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Italian Alps

Anonymous Sat 15 Mar 2014 21:56:15 No.286944 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>287232

Hello /out/er's.

How many of you guys have any experience tackling the Italian Alps, or the alps in general? As a uni student about to study abroad in Italy, I think it would be awesome to experience them, but I don't know what they will be like and any info really can be helpful, whether it be gear, or climbing tips or suggested hikes, anything goes.

As for prior experience, the highest mountain I've ever climbed was at 12241 feet in New Mexico, which us about 3730 meters high.

I have from now to the end of summer until I go to Italy, so I think I have left myself enough time to prepare.

Thanks in advance.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Sat 15 Mar 2014 22:39:18 No.286964 Report

Quoted By: >>287044 >>287061

north-italian here, feel free to ask.
pic related

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 15 Mar 2014 23:16:51 No.286986 Report

Quoted By: >>287044 >>287061 >>287369

I've done plenty of hiking in the mountains around Meran/Bozen/Passeier as well as Ötztal and Stubaital to the north in Austria.
What kind of tours are you looking for? Just hiking, or climbing, glacial traverses and all that?

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 00:58:12 No.287044 Report

Quoted By: >>287216

>>286964
>>286986
Not OP but seriously interested in this thread.

Please, tell me about your mountains.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 01:30:31 No.287061 Report

Quoted By: >>287066 >>287216 >>287230 >>287269

>>286986
>>286964

Thank you both. I was looking for something that is still a challenge and rewarding, yet at the same time, I realize I may not be experienced enough yet for what is out there, so my first question is, what are the conditions like in December? Is this still possible, or should I scrap my dream and try again when its warmer?

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 01:57:48 No.287066 Report

Quoted By:

>>287061
Not either of them,

But its my understanding that winter is the opposite of seasons for mountaineering... (unless you're very bad ass)

Which makes perfect sense frankly, go when it'll be the best.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO via ferrata.jpg, 39KiB, 450x300

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 09:41:43 No.287216 Report

Quoted By: >>287242 >>287272 >>287274

>>287044
>>287061
i guess this is once again going to attrakt the got dam hippies.... but via ferratas are good fun and a nice mental challenge.
i also recomend hicking in the dolomites they are really nice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_ferrata

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 11:02:30 No.287230 Report

Quoted By: >>287274

>>287061
winter is where mountaineers go to die

on a serious note, some people go in winter, but it requires a completely different array of gear and experience

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 11:44:00 No.287232 Report

Quoted By: >>287271

>>286944
I made a 14 day hike from Oberstdorf Germany to Bozen Italy. I crossed the Alps at the age of 13/14.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 12:17:48 No.287242 Report

Quoted By: >>287272

>>287216
OMG HOW CAN PEOPLE RUIN CLIFF FACES LIKE THAT OMG OMG OMG

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 12:22:29 No.287246 Report

Quoted By:

>italian alps
expect lots of tourists errywhere

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 13:33:19 No.287269 Report

Quoted By: >>287273 >>287369

>>287061
Don't bother in December. If you have to ask you certainly don't have enough experience for actual mountaineering during winter.
October is still nice, but a lot of the higher peaks will already have considerable amounts of snow.
When exactly will you be in Italy? Where are you based?
As for challenges and rewards, you don't really need a lot of experience if you stay on marked paths (the whole alps are very developed and accessible in terms of tracks, paths, signs, huts, etc) and can get some really amazing vistas, but you will see a LOT of tourists. If you can, get off-season and during the week.

I don't know about maps from Italy, but the Austrian Maps from Kompass are pretty nice. They're a bit tourist-y with lots of unnecessary markings and I prefer the maps from the Austrian Alpine Club, but they don't make maps of Italy. Don't know about the Italian Alpine Club. Maybe they make maps, too.
In fact I think you should join. You get discounts on huts, can rent equipment and get insurance for anything you do on the mountain. Depending on the section you join, you will also get access to a library and can ask for advice.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 13:34:31 No.287271 Report

Quoted By: >>287278

>>287232
What route did you follow? Just the standard E5 sleeping on huts I assume?

