Hiking and Climbing in the Dolomites: Via Ferrata in Val di Fassa

This October we completed our fifth via ferrata of the year and the summit viewpoint was incredible. It was by far the longest of any hike/climb we had completed yet. 11 miles, 9 hours, and 3400 feet of hiking and climbing in Val di Fassa. It was exhausting – mentally and physically – but the feeling afterward of accomplishing that feat is something I’ll never tire of.

I wanted to see the leaves changing and we hadn’t climbed in many months, so we headed to our favorite mountain range in all of Italy – the Dolomites. I did a little research and found a valley and area that we hadn’t been to before called Val di Fassa. From there, I began looking up via ferrata routes in the area. There were plenty of routes and the one I chose was easy to moderate and was supposed to be one of the shorter distance ones. Unfortunately, we had just missed the summer lift season, so there were no lifts running to the via ferratas that we wanted to do. Otherwise, it would have been a much shorter hike.

***Related post: Read 6 Breathtaking Hiking Trails in the Dolomites here!

On Friday evening after I finished substituting at the High School, we packed our bags and headed up to Val di Fassa. In order to avoid tolls and the autostrada, we took the no toll route and the curvy back roads and that was holy hell so scary. It was basically a one lane road the entire time up the mountain pass. I was hanging on for dear life. It was a beautiful drive, but a scary one. I’ll suck it up and pay for tolls next time!

We arrived at our hotel, Inter Hotel, in the town of Vigo di Fassa, quickly checked in, and unloaded our bags before heading out to find a place to eat. Most places were closed up for the offseason, which seems to always happen to us. We managed to find a pizzeria when we were walking around. La Grotta Pizzeria was so delicious and they had many gluten free options. We split the meat and cheese plate for an appetizer and Stephen had pumpkin ravioli for his second course, while I stuck to steak and roasted potatoes. They had vin brule on the menu and we ordered many rounds of that. The first of the season for us!

Booking.com

On Saturday, I woke up early to see the sunrise from our room on the first floor. We were given a room with a door that opened onto a patio and a field nearby, which was super convenient for letting Presley outside. We had a perfect view of the backside of the mountain that we were to climb that day – Roda di Vael. The sun rose on the peaks of the mountain in the forefront, like a painting you would see on a wall. It was incredible, and I was excited for the beautiful day ahead.

We finished eating our Italian style breakfast of meats, cheeses, and yogurt, and made it to the car parking lot around 9 am to start our hike. As I mentioned, the lift to the Rifugio that most people usually START at, was closed, meaning it added a few hours of hiking up to the trip. The distance and time required to make up for the gondola being closed really wore us out thanks to the steep incline.

Once we got to Rifugio Paolino 2 hours later, we stopped for a much-needed rest and to snap a few photos. The view from here was gorgeous and it was just starting to warm up. To continue hiking, we followed trailhead signs for 549 to 9 up to Vaiolon Pass. This takes you to where the Via Ferrata starts. Hiking to the Vaiolon Pass must be very popular as we passed many people that day. It splits at the very top of the pass, so in one direction is the via ferrata up Roda di Vael, and in the other direction is the hiking path down and around to return back to the front of the mountain.

The Via Ferrata climbing portion was awesome and so worth the hike! It felt so good to be back in a harness, clipped into the iron rods, and using all my body strength to climb up to the peak. I love the pace of climbing versus hiking – it’s much slower and you can take your time and enjoy every rock, crevice, and second that it takes to get to the top. I find myself in a steady rhythm during my climb and it brings me so much peace. With four via ferratas under my belt, this route was easy to moderate for us and I never felt unsafe or fearful, even with the adrenaline pumping drop-offs below.

It took us under an hour and a half to reach the summit once we started our climb. We performed our usual summit checklist: a kiss for congratulations, a selfie to send to our parents and signing the mountain book to mark our place in history. We realized how familiar we had become with the Dolomites when we were able to stand at the summit and point out the other peaks and ridges that we had climbed or hiked before. I have never done that in my life before, and it felt amazing to be at that level of knowledge!

The climb down wasn’t too bad, even though climbing down is not my forte. One of the last parts of the via ferrata was an ascent (yes, we had to go back UP), which was quite tricky. It was on the side of a rock that had no grip, so there were only foot pegs to step on and hang onto. You had to move horizontally versus vertically. It made the path more interesting, that’s for sure. We had to climb down a few ladders along the way, crawl down crevices, and we finally reached the end of the climbing section. It was all downhill from here – only hiking left!

We could see Rifugio Roda di Vael from where we were and that was one of the stops along the recommended path. Even though they were closed, a small cabin right beside it was open, surprisingly, and we stopped to celebrate with some much-needed vin brule. From this cabin, we followed trails 549 to 539, then 1A back to our car. It was around 6:15 pm when we eventually arrived back at our car with sore feet and happy hearts.

It was a much longer day than we had intended, mainly because of the lifts not being open and the hiking we had to do to make up for it. All in all, it was a great day with beautiful weather, an incredible climb, and a shit ton of calories burned. We hiked for 6.5 hours and climbed for 2 hours.

If you’re looking for a moderate via ferrata, I highly suggest checking this one out when the lifts are working. This would also make for a great hiking route if you’re not interested in climbing.

You can find all the details and the map of the route that we followed here!