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The small ledge above the second pitch allowed me to look at the third steep pitch. It wasn't quite as steep as the second pitch, nor was it as long (as far as I could tell from this vantage point).
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
Looking down, second pitch
Luke on Featureless Corner
Luke, third pitch
While climbing the third pitch, though, it was again harder than it looked. There were some awkward down-sloping flutings of rock that might have been good with dedicated rock shoes, but which weren't so great with stiff-soled mountaineering boots. It also didn't help that a section of this pitch was on damp rock. There was a lot of pulling oneself up with upper body muscles, and I was mighty glad to see a clear end to the steep climbing at the top of this pitch. I called down to the others to reassure them that they were nearing the end of the hard stuff.
The end is in sight, Luke
Luke finishing tough stuff
Easy ground now
Luke neutrally expressed satisfaction at having completed the tough stuff. Either he was better at this climbing stuff than I'd thought, or he was doing a good job at masking what was probably a much tougher and scarier experience than he had expected. Whatever the reality behind his calm facade, I assured him that this was a rather stiff climb for an introduction - and not to be scared off from doing other routes in the future.

Above the third steep pitch, the route continued, but now the going was quite easy. We were on a semi-vegetated ridgecrest that led upwards towards the top of one of Monte Baldo's many bumps. We were now out of the cool shade of the north-facing slopes we'd been climbing, and a warm summer sun shone down on us. Perhaps ten minutes of scenic and easy climbing and we arrived at the route box and the end of the ferrata wires. We had successfully completed the Via Ferrata delle Taccole.
courtesy JInnes
Easy ridgecrest
Recording for History
Steep traversing
Above the route box, a faint use path led across steep and now-remarkably grassy slopes towards our summit. Known as the Vette delle Buse, it is a gentle dome providing great views in all directions. Especially great was the unfolding of a panoramic view across Southern Lake Garda as we crested the last rise.
Sense of Accomplishment
Grassy final ascent
Vetta delle Buse summit view
courtesy JInnes
Luke and Andrew
Luke at summit
The grassy top of Vetta delle Buse would have been a superb place for a relaxing break and snack. Unfortunately, our time window was getting squeezed. It was 10:30am, and we had promised to be back in Riva by 1pm. We had a lot of ground to cover and a fair bit of driving to do in that 2.5 hours.

From the top of the Vetta delle Buse, it was a super-simple matter to head down the southern slopes, very soon intersecting with the General Graziani path. Turning left, we marched back north, soon reaching the point where we had turned down into the scree bowl a couple of hours before. Soon after this, we reached the top of path 652 - the path that connects down to the roadside parking area where our car was located.
courtesy JInnes
Luke and Andrew
Hurrying down
Dolomitic-like views
A very rapid descent (in fact, there was a bit of jogging at times) brought us the 6 kilometres of distance back to the car in a mere 70 minutes. Very fast hiking by all involved.
Alpine Commemoration
Luke descends
Down 652
Back across grassy slopes
Crossing beautiful slopes
End of Luke's Adventure
Note: If you are interested in a more "guidebook"-like description of the Via Ferrata delle Taccole, please visit this description on my dedicated Via Ferrata page.
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Via Ferrata delle Taccole - click map to view
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Via Ferrata delle Taccole - click to view
Via Ferrata delle Taccole - Climb Data
Start Time: 6:11a.m.
End Time: 12:07p.m.
Duration: 5h55m
Distance: 9.19 km (5.71 mi)
Average Speed: 1.6 km/hr (1.0 mph)
Start Elevation: 5111ft (1558m) *
Max Elevation: 7081ft (2158m) *
Min Elevation: 5107ft (1556m) *
End Elevation: 5131ft (1564m) *
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 2348ft (716m) *
Total Elevation Loss: 2312ft (705m) *
 
 
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
It was looking very tight for a 1pm arrival time back in Riva (it was ten minutes past noon at this point). While we made excellent time driving back down the winding roads on the eastern slopes of Monte Baldo, we ran into some of the interminable mid-day traffic that can plague the key roads leading to and around Lake Garda. As a result, we only got back to the apartment by 1:30pm. We offered our profuse apologies to the others (they had already checked out of the apartment, in fact).

Just as we were finishing up the packing of our rental car and were about to head off, we noticed an extra set of car keys in our car. Fiat car keys, to be precise. To be really precise, Luke's Fiat rental car keys. Obviously we couldn't drive north to Germany with these in our possession, so we prepared to drive over to the Ward's apartment - where they were probably at the moment in a panic!
Thank-bleep
A few moments later, a huffing and puffing Luke, forehead glistening with sweat, rushed up on a mysterious black bicycle (a bike Sophie had rented, it turns out. Realizing the situation, he had practically ripped it out of Sophie's hands and dashed off it with to catch us). "Thank [expletive]", he exclaimed, clearly relieved that he'd managed to catch us before leaving with his all-important keys. He had no way of knowing that we had found the keys, after all, and had to assume the worst.
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