UKC

A recent short trip to the Dolomites led to a few learning points for me, which I thought worth noting down and sharing for other punters like me who are scouring the archives for advice.

Do not underestimate the obstacles of other climbers

A lot of practical issues got in the way of routes getting done, and the biggest by far was other climbers being on the routes before us – despite getting up at 6.30am each morning. A queue of slow climbers led to us abandoning one route and having to choose other routes on several occasions, as well as climbing nose to tail with other teams on a couple of occasions. Not only would there be several teams on “the classic”, but also several teams on every other moderate route (IV – V+). One day, having abandoned the Falzarego Towers due to numbers, we were then also unable to park at all at another venue (Lagazuoi) due to the vast amount of parking being completely full (albeit, by this point it was 11am). For someone who mostly climbs in Cumbria, the vast number of climbers and other “mountain enthusiasts” was really shocking, and finding quieter venues would be appreciated in future. The Cinque Torri area, despite beautiful views, has an air of "Disney Land Arrampicata" about it. If anyone has any suggestions for quieter parts of the Dolomiti, please let me know.

Different ethics emerge from different situations

I'd previously felt that the “British trad climbing approach” was an infinitely flexible and autonomous mode, that could be fitted to almost any situation, albeit with varied degrees of difficulty. However, the compact nature of the Dolomite rock frequently made nut and cam protection difficult to obtain. Fixed gear belays were also often hard to backup. When you add scale to this equation, i.e. the need to move fast without excessive gear fiddling, you can appreciate more easily why fixed gear is ubiquitous in the Dolomites. Even so, it is important to develop a tolerance of run-outs – and consequently to stick within your limits. It is also a questionable fact that you soon end up getting used to belaying on limited fixed gear of unknown quality!

Racking in the Dolomites

It seems you are likely to only need 1 set of nuts and 1 set of cams for classic routes... though a black Totem proved very useful! 1.5 sets of nuts would have certainly been enough (e.g. 1 – 11, plus 4 -8). Lots and lots of slings, though, with 60cm slingdraws being brilliant. Whether, on less travelled routes, it would be an asset to take a few soft steel pegs and a hammer is a question... I'm not sure of the answer. I really didn't see any need for tricams and didn't place a single offset, but perhaps that would be different elsewhere, e.g. on more waterworn rock

Descents

Viewed as a part of the technical challenge of a day out, I thought they were quite fun. We had no issues... and perhaps we were just lucky, but I think the difficulties can be overstated. I was feeling a bit daunted about these, after getting a rope stuck in Morocco on another occasion, but a bit of forethought meant everything went well.

Knowledge is... hard to come by!

It's so hard to get lots of detailed information about a place as big as the Dolomites, and I felt that lack very keenly. We had the Rockfax (I know it gets a bad rap and seems often to have somewhat inaccurate topos, but it does have lots and lots of really helpful info), the Italian guide Arrampicare: Dolomiti Nord-Orientali, vol.1 (very clear descriptions, topos mostly good but not always, general description - e.g. maps - a bit lacking) and the IV Grado: Dolomiti Orientali Vol. 1 guides (good topos, wordy descriptions, also a bit lacking on more general info, e.g. maps). Translating Italian guides in my learner Italian was satisfying, but even these guides are only really highly selective lists of ultra classic moderate routes. Whilst climbing, it was clear that there were many climbs at crags that were not in these selected guides and that other climbers were getting info from somewhere else, including printed pdf topos... It would be great to know where this info was coming from! Does anyone know?

Maps (Tobacco and Kompass) were also generally quite poor. I found the OS Maps App's basic map topo quite useful, though with path marking generally being more accurate than the Tobacco map.

Weather guessing

Related to this, it was hard to get detailed and reliable information about weather, which was a worry given that this summer has been particularly cold and wet in Italy. In the end we used ARPAV: https://www2.arpa.veneto.it/meteo/en/html/meteo_dolomiti.php and the Cinque Torri webcam: https://cortina.panomax.com/5torri (and see: https://cortinadelicious.it/EN/p73-Webcam). The goal of Primo Spigolo had to wait, due to a combination of lingering snow and poor health. Iffy weather also combined badly with another highish route that seemed to attract lots of cloud and precipitation (Via Dellago, Monte Gusela), leading to us bailing. On poorer weather days, we realised that we had no info on “valley crags”, i.e. sheltered poor weather options.

