Torri Dei Violet/ Vajolet Towers 2,805m

By Iain McCallum

Fifty years on - well almost!

Charlie said "they will not go far." At the time I was holding two large 5,000 lira notes, while sitting on the double bed in a small room in a pensione in Canazei. He was right. They did not go very far.

Dave Pearson, Tim Mepham and I had arranged to meet Dudley Moore and Charlie Park in Canazei for the second week of our Alpine holiday. We had all travelled out together from Manchester to Innsbruck by train and ferry. From London to Innsbruck we travelled with Inghams. The cost for each of us was £16.50p return and this included vouchers to cover accommodation in the Austrian huts. On our arrival in Innsbruck we split up. Dave, Tim and I travelled on to Mayerhofen in the Zillertal while Charlie and Dudley travelled over the Brenner Pass to the Dolomites.

Our last night in the Zillertal was spent in Pfitscher-Joch Haus, a hut right on the Austrian/Italian border. We had planned to cross the border and make our way down to Sterzing. However, the Guardian advised us that we had to cross the border at Brenner. Leaving the hut at 6am we tramped along the border track to Brenner. The weather was grim, low cloud, rain, sleet. At the time it reminded me of a bad November day on Kinder Scout. Things did get better. By the time we got to Brenner the sun was shining. No one bothered to inspect our passports. From Brenner we travelled by train down the pass to Bozen/ Bolzano. Here we left our crampons and ice axes in the station's left luggage office. Outside the station we caught the bus to Canazei. The buses and their drivers were impressive. The drivers' uniforms were like those of airline pilots. We reached Canazei at about 8pm. Dudley was waiting for us at the bus station much to our relief. Charlie thought we would not make it so they had only booked a room for two people. Sleeping proved a challenge with five in a bed for two. Charlie ended up on the floor with a rope for a pillow and a corner of the eiderdown.

Next morning we travelled by bus to Vigo di Fassa and then by lift up to Ciampedie. It was raining heavily. So we stayed in the café at the top playing pontoon while we waited for the weather to improve. Eventually we left the café and tramped up the valley to Gardeccia and the Vajolet hut.

Our climbing equipment was very basic. The ropes were hawser laid 9mm nylon. They were 120/150ft long. We used double ropes for climbing. Each of us had two or three slings with steel karabiners. For abseiling we used a sling in a figure of eight configuration with a screw gate karabiner. The twin ropes ran through the karabiner and up and over one's right shoulder. A 20ft length of hemp rope was carried just in case we had to abandon some rope to secure a belay. We all wore tweed caps with chin straps stuffed with either a piece of carpet or polystyrene to protect our heads. I climbed in boots but the others climbed in kletterschuh, a light suede leather boot with a vibram sole. We used fingerless gloves for abseiling. Before our departure we had climbed on the limestone rocks at Brassington as these were similar to the limestone rock found in the Dolomites.

In their first week, Charlie and Dudley had done a number of routes on the Sella Towers in the Sellagruppe so they were well up to speed by the time we joined them.

Dave, Tim and I climbed as a team. On our first day, in drizzle and low cloud, we climbed the 60m Torre Piaz, the smallest of the towers, just to get the feel for the rock. Near the top, Tim who was leading pulled out a large block of rock. Due to the mist we could not see the ground below but we could hear voices including those of children. Tim tried to re-insert the block but to no avail. Eventually he had to let it drop. We gave warning shouts and hoped for the best. Fortunately, it did not hit anyone.

During the week we climbed the "Three Sisters" T. Stabeler 2,805m, T. Winkler 2,800m and the T. Delago 2,790m. The Delago by the spectacular South-West Ridge 120m (IV). At one point you stand with one foot over a 350ft drop and the other over a 2,000ft drop. For the route on the T. Delago Dave and Tim climbed together while I paired up with a student from Manchester University. Charlie and Dudley also climbed several other routes (Grades IV & V) on the Towers. The German climbers we met were much better equipped than us. They had helmets and sheathed nylon ropes. They were not impressed with our thin looking 9mm ropes. At times our rope handling was not good. After an abseil we often found ourselves with 300ft of "knitting" to unravel while sitting on a ledge. On one of these occasions we watched with bated breath while two German climbers helped a young woman to switch ropes in mid-air. Her abseil rope was too short and she was left dangling some 20ft above the ledge. Our 150ft ropes avoided this kind of problem. There were belay pitons and abseil points on all the routes but some Italian climbers did not bother with belays. On the Stabeler a member of the Alpini simply sat on a ledge and took the rope in hand over hand while his companion climbed up the route.

In the hut we slept in the matratzenlager (alpine bunk) in the attic. This was the cheapest accommodation available. We ate rather frugally as our funds were limited. I recall having two bowls of minestrone soup with bread for my evening meal on several occasions. Dudley had even made his own rucksack out of an army kitbag which he had bought for 50 pence.

This year on our trek through the Rosengarten/Catinaccio Keith and I stayed at the Vajolet hut for two nights. We climbed up the valley above the hut to view the Towers along with many others, including Italian families with young children and dogs. I was surprised to discover that my memory was not as good as I thought it was. I had forgotten about the Alberto hut, which lies just across the valley from the Towers or the little lake nearby. We never ate or drank at this hut while we there, which is surprising given its situation. I had also forgotten how steep and rocky the route is up to the Towers. There are fixed ropes for protection over the rocks but perhaps these were not there in 1960. The Vajolet hut was a lot larger than I remembered. I did discover, however, that it had been enlarged in 1978. It now sleeps 130 people. I had also forgotten the Preuss hut which stands on the edge of the cliff just across from the Vajolet hut. There is now a road up to these huts. The Vajolet hut has an a la carte menu and staff can send food orders electronically to the kitchen. Most of the CAI huts and the private huts seem to have been modernised in recent years. The Contrin hut below the South face of the Marmolada must be one of the best huts in the Alps. It belongs to the Alpini Association and is very modern. It has rooms with en suite facilities. It even has a chef. How thing have changed - for the better!

Notes:

• First ascents: T. Delago 1895, T. Stabeler 1892, T.Winkler 1887.
• The Towers are named after the climbers who made the first ascents.
• Alpini - Italian Alpine Troops.
• Charlie Park and Dudley Moore are ex-members of the KMC. Like Dave and Tim, Charlie lives in British Columbia, Canada.