The Dolomites - Rock Climbs and Via Ferrata (Rockfax Climbing Guide) (Rockfax Climbing Guide Series)

This review is written after using the book for a two week climbing trip, with no via ferrata, based in Cortina. This guidebook offers more than just descriptions and topos, coming complete with interesting historical prefaces to each area and some outstanding photography. Information on transport, accommodation and logistics is well thought out and helpful and suggestions on gear for certain routes are given where appropriate. Overall the route descriptions are concise and easy to follow but on such complex and hard-to-read terrain I found some to be a bit light on detail. More often than not this isn't a major issue and helps to retain the sense of adventure that a blow-by-blow description removes, but in some instances it resulted in sketchy off-route escapades. Descents were well described for the routes I did, but I would glean every bit of info you can on the Cima Grande di Laverado descent as the topo in this book is at a very large scale. Given the size of some of the cliffs and length of the routes, the topos tend to show the general line and grade of the pitch rather than the intricate detail. Overall this is a superb guide and the only one I needed for a two week trip, it comes highly recommended!

I have just returned from my first Via Ferrata holiday, which was amazing! I took both this and the Cicerone book. The Rockfax is much better because it gives more detailed maps and annotated photos of the routes. I like how each route has a break down of VF grading, approach time, climbing time and even how busy the route gets (comparatively). I only did VF but the normal climbing routes seem equally well explained.Rockfax - Great book but please consider separating the VF from the normal climbing to made this the perfect weight for my daysack.

Really good . Not great

This is brilliant and meticulously researched. The photos are a real plus and to include detailed Via Ferrata information is a bonus. I haven't checked (obviously) but I am optimistic that the route grades and descriptions as well as the approach notes have been confirmed as too often new guides ignore the lower grades or are unable to assess the difficulty of lower grade routes for ordinary mortals leading to some horrible mistakes. Well done Rushie - it was worth waiting for and is a real inspiration to get out there.

This book is so detailed and concise. It proves to be a great companion whilst out in the Dolomites, giving not only detailed climbing routes but also gives a good account of the extensive via ferrata in the area. It also has nice features about the history and culture of this beautiful mountain range. I would recommend this book to anyone going climbing in the Dolomites and gives an honest and detailed review of the wide variety of climbs.

This guide book has so much detail and is really well laid out and easy to use. The photography is incredible and just flicking through the pictures is enough to get you excited about climbing out there! Clearly a lot of effort and passion has gone in to creating this book and it has paid off. Im sure it will help many people to make some very memorable mountain days. It's the badger ;-)

If you’re headed to the Dolomites then this book will give a nice over view of routes to try. If you want want one book to cover it all then this is a reasonable place to start, BUT if you want good or accurate descriptions it’s probably not for you. In a few places we found the routes and topics muddled up or plain iffy. This is highlighted by the other guides for the area: eg if going to do mostly via Ferrata then the Cicerone books are far more useful. The Mauro Bernardi climbing guides and Vertical-Life Dolomites guide give far better descriptions of climbing routes (trad and sport respectively).

This book is a fabulous contribution to my Rockfax collection. The descriptions, routes, Photos and general layout is perfect and extremely easy to use and follow. The Dolomites is one of the greatest climbing and Via Ferrata locations in the world and all you need is this book. A MUST BUY FOR ALL THOSE GOING TO THE AREA!

Great to look at but judging by the other reviews unreliable. Will not be soley be depending on this guidebook for my upcoming trip in the summer, however good enough for planning purposes. For the actual climb I would advise you bring more detailed descriptions and topos.

Compramos esta guía para irnos de vacaciones a los Dolomitas. Esta guía fue todo un acierto. Hay muchísimas reseñas, clasificadas por zonas, por grado de dificultad, etc.Hay tanto para escalada deportiva, como vías largas y vías ferratas.Hay muchas explicaciones de cómo llegar, algunas vías están explicadas con más detalle, con consejos o anotaciones sobre el tipo de roca, si está muy visitada, etc.

Very good book for planning. Lots of information on the different areas and great pictures. I'll have to follow up on accuracy after my trip.

The only bad point is that the book is a mixture of some selected ferratas (for mountaineers) and some selected climbing routes (for real climbers). This means that it will not satisfy those who would just like to go via ferratas, nor those who would like to climb and want to have a greater choice and overview of climbing routes. Therefore, it is better to buy a specialized guidebook for either one or the other sports activity, unless you are only planning a one-time visit to the Dolomites.

I am something of a Dolomites addict, and have made 6 trips there over nearly half a century. I have virtually everything in print written as guidebooks. The coverage is far from complete, but the major sub regions included are covered in adequate detail. Seldom included elsewhere are the Sport routes. Overall, a valuable contribution to the climbing community.