Travelling and viruses

Sadly, travelling and virus transmission seems to be a big issue and we both got a terrible “cold” that we later realised was Covid. You might feel like an idiot wearing a mask on a plane, but it seems the risk levels are still high. And Covid a couple of years on from vaccination feels awful... The lingering aerobic fatigue feels concerning...

On a brighter note...

The Dolomites in June/early July are so full of wild flowers! And with them, many different butterflies and other beautiful insects. It's really incredible. Although, it does make me realise how much we have damaged UK habitats, which feel so barren and overgrazed by comparison. The scale and beauty of the Dolomites was really special, despite getting less climbing done than hoped.

Finché tornerò, posso sognare...!
 

The loose ledges also make following less appealing there, we set off at 5am most days due to early thunderstorms & to beat queues. With the added bonus of a second route being on the cards in smaller venues. 

Re route descriptions, we used Rf to get an idea of what we wanted to do, then Googled around and found numerous topos and descriptions, often google translated but usable. Used all of these + ukc comments on where Rf was wrong (often!) seemed to be pretty effective.

5am sounds about right! Next time

Sorry , well not really: -), for the grumpy reply, tired today, long story.

Welcome to the school of hard knocks.

All the information and experiences in your long winded post and advice on avoiding them are freely available on ukc, instruction books, climbing club mentors and pub night craic. Also from instructors, guides and conville courses.

Maybe listen and read more rather than mouthing off on here

Wow... That's remarkably bitter. Maybe take your own advice? Ta anyway!

They just added to that. Get some sleep and hopefully you'll get out of the right side of the bed tomorrow.

I got excellent advice from my mentors in the Cleveland MC back in the 60s and 70s , thank you very much.

If it helps, I am even harsher to myself.

Ok, no sweat. Try being kinder to yourself x

Thanks for putting the effort into this write-up. I've been considering the Dolomites for a while and you've shared some really great info there.

In terms of maps we found a couple of years ago that the outdooractive mapping was pretty good. 

Hardly saw a soul walking the Alta Via 1 in late September (decades ago tho). Settled weather as well..

Now, I may not be the standard punter given my work interests, but when I fly nowadays, I always wear a mask -- I mean why wouldn't you? Who wants to be sick for a few days (colds, flu or covid) and jeopardise all their climbing plans on holiday? Looking back, pre-pandemic, someone on a trip would always get a respiratory virus, most likely picked up in transit. I would advise to wear masks in the airport and boarding too.

Pala di San Martino. Amazing scenery, generally excellent rock quality. Not in Rockfax and further away from Germany, both of which significantly reduce the crowds.

What confuses me is the people you still occasionally see out and about wearing masks pulled down to uncover their nose. I got it during the pandemic, albeit disapprovingly. People were being forced to wear the mask, by social pressure or actual rules, but they found it irritating so they compromised by pulling it down (and making it pretty pointless). Anti-social but the motivations were understandable. Now though, anyone who's wearing one is doing so purely by their own choice, so why even bother if they're going to make it pointless by not wearing it properly?

Thanks so much for taking the trouble to write this up.  Even though I have no plans to visit the Dollies any time soon, it was an interesting read and hopefully useful to others.

Thanks for the tip - I'll do some research

Thanks John. I'm sure other users have far more to say than me, e.g. those like BeardyMike that I asked for info before going, but after a trip I'm always so restlessly psyched that I need these little outlets... otherwise I'd end up buying a pair of climbing shoes or a guidebook to Slovenia or a peg hammer, just to exorcise that longing for another day on the rock!

I'm going next week. Have logged in just to say this is brilliant and thanks very much. 

Might be worth wearing down the supermarket beforehand as well. That's where I probably picked up my recent covid infection which seems to have 'reinvigorated' my long covid symptoms

It's the Dolomites, it isn't Stanage!

I thought (based on various studies during the epidemic, could be wrong) that the value of mask was largely to limit the spread of the virus from an infected person rather than to limit the intake of a healthy person? That's doesn't mean you shouldn't wear one going on holiday, just that it's not really effective at reducing your chances of catching covid (or any other respiratory infections).

Like I said, could be wrong, but that's my recollection.

You're right in that they are more effective at stopping virus flow from the the mask wearer than the opposite direction, but wearing a good close-fitting one will still reduce your risk of getting infected -- it's got to be better than not wearing one.

You say that, but when poor weather made us bail to Cinque Torri, the vibe was much more of Stanage than Scafell East Buttress. Likewise, with the Falzarego pass crags: it was like being in the Peak: cars and camper vans and bodies spread like nutella over every surface!

