Before winter popular demand.
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That time ...
After attending nearly every ferrate in the Dolomites with my friend Gary, "The Silent" I wanted to try an exit winter in our mountains.
To this end I appended to a tour of the CAI, which was intended to cover part of 5 Peaks Trail on Pasubio. This is a path running from nozzle-equipped and Campiglia, staying on the edge of the ridge above the road from the Galleries, get to shelter Pope
In summer it is a beautiful panoramic tour featuring some steel rope and a few steps, in winter I had no idea what I found. Equipped with a baggy corduroy trousers Fila, gaiters, ice axes to 75 cm Red Camp brand new, I come at the appointed time in front of the municipal theater.
Participants:
Me:
eager neophyte to learn the secrets to move safely in winter.
Carlo Restiglian, capogita:
climber of the first hour (started in Thiene bike to go in the mountains) and a great connoisseur of the Small Dolomites and surrounding mountains. It 's the type that if you ask him, "that mountain there xea quea Carlo?" I replied without delay also lists by name all the peaks around. A man of great experience. I once confessed that he had received as a gift a harness, but he never used, because the thought of little use.
Berti:
Rocky character, which do not remember the name, after having attended the Alps, got tired of walking and gave himself to dive. I have not seen.
Radames:
this guy deserves a few lines. He was an avid mountain and for many years has been accompanied by touring youth. Passion ... but poor attitude. Little or no co-ordinated, was always struggling with the various straps that are supplied with gloves, goggles, backpacks, ice axes, etc.. For years when I was messed up with ropes and cords, I said "me par be de Radames. Strong as a bull, as a voracious alligator, slow as a sloth, but they know how to be nice simple people. His presence was a guarantee of delay. Died of cancer a few years, I remember with great fondness.
Good. Leave your car at Ponte Verde and we were walking along the road to Xomo step up to meet Val Camossara, steep slope that will lead us to the path of the ridge.
I go I, wishing to show my good will. There is a thirty cm of snow and you have to "beat the track." My long ax it soon proves a pain in the ass: I have to planting in front of me to have some benefit, which means having to raise the height of the nose. However,
surplus stoically. Do not believe, along the Val Camossara, we spot a chamois. Three-quarters of a hill, stopping to drink. Charles pulls out a bag from a white granular substance, it takes a little 'and if the sticks in the mouth shortly after starting to "make Effortless" (I can not in Italian). He swallowed the salt, to restore what he lost sweating!
arrive on the crest. There is less snow and proceeding with care and making sure the steel cables with hooks and lines move forward to the Pope Surely, this mountain in winter gains a hundred points, so it is bleak and bare in the summer, so uniform is fascinating in the snow in winter.
As I said, the presence of Radames lead to some 'delay on the roadmap. It was decided to avoid Peak Observatory and go around it on the side facing north. After a hundred yards of snow there is up to the crotch. Shit!
The rocky Berti take matters in hand and with the penetration of a bulldozer, make their way in deep snow. A bit ' walking and a little 'swimming and ended in front of the Pope's Refuge RV eat. Does a cold mouth, put his hand behind a ski glove leather on the iron barrier, and when I remove the part of the palm is attached to the tube. Fucking cool ... eh.
Bon, we go down it's late. We take the path of Boal Winter, a canyon just below the Pope who ends up on a rock a few feet on the path of the Val Canale. Now at dusk, we stopped at the rock above to decide how to deal with: on either side the rock is covered with ice and clearly we do not have a rope. You can not fall, what to do? I await the views of experts who, after a brief huddle, I say "Jump XO".
"Please?" "Skip xò ghe xe a Mucio that both snow and no te de fé noffink you."
Now, who am I, poor followers, to raise even a shadow of a doubt as to whether under all the snow is there is a rock on which a leg fracture? In fact, I make a leap of faith and jump.
Luckily I had a backpack on his shoulders to prevent me from fully immersing myself: the snow is really great. Somehow I rise to the surface and move side to wait others. One after another, my companions are planted and are extracted from the pile of snow. We are all wet as chicks go down before they become hard.
We get the car in the dark, of course I have nothing to change me and my corduroy pants, the first stiff with cold, the warmth of the machine will "loosen", put it into wet and rough embrace. "If not me xò cable in the press, I also Roseg bale". Finally, I come home, where they also scolded me because I'm late. Hot shower and dry clothes research information to enroll in a course that could give me the knowledge fondamentali per andare in montagna in sicurezza, che sia in roccia su ghiaccio.
Manrico