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 13:36:46 No.287272 Report

Quoted By:

>>287242
>>287216

FUCK OMG OMG

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 13:41:18 No.287273 Report

Quoted By:

>>287269
You can still go hiking in december (south of the main alpine ridge usually gets less precipitation so if you're lucky there will be relatively little snow in lower regions), but you will need to do a lot of research, check the avalanche situation and so on.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 13:41:54 No.287274 Report

Quoted By: >>287277

>>287216
I once read a book by the first guy to climb Matterhorn. He was talking about whatever the 1860 equiv. to trekking poles. He was of the opinion that "if you have trouble with balance, the mountains aren't a place for you." I hate to be the "don't like what I don't" guy but if climbing not your thing........

Also LNT......

>>287230
Yeah, thats whatbi thought. I just try not to be hyper assertive in things I'm not 100% on. Winter mountaineering is fucking insanity, its like regular mountaineering with a loaded gun at your head.

If you haven't, read about mark twights shit.

Also, Tomaz Humar trying to solo Annapurnas south face.

Also mark twights unrepeated "reality bath"

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 13:53:24 No.287277 Report

Quoted By: >>287315

Also, how's your condition? Are you used to ascending? Ascending with weight? Do you just want to do day hikes? Alpine Club Huts are closed in winter, and while there are a few refuges (see images in http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biwakschachtel), they are at places someone without experience shouldn't attempt to reach in winter.

>>287274
>He was talking about whatever the 1860 equiv. to trekking poles. He was of the opinion that "if you have trouble with balance, the mountains aren't a place for you."
Sure, and if you need a rope or boots or clothes then the mountains aren't a place for you. That's just silly.

And I think you have to distinguish between a whole route of only via ferrata which is entirely made for families as "adventure tourism"-attraction on one hand, and a 10m section secured with some iron wire or a ladder that makes an otherwise very easy 2500m peak impassable without climbing equipment or too dangerous when circumstances (weather, etc) deteriorate.
There's no point in carrying 5kg of equipment for just 10m.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 13:54:52 No.287278 Report

Quoted By: >>287282

>>287271
>E5
Huts, Camping Places would be to expensive. We where a group of 10-12 persons. We slept in our Tents.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 14:04:00 No.287282 Report

Quoted By: >>287309

>>287278
>E5, 10-12 people in tents
Nice. Didn't know wild camping along the E5 was tolerated to that degree.

I walked from Meran to Innsbruck a few years ago. Was a nice experience.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 15:29:33 No.287309 Report

Quoted By:

>>287282
>Nice. Didn't know wild camping along the E5 was tolerated to that degree.
You are right: It isn't. Weeks before the Group Organisation informed the local farmers. So they allowed use one night on their ground. But most in time you slept in the middle of nowhere.

I did similar Hikes in the French Vosges on regular basis. Since then, 20 years have passed. Childhood memories brought me back into the nature.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 15:45:13 No.287315 Report

Quoted By: >>287367

>>287277
As for the equipment thing.....

No, that's just plain wrong. Balance is something you can build upon. No matter how much you try, your feet will never be able to withstand alpine conditions.

However, lots of early mountaineers were of the opinion that ropes, were for sissies. (John Muir for one, and his opinion is a bit more credible than mine).

In present day, where people carry 80+L packs while towing a sled on angled terrain? Sure, take some poles. But I get what he's saying..... you should have a pretty good grasp on walking in balance if you want to climb mountains..... if you disagree with this.... well then shit, I'm done talking with you.

But yeah.... way to take an point to the extreme (Damn near strawmanning me pretty hard, anon)
As for the via ferreta, sure- if it's a single small pitch, go for it. I could care less about that.

But at what point do you just bulldoze an exposed staircase up the mountain? Sure, maybe a portion of why I think like this is because I've got some elitist purist notion of how you should go about doing something that I take alot of pride in...... but you'll never convince anyone on a 1000+cc 250mph crotch rocket that the guy on the moped is "having just as much fun" or "not any better than him" or yadda yadda, its BS, and you know it is.