Glad you had a goodish time. Everything you've said is on point. Maps are pants and fall to pieces. If I could be bothered I'd laminate mine but I'm lazy. 

Good areas to go which are less busy is basically everywhere you went. 5 Torri is mental. Totally unpleasant these days. September and October is the best time for up there. Basically anywhere with a walkin helps. I think once you start realising the classics are rammed with CAI punters being dragged up the mountain by their "instructors" you start looking elsewhere and by using the local guidebooks you can uncover some real gems. The Ivo Rabanser guides are accurate and have an enormous variety of routes often away from the main drag. But also cross the border into Veneto and the crowds fall away. And there are some crags which are completely different. I always sing its praises, Tognaza is IMO one of the best crags in the Dolomites. It is Porphyry rather than dolomite so very different style, right opposite Pala di San Martino with glorious views, has 7-8 pitch routes, mostly bolted but some trad and the routes are FANTASTIC. And the best bit is you might meet a few Italians, but that's it. Info in the Lagorai guidebook. It's a huge area to explore, the lagorai and very different in feel to the Dolomites main. 

Thanks for the further tips! More to research for next time

I've just got back from my first trip to the Dolomites.

We were based at Canazei, which was very busy with people, but very few climbers.

We did a couple of IVs above the Sella Pass and on each occasion we're the only ones on the route.

However, the noise from the numerous motorbikes was not welcome.

Most of the belays were cemented rings, although I thought the gear in-between was a bit sparse.

I placed several Tricams and was glad I had them (my climbing partner is less keen on Tricams).

Route finding was as difficult as every, in my experience, on a multi pitch route.

We also did some via ferrata that had other teams, but not an issue.

I found the Tobacco map to be good as was the open source mapping I had on my phone.

The weather was a bit unsettled, which I think is more difficult to forecast.

Around Canazei there is an extensive network of lifts, which I think is ugly, although I did appreciate the convenience to gain height easily.

As you say, the flowers are lovely.

The non climbing highlight was going to see Otzi, the iceman over at Bolzano.

I found that I had the energy to complete the routes in reasonable comfort, but getting down was hard work - I need to work on my fitness.

I am keen to return. 

Thanks for this write-up. Off to the Dolomites for the first time in two weeks, albeit not to climb. I found it quite hard to sift through bewildering amounts of information so thanks for the heads-up re maps etc. Though given I can only walk extremely short distances now due to health, and we won't have a car, I am rather worried about getting through hordes at Disneyland... 

Rude and odd couple of posts. Perhaps the excellent advice you received in the 60s and 70s didn’t extend to tact.

Here’s some more advice: if you feel the need to preface your statement with an apology, then reconsider your reasons for posting it.

Glad you had a great time

Well, put in a more positive way, there is a lot of infrastructure in the Dolomites, which should help you get around without a car and also allow you to access amazing panoramas without huge walks. Everything is so beautiful that even a short walk is something to revel in. Hope you have a great trip!

Yes this is exactly right. Piz Pordoi lift gives amazing views, so does the one to Marmolada, although neither are cheap. But on a sunny day, from the viewing platform on Marmolada you can see all the way to Venice. And of course the enormity of the Dolomites. And often less busy than you might expect. Plus if you have mobility issues there's a lift up to the viewing platform.

6:30 wake up isn’t a early start! 
 

A while since I climbed in the Dolomites but we only made guidebook times on climbs when we stopped using our racks (mostly!). It does mean you have to deal with long run outs on the easier sections but when it got tricky you could look round and usually find a peg. And as to the queues I'd say don't do routes in "Classic climbs in the dolomites" (think that was the guidebook's name). It has German as well as English editions and lots of people have it. 

And it's shite.

So here's my experience, bearing in mind I first went to the Dolomites in 1979. So I arrange to go there with my gym partner, a 30yr old American, permanent student and all-round kind of ineffectual somehow. I knew we were in trouble when we arrived at the campsite, he set up a slackline then read a book by John Long.

So I chivvied him into action the next morning (no you don't need breakfast) and we set off for probably the most popular route on the Cinque Torre. We got there first and others trailed up and we geared up, my pleas for urgency being ignored but the competition being a large, unfit-looking Dutch couple of pensionable age, a guide with two novice climbers and a pair of young German guys. "No you don't need cams, forget your rack, your bottles of electrolyte are not required there's a bar where the car is parked" was the tone of the conversation.

I abandoned my partner to his meticulous rack sorting and climbed the initial snowfield and had a pleasant conversation with the Dutch couple when they joined me, their entire rack being three HMS karabiners then watched them plough onwards never to be seen again. 

