CIVETTA SOUTH SIDE | Versante Sud climbing guide

CLIMBING GUIDE

Southern Civetta is one of the most complex mountains you can find. The main massif appears on the map like an immense claw, roughly oriented with three front “fingers” pointing south and a rear finger to the north. Access from south is certainly the most convenient: the rock structures are at a lower altitude, less severe thanks to their southern exposure with very high, vertical walls, with towers of compact limestone which look inaccessible.

The Dolomites are covered in towers and peaks, but often the most popular among these are nothing more than big rocks compared to the seven hundred metres of Torre Trieste or the eleven hundred metres of the Busazza arête. Climbing up Mussaia you get the impression that between two great towers there is a labyrinth of summits and spires, these are Cantoni di Pelsa and Cantoni della Busazza. The distinction is more visual than structural: the Cantoni di Pelsa end before the massive chunk of rock of Cima di Terranova, while the Cantoni della Busazza can be considered to extend up to the start of the ridges that then turn northwards to enclose the Van del Giazzer. Seen from the front, however, they appear as one single structure. 

Climbing Cantoni means sunshine, realtively short approach walks, no worrying about tricky descents or sudden weather changes, free climbing on good rock with mostly natural protection and a carefree life between one climb and the next. There are also very difficult routes here, often with sections of very loose rock, descents like that of Torre Trieste, and faces like the west wall of the Busazza, over a thousand metres high, in the shade for most of the day, with no retreat routes to the sides, and summit altitudes of around 3000 metres.