Monte Pelmo is a mountain of 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 pa ...
, in the
province of Belluno
The Province of Belluno ( it, Provincia di Belluno; de-AT, Provinz Belluno; lld, Provinzia de Belum) is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.
It has an area of and a total population of about 205,000. ...
, Northeastern Italy.
The mountain resembles a giant block which stands isolated from other peaks, so can be seen clearly from the neighbouring valleys and from nearby mountains such as
Antelao and
Monte Civetta
Monte Civetta (3,220 m) is a prominent and major mountain of the Dolomites, in the Province of Belluno in northern Italy. Its north-west face can be viewed from the Taibon Agordino valley, and is classed as one of the symbols of the Dolomites. ...
.
Monte Pelmo was one of the first major Dolomite peaks to be climbed, by Englishman
John Ball, who later became president of the UK's
Alpine Club
The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as:
:"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of whi ...
, in 1857. He set out with a chamois hunter from the Boitevalley towards Monte Pelmo. Over the long ledge named after Ball, which the chamois hunters refused to cross, Ball got into the large cirque, through which he climbed over the small Pelmo glacier to below the summit structure.
West of the summit lies a secondary peak, Pelmetto (meaning "Little Pelmo" in Italian), at 2,990m high, which has a high north face.
So there are only a few possibilities for climbing. The best known (and easiest) ascent leads over the south-east flank. The route of the first climbers still offers a rewarding but long and strenuous mountain tour in the second degree of difficulty. Problems can be found with the above-mentioned, exposed ball band. Climbing skills and surefootedness are necessary. The ascent of Monte Pelmo should also be carried out in safe weather and without snow.
On some rocks on its western side people can admire dinosaurs prints (Sign "Orme di Dinosauri"). These are the traces of at least three dinosaurs that are approx. 220 million years old. From the path to the tracks you walk steeply uphill for about half an hour.
This mountain is surnamed "God's armchair" because its shape looks like a huge armchair.
Gallery
Dolomites in Italy, 2011.JPG, Monte Pelmo
Rifugio Città di Fiume 2.jpg, Rifugio Città di Fiume with Monte Pelmo
Pelmo da Palafavera.jpg, Pelmo da Palafavera
Monte Pelmo e Pelmetto Estate 2013.JPG, Monte Pelmo e Pelmetto
Auf dem Ballband, 2015-10-31.jpg, on the ball band
Monte_Pelmo_3D.gif, animation
See also
*
Golden age of alpinism
The golden age of alpinism was the decade in mountaineering between Alfred Wills's ascent of the