So, will I rant and rave and verbally abuse those who enjoy via ferreta? No. Will I cringe and die a little inside everytime I see miles of iron bars and cables littering the side of a mountain that is otherwise pristine? Absolutely.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 16:12:43 No.287330 Report

Quoted By: >>287338

OP again.

As for my physical condition, years of track and cross country have given me good lungs and endurance. I am very used to the white mountains of NH, so I have experience with climbing with weight. I once did Mt. Tecumseh, which is at 4003 feet this past December, just to name my most recent Endeavour. I'm hoping to ascend Washington(6280 ft) this April.

Moving on, my time in northern Italy is unfortunately limited to December, so I was thinking a day hike would be preferable. As for via Ferrata, I don't know if I'm sold on the whole "ladder etched into a mountain type deal" but I thank you for your efforts. I'll be doing a bit of research myself and present what I have to see what you think.

As for the anon who said winter is where mountaineers go to die, I must heartily disagree. There is a certain beauty and respect that only can be found on a summit in the middle of the clouds while snowflakes brush by you. Believe me when I say I know my limits, and I think that this is within my limits. At the same time thank you for disagreeing! As they say, the only way you know if you bucket holds water, is if you fill it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 16:34:53 No.287338 Report

Quoted By: >>287344

>>287330
Hiya OP,

I understand that you've got a good head and experience on your shoulders.

But there is a reason people have been putting the mountains off for the winter for basically the entirety of the history of mountaineering.

All potential hazards are increased tenfold, and storms are basically constant.

Basically, some of the absolute WORST days in summer that you can have, are "good" weather for winter mountaineering.

Honestly, if you haven't- Give that shit a googling. I think there is a video of some guys climbing mt. blanc in the middle of december. Some blonde bushy guy does most of the filming/talking, and he seems kinda soft sometimes...... but 90% of the video these guys are ALL looking scared shitless and battered and depraved. At one point, 3 of them are buried in an avalanche.

I dunno OP, I hate when people try to tell me this kind of crap too, but it's like saying "Hey guise, I just got my license the other day and I was thinking about entering the Baja 500, Targa Florio, and competing in Le Mans." (Look em' up if you don't know anything about motor racing, one of the only other "real" sports according to Hemingway. And if you like mountaineering, you'll probably like motor racing.)
But I'm sure that when december of next year rolls around, and you're actually standing at the foot of a mountain- you'll use your head and stay out of trouble. We all aspire to do great things, and there is not a damn thing wrong with that.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 16:43:01 No.287344 Report

Quoted By:

>>287338
I hear what you are saying, but I would feel damn stupid to not capitalize on this opportunity. I'm willing to scale down my expectations in the name of safety but in the end, I want to have climbed my grandparent's country's mountains.

If you could get me that video of the guys on Mt. Blanc, that would be most appreciated.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 18:01:37 No.287367 Report

Quoted By:

>>287315
>you should have a pretty good grasp on walking in balance if you want to climb mountains
Yes, of course. There are (a LOT of) people who should not set a foot in the mountains.
And I mean, I have to assume that he used the pole thing more of an analogy to make a point. What I'm trying to say is, judging one's abilities and fitness to be in the mountains solely on the tools he uses or not is not exactly a good idea. Sure, if I see someone in jeans, cotton shirt and sandals at 4000m on a glacier, that fuck should get back in the city and stay there. But trekking poles?

It's not like I disagree with you. Heck I sure as hell don't have the condition to do so, but I still scorn at the idea of climbing the Everest with sherpas carrying all your shit and fixing the rope in advance.

I just got a little defensive because some people on /out/ who never even set foot on a mountain begin to rant about trekking poles in legitimate situations because they saw someone nordic walking in their local park.

Anyway, I don't want to derail OP's thread any further so I'll leave it at that.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sun 16 Mar 2014 18:06:40 No.287369 Report

Quoted By:

This anon
>>286986
>>287269
here,
make another thread in December. If I find the time I'd join you for a day hike or two. I can check my alpine section's library tomorrow and see if I can find any literature on the topic.

Also if you're into that, I'll be snowboarding all December, too.

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