My partner started to climb to be overtaken by the guide who was an interesting and friendly companion on the ledge as he brought up his attractive young female clients to be followed by my partner. Who looked at this huge rebar bolt and noticed we were all attatched to it and worse the guide hadn't actually clipped into it. The guide and his clients disappeared gradually giving me the opportunity to climb beside his charming clients before inexorably pulling away from us.

The descent, well let it suffice to say I was on my third beer and arranging a liason with one of the guides clients when he arrived having had a conceptual problem with traversing on a via ferrata using shabby steel cables.

If thats the Kohler guide then we survived using it for a few trips then got led astray by Quartro Grado.

Some interesting epics from both publications.

Also referred to by numerous people as the Kohler book of lies! 

My experience of Dolomites is both wonderful and terrifying. It's far far too easy to get lost and far too many dodgy guidebooks out there. 

I still haven't forgiven my other half for leading a 30m traverse (when off route yet again) that I had to follow - one runner placed about half way!! There weren't any more!! 

We're both pretty equal in terms of ability but I was too traumatised after first witnessing said traverse and then seconding ìt that I declined to lead through! 

Hallo Fiona!

I just recognised your name. I've wanted to thank you for years for one of your Dolomites logbook entries, which I'm sure you don't remember. About 8 pitches up something (Falzarego poss?) I was stuck on a ledge after what felt a dodgy lead and absolutely no idea where to go. Bloody guidebook.I looked up the climb on UKC to find your entry perfectly describing my ledge and explaining exactly where to go. If not for you, I'd probably still be there now.

So thank you and I owe you a drink. And I totes agree about wonder and terror in the Dollies. I particularly remember the unadvertised and sudden snow storms when you're half way up something big and long. Amazing place. 

I'm really sorry, but I can't, in all honesty, agree with this.

No worries, I'm glad our getting lost and how to escape helped someone else. This is the route if anyone else wants to know where not to go 😉 https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/lagazuoi_piccolo-3180/via_del_buco...

I need to get back there as there's still some routes I'd like to try. 

I know. Please tell that to my climbing partner...

It's got to be said that there is another, entirely more casual approach to all of this. Choose routes which aren't rammed and get up at a normal time, rock up at 10.30 -12 and send like a beast to get back in time for a smoke and a pancake. All the incompetents should be 50% up the route by then and won't bother you.

If you go to a busy crag that you know is going to be busy, complain about how busy it is and then decide to wait in a queue and climb behind half a dozen other parties anyway, in an area infamous for the instability of it's rock, then I definitely have a few thoughts about who the incompetents are.

The Dolomites? They never did appeal to me anyway.

Somehow, even if you hadn't written "1979", I feel we'd all have managed to date that story accurately!

Electrolytes in 79 or did jim mean beer?

Ah; I assumed that Jim was recounting a later experience. Had John Long written any books by 1979? According to the list of 'published works' in his Wiki entry the first was in 1988.

It's not for everyone. But I suspect you'd probably enjoy it more than you think. I mean it's very easy on the eye for starters which helps. And if you go to the right place it's actually fun. But mainly I was referring to the Kohler book which really is shite. It's marginally better than my 1970s Cicerone guide which was also dire.

Must have been 16 or 17 years ago.

Thank you. That's good to hear Very short walks with lots of views are definitely the order of the day! 

I was last in the Dolomites five years ago, in early September. We visited Cinque Torre, The Lagazuoi, Vajolet Towers, Sella Towers and Tre Cime.  In contrast to your experience we only encountered people on the Comici Dimai. Otherwise, there was no one on any of our routes, or the face/mountain. The weather was as is often the case then, good.

But, there was 18 inches of snow deposited on Tre Cime a week later........

All standard stuff.

Steve

Yes, it seems a lot of ascents get done as late as October. Wish I could get back this September for a second go, but I have work commitments!

The only issue with October is that it can be getting cold at altitude by then. One memorable day was going to Lagozuoi to climb in the sun but getting there and realising air temp was 1 degree at the car park and that there was ice on the route. I mean we carried on anyway, but it did make my friend reduce his ambitions considerably for the day 🤣

Been reading the responses to this post with interest as returning next month to the Dolomites in summer for the first time since the pandemic....

