Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The
Matterhorn
The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...
of the Dolomites (''il Cervino delle Dolomiti''), is the best-known peak of the
Pale di San Martino The Pala group (also known as Pale di San Martino) is the largest massif of the Dolomites, with about 240 km² of surface, located between eastern Trentino and Veneto (province of Belluno), in the area between Primiero (valleys of Cismon, Canali, ...
group, in the
Dolomites
The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...
, northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Although it is not the highest peak of the group, the
Cima Vezzana being a few metres higher, its slender point, which can be seen from the
Rolle Pass
The Rolle Pass ( it, Passo Rolle) (1989 m) is a high mountain pass in Trentino in Italy.
It connects the Val di Fiemme, Fiemme and Primiero valleys, and the communities of Predazzo, San Martino di Castrozza and Fiera di Primiero. The pass r ...
, dominates the landscape.
[Cimon della Pala: The best known mountain in the Pale di San Martino mountain range]
at tr3ntino.it, accessed 11 July 2008
Location
The mountain lies near the town of
Tonadico
Tonadico (german: Thunadich) was a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about east of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,429 and an area of .All demograp ...
in
Trentino
Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...
, the southern part of the
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
it, Trentino (man) it, Trentina (woman) or it, Altoatesino (man) it, Altoatesina (woman) or it, Sudtirolesegerman: Südtiroler (man)german: Südtirolerin (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title = Official ...
, and is the
watershed between the Cismón valley and the Travignolo valley. It is the northernmost peak in the chain of the Pale di San Martino and is flanked by the Vezzana. Between the high, steep walls of the two peaks and descending to the north, lies a steep glacier called Travignolo, which is the source of a river of the same name, a tributary of the
Avisio
The Avisio is an Italian stream (a '' torrente''), a left tributary of the Adige, whose course is in Trentino.
It rises from Marmolada and runs through the Fascia Valley, the Fiemme Valley and the Cembra Valley before joining the Adige in the ...
.
[
]
Route
The peak can be attained by a route which, while easy, requires good experience, called the "Variation for the Summit". This departs from a bivouac shelter called Fiamme Gialle, at a height of 3,005 metres, which is reached by the Bolver-Lugli ''via ferrata
A via ferrata (Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except n ...
'', not technically demanding, but tiring.[ This mountain route, equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges, was constructed by a group of ]mountain guide
A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...
s from San Martino di Castrozza
San Martino di Castrozza is a mountain resort in the Primiero valley in the Trentino province in Italy. The western part, with 428 inhabitants, is in the comune of Siror, with the eastern, housing 135 inhabitants, in Tonadico.
History
The fir ...
, known in the mountaineering world as the Eagles of San Martino, to mark the centenary in 1970 of the first ascent
In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...
of the peak on 3 June 1870 by Edward Robson Whitwell and his guides Santo Siorpaes
Santo Severino Siorpaes (2 May 1832, Cortina d'Ampezzo – 12 December 1900) was an Italian mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities inc ...
, of nearby Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alp ...
, and Christian Lauener of Lauterbrunnen
, neighboring_municipalities= Aeschi bei Spiez, Blatten (Lötschen) (VS), Fieschertal (VS), Grindelwald, Gündlischwand, Kandersteg, Lütschental, Reichenbach im Kandertal, Saxeten, Wilderswil
, twintowns =
}
Lauterbrunnen is a village ...
.
A good access to the ''via ferrata'' is by way of the gondola lift
A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...
from San Martino di Castrozza to Colverde, which operates between the middle of June and the end of September .[Fletcher, Graham, & John Smith ''Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites, Volume 2'' (Cicerone Press, 2003, ]
page 54
online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 11 July 2008
History
The mountain brought the first tourists into the Primiero valley. In 1862, British travellers Josiah Gilbert and George Cheetham Churchill saw a picture of the Cimon della Pala in an inn. Fascinated by it, they wanted to see it at first hand, and wrote of it in their account ''The Dolomite Mountains: Excursions Through Tyrol, Carinthia, Carniola & Friuli'' (London, 1864). In later years there was an influx of tourists, at first mostly from outside Italy, who were interested in the whole chain of the Pale.
The mountain can be seen on the coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
(''pictured'') of the Guardia di Finanza
The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...
, an Italian law enforcement agency which is one of the Italian Armed Forces
The Italian Armed Forces ( it, Forze armate italiane, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and ar ...
and which has its Alpine School not far from the Cimon della Pala.[Finizio, Espedito; Tubello, Luciano; & Nifosi, Sini G., ''Il Comando generale della Guardia di finanza'' (Rome: Editalia, 1992, )]
References
External links
Cimon della Pala photographs
at flickr.com
{{Authority control
Alpine three-thousanders
Mountains of the Alps
Dolomites
Mountains of Veneto