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Thursday, July 26
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The Ivano Dibona ferrata is one of the (if not the most) famous via ferrata of the Dolomites. It is a long traverse of the ridge system west of the highest Cristallo summits. During the mountain war of WWI, the Ivano Dibona route saw much military development, and the route is as historic as it is scenic, with many well-preserved buildings and artifacts built into the rock along the way. The route also crosses a notch via a long suspension bridge. Called the 'ponte Cristallo', it is the longest ferrata suspension bridge in the dolomites. A bridge very much like this was also made famous in the movie 'Cliffhanger', with Sylvester Stallone (it was actually over in the Falzarego Mountains a little ways to the west; it was temporary, and they blew it up as part of the end of the movie).

The Ivano Dibona ferrata is another very busy ferrata route. It was not entirely by luck that we timed our start of the route with the time of the last chairlift down. That way, the vast majority of the day-users were gone, and we were free to explore the route in relative solitude.

We rounded the back of the chairlift station and started up the metal stairway that marked the start (or the end, if you are doing it in the opposite direction) of the Ivano Dibona Ferrata. The route wound up and around a small knob, diving through wartime tunnels with lookouts, and then arriving at the long suspension bridge. We were fortunate enough to make visual contact at that point with Pu, who was descending the Marino Bianchi route. He took several pictures of us on the bridge (see pictures).
courtesy PChen
Start of Ivano Dibona
Us on the bridge
Jenn on the bridge
Above the bridge, we walked along an airy but easy ridge, and then started a long descent down to a pass where several very interesting looking wartime buildings were located. They were in pretty good shape for being abandoned for nearly 100 years in a hostile, high-altitude environment.
Pu on a ladder
Ivano Dibona ridgewalk
Heading down to ruins
We inspected the buildings, along with several other wartime artifacts, including a neat but sobering sniper post, complete with little aiming-holes for shooting in various directions.
Ruined building from above
Gunner's view
Examining the past
We could see other interesting buildings further along the route, but it was getting late, and we most certainly did not want to miss dinnertime at the rifugio, so we decided to turn around at this point. The Ivano Dibona ferrata continues on for several more hours, so we'll definitely have to come back and explore this at some point!

(If you'd like to read more about the Ivano Dibona route, please click here to go to my dedicated Via Ferrata page's route description.)
Jenn climbs down
De-layering
Heading back for supper
Back at the Rifugio, we met up with Pu, who was intensely studying a coffee-table picture-book of the Dolomites. We also met two British men - one older, and one quite young - who were new to exploring ferrata (gee, what a surprise) and who wanted some tips and advice on what routes they could do the next day before jetting off. Our dinner was delicious, as usual. Afterwards, Pu went off to climb up a bit of the Ivano Dibona ferrata to get some sunset shots.
Daryl on the bridge
Tunnels and Crags
Relaxing at dinner
courtesy PChen
Rifugio's namesake
Grub!
Rifugio Mascot
courtesy PChen
The Deck at sunset
Dreamy Dolomites evening
Crags at sunset
Pu up on the ridge
Helping a fellow
Interactive Trackmap & Photo Points - Outings near Rif Lorenzi - Click map to expand
Interactive Trackmap & Photo Points - Outings near Rif Lorenzi - click to expand
Outings Near Rifugio Lorenzi
Start Time: 11:43a.m.
End Time: 5:37p.m.
Duration: 5h54m
Distance: 6.21 km (3.86 mi)
Average Speed: 1.1 km/hr (0.7 mph)
Start Elevation: 5547ft (1691m) *
Max Elevation: 10207ft (3111m) *
Min Elevation: 5547ft (1691m) *
End Elevation: 9673ft (2948m) *
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 4962ft (1512m) *
Total Elevation Loss: 926ft (282m) *
 
 
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
As darkness fell, we introduced Pu to the board game 'Settlers of Catan' (to which he took an immediate liking). We played until the rifugio staff came 'round and told us it was nearly lights out time - 10:00pm. I was losing, anyway.
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