3,18410,453
Langkofel / Sassolungo3,18110,427
Monte Pelmo3,16810,397
Dreischusterspitze3,16210,375
Boespitze / Piz Boè 3,15210,342
Hohe Gaisl 3,14810,329
Gran Vernel3,14510,319
Piz Popena3,14310,312
Cima dei Bureloni3,13010,269
Grohmannspitze 3,12610,256
Zwölferkofel3,09410,151
Elferkofel3,09210,144
Piz dles Cunturines3,06410,052
Sass Rigais 3,0259,925
Kesselkogel 3,0049,856
Tre Cime di Lavaredo 2,9999,839
Fünffingerspitze2,9979,833
Pala di San Martino2,9829,831
Rosengartenspitze / Catinaccio2,9819,781
Cima di Fradusta2,9399,642
Cimon del Froppa2,9329,649
Piz de Puez2,9189,573
Cima Canali2,9009,514
Grande Fermeda2,8739,426
Monte Agnèr2,8729,416
Fermedaturm2,8679,407
Cima d'Asta2,8489,344
Croda Grande2,8499,347
Vajoletturm / Torri del Vajolet 2,8219,256
Sass Maor2,8149,232
Cima di Ball2,8029,193
Cima della Madonna 2,7519,026
Cima della Rosetta2,7438,999
Cima Ambrizzola2,7158,907
Central Grasleitenspitze2,7058,875
Sassongher2,6658,743
Schlern2,5628,406
Sasso di Mur2,5548,380
Monte Siera2,4438,015
Cima delle Dodici2,3387,671
Monte Pavione2,3367,664
Cima Palon2,2397,346
Cima di Posta2,2357,333

Major passes

Namemetresfeet
Ombretta Pass, footpath2,7388,983
Langkofeljoch, footpath2,6838,803
Tschagerjoch, footpath2,6448,675
Grasleiten Pass, footpath2,5978,521
Pravitale Pass, footpath2,5808,465
Comelle Pass, footpath2,5798,462
Rosetta Pass, footpath2,5738,442
Vajolet Pass, footpath2,5498,363
Canali Pass, footpath2,4978,193
Tierseralpljoch, footpath2,4558,055
Ball Pass, footpath2,4508,038
Forcella di Giralba, footpath2,4367,992
Col dei Bos, footpath2,3137,589
Forcella Grande, footpath2,2627,422
Pordoi Pass, road2,2507,382
Sella Pass, road2,2447,362
Giau Pass, road2,2367,336
Tre Sassi Pass, footpath2,1997,215
Valparola Pass, road2,1687,113
Mahlknechtjoch, footpath2,1687,113
Gardena Pass, road2,1216,959
Falzarego Pass, road2,1176,946
Fedaja Pass, bridle path2,0466,713
Valles Pass, road2,0326,667
Würzjoch, road2,0036,572
Rolle Pass, road1,9846,509
Forcella Forada, bridle path1,9756,480
San Pellegrino Pass, road1,9106,267
Campolongo Pass, road1,8756,152
Forcella d'Alleghe, footpath1,8205,971
Tre Croci Pass, road1,8085,932
Furkel Pass, road1,7595,771
Karerpass or Costalunga Pass, road1,7535,751
Kreuzbergpass or Monte Croce Pass, road1,6385,374
Ampezzo Pass, path1,5445,066
Cereda Pass, road1,3724,501
Toblach Pass, railway1,2093,967