One issue in regard to popularity of routes that hasn't been considered is approach costs.  Things such as parking and cable cars, along with accommodation etc seems to have gone up considerably in the Dolomites since our last visit, even compared to other Alpine areas. For instance, looking at doing a couple of routes on the Sassolungo massif and have found free parking in the Sella Pass area is now greatly restricted, 20+ Euros per day for the privilege of paid parking and the ancient bucket lift is now an astronomic 30 Euros each return!  So am hoping these costs will help keep the numbers down in such areas?  Yes, you could get free parking further up / down the Pass and walk all the way up, but it adds a few hours to the day - something my ancient knees and dodgy shoulder wouldn't appreciate!

It's no wonder then that areas like the Falzarego, Sella Towers and Cinque Torri (even without using the chairlift) with free parking and very short approaches are so popular.

To answer some of your other points:

- This is an Alpine area, British 'trad' techniques (correctly) and niceties (unfortunately) don't apply. I remember being shocked on my first Alps trip over 35 years ago now, about how much of a scrum it can be, with people literally climbing all over you given the chance, with the worst offenders being the guides and middle-aged men!  A bullish and firm attitude is sometimes necessary, and if needs be some choice four-letter old English words - they soon get the message!  To be fair though once you have learnt how 'best' to climb in the Alps (hence climb much more efficiently), it's generally not so much of an issue. You have to be prepared to overtake slower groups though (hopefully, but if called for not necessarily, in a polite way), many will be keen to follow anyway if they think you know the way! 

- As you may have gathered time is of the essence on routes - especially with the guides, so you need to approach how to climb these in a different way. Yes, you have to be prepared to go maybe 10m between fixed or placed gear (can happen in the UK as well), but this will generally be on easier ground, consider climbing together on running gear as well, rather than continuous pitching, plus bringing both seconds up together (if in a three) etc.  Start by climbing well within your grade, practice slick rope handling and allow for carrying a day sack as well - makes climbs a grade or two harder for me.  Harder and crux sections will generally be better naturally protectable or have fixed gear. Also you will often find many climbs will have two grades, a free and then (easier) part aided grade. You see so many people just clip a peg or bolt and then pull straight up on it, not even bothering to work out how to do the moves freely - time saving, but definitely not my thing. If you want to pull up on gear on the technical bits, do a via ferrata!  Definitely don't see the need for adding your own pegs, popular routes often now upgraded with bolts.

- In regard to maps, nothing matches an OS map, but the Tobacco maps are absolutely fine, even if printed on rubbish paper.  Remember Alpine paths are numbered and generally very well waymarked, as are via ferrata's and some climbing areas.  To be honest we hardly ever get the map out of the rucksack as it's easy to find your way around.  In any case, once you get near your route of choice no map is going to be much use, given the vertical gain is going to be far in excess over the distance covered on the ground. A good topo is now much far more useful.

- You mentioned difficulty in finding route descriptions and good weather forecasts.  Unfortunately that's really not correct, you just need to look harder online for both and there's a plethora of information out there, even minute by minute You Tube footage of some climbs!  Fortunately the days of having to do long routes (including in the UK) with just with a few lines of description and a grainy old black and white photo (if you are lucky), are long gone.

Don't be put off by any Alpine area, had some great trips over the years, just do plenty of research and keep everything crossed for some decent weather and conditions.

Thanks for the advice, always interesting to hear other perspectives.

RE: length, on a 300m rock route I think pitching is completely fine - no need to for simul climbing or other dangerous techniques. Where ground is easier, you can just motor up it; it would be slower to alter the rope system IMO.

RE: overtaking, it seems quite hard to overtake on a trad route (rather than a classic alpine route) except at belays with permission. Otherwise, how do you do it without putting yourself or others in danger?

RE: Tobacco Maps: I overstated how poor they are, but they don't show as much detail, the shading is poor, they don't have all paths, they have paths that aren't there, etc. etc. They're definitely useable, but from a UK perspective (not just OS, but Harveys!) they are surprisingly poor. This was more of an issue on non-climbing days planning shorter walks. Although, you're completely right: there are a lot of signs around in lots of areas.

RE route descriptions: there's quite a lot of info to be fair (versus 1970s guides), but also quite a lot of mistakes, e.g. topos that are drawn completely incorrectly. It's fine so long as you follow your nose above all and use the description and topo as a "rough guide". I know others have set out on big routes and found descriptions to be very inaccurate. I found text to generally be accurate for our routes, but topos considerably inaccurate. More generally, all the guides I have (3 now!) and info I can find on the internet are with regard to mountain crag classics. But, if it's busy, it would be good to know about non-classics. And if you have a mixed weather day in the Lakes, you go to a valley crag, not Scafell Crag; locals must know about low-level crags, but it's hard to know where to begin to find more information about these lower-level crags.

