Thursday, July 26
(...continued from previous page)
I've been on the Marino Bianchi route before, and my second time on it
cemented my initial impression of it. Namely, that (a) it is a very
scenic ridge climb, (b) it is very busy, and (c) many of the climbers on it seem
quite new to ferratas and climbing in general, and (d) most of the
climbers seem to be British. My guess is that the super-easy access to
this ferrata route (the wires start from the edge of the Rifugio's deck)
attracts first-time ferrata-ists. As for the British connection - who
knows?
We climbed about three-quarters of the way along the Marino Bianchi
ferrata, all the while enjoying the superb positions that are reached
along the way. There were excellent views back to the cristallo bridge on
the Ivano Dibona ferrata (which was also simply crawling with climbers).
Off in the distance was the huge, ochre-faced Croda Rossa. To the west,
we could see some ghostly-looking ruins high on rock walls; these were
located along the Ivano Dibona route (Or rather, the Ivano Dibona route winds by these ruins).
We realized that if we wanted to explore some of the Ivano Dibona ferrata,
we should probably turn around and head back before it got too late. Pu preferred the idea of
completing the Marino Bianchi route and summitting the Cima de Meso, so he
continued on ahead, while the rest of us turned back.
(If you'd like to read more about the Marino Bianchi route, please
click here to go to my dedicated Via Ferrata page's route description.)