Forecasts were often as basic as: "Dolomites area: sun and cloud in the morning, sun and cloud in the afternoon, with some chance of isolated showers all day." That was fine, but I'm used to being able to get an hour-by-hour breakdown on two different reputable sites and two different rain radars. That's what I mean by info being lacking.

In short: there was enough info to get by and we didn't have any major problems, but I'm used to being spoilt for info, doing my research beforehand and having lots of options at my disposal so that the plan can be easily altered if circumstances change. Perhaps that's why a few older climbers have been irritated by my post: they experienced rocking up to crags in the days before all this surfeit of helpful information.

That's a surprise. The South Tyrol Weather service is one of the most comprehensive available.

https://weather.provinz.bz.it/default.asp

I've overtaken people by letting the leader get a decent way up then leading underneath them, then belaying my second before they belay their second. Or a similar approach but simul climbing. I've found that if you're pleasant and obviously much faster then people don't mind this. If I'm not obviously much faster I just wouldn't ask.

Obviously it's situation dependant, helps if there are good belay ledges at top and bottom, or alternative belays you can use ideally above the belay the first leader stopped at. Helps if the pitch wanders a bit so if the above leader falls they're not in danger of hitting the lower leader. Helps if it's not the crux pitch. If you're noticeably quicker than the party you're overtaking this really doesn't delay the slower party much, especially if the overtaking party is faster at the belay building part.

Worth saying I wouldn't do this without the party ahead being ok with it. That said I would probably do it even if the party ahead wasn't ok with it if there was a storm or something coming in, or if there was only a short amount of climbing shared and then I could use an alternative. I've never had to do that though and I'm pretty unconfrontational so I'd maybe just wait for the rain to start

Nice! I didn't find that, when searching... and I searched a fair bit. But, there's so much crap to sift. Will keep a note of that.

Good advice... I struggle with the idea of leading just below someone else... but perhaps that's the mental shift needed to overtake. In the UK, I've always just chosen a different route.

Just returned from my first trip out there. Definitely an amazing place, but glad we went late June, ie before most schools break up,as it already seemed too crowded. By leaving around 6:30 we were the first onto most via ferrata. Also, only climbers, when we climbed in Sella towers, however, very few parking spaces, due to so many camper vans. Road cyclists everywhere, so slow journey times mid morning onwards. Most forecasts pessimistic, lost 1 day, when we could have gone for it, with an early start.  Also surprised how expensive everything was. £4 for a bag of rice in Canazei Spar made self catering expensive. We drove+ took out numerous supplies. Lift return from Biz Boe was €15 for a 5 minute ride down. 

At end of trip, disappointed we got slated as guests on air b&B. 1 place claimed we didn't pay the tourist tax, although nothing requested at check in. Another place seemed irate at left over food in fridge. We thought we'd be kind+ leave some eggs, butter and ice cream, rather than throw away.

After week in Dolomites, we went to Arco. Amazing climbing there, but super polished+ 30° heat took its toll.

There’s a fair bit of valley cragging. All bolted(at least the ones we’ve done). It did help I had an oldish copy of a local sport climbing guide.

A few we’ve visited(not been for a while now)

Aufhofen (topo at the bottom)

Sass de Beita (Castello di Andraz)

Landro

Citta dei Sassi (City of Rocks) which is probably the best well known.

If you have a car (or use the bus) then this place in Pozza Di Fassa is where we got a lot of cheap groceries (it was many years back so my apologies if it is no longer cheap) https://www.d-piu.com/punti-vendita-dpiu/g609-pozza-di-fassa/

We went past it after doing a walk/ferrata. 

Otherwise buy your main groceries on the drive from the airport at a Lidl/Aldi. 

Think of the re-education your immune system is missing out on!

My immune system sits in class the rest of the time, literally! 🤣

Tourist tax is an odd one, think it's meant to be limited to ten days, but never heard how it applies if you stay in more than one location.

Seems mean about food in fridge, we do the same - maybe daft health & safety regulations caught up in Italy now.

Re: Route Finding,

I always like to tell people about the described 100m wide scree ledge to cross that I entirely missed on the upper pitches of something long that I cant remember. Followed it up by abseiling the off the wrong side of a ridge. I think we did about 4 or 5 pitches out of 16 correctly. Fairly easy so it didn't seem that important at the time

Sounds like a route-finding victory rather than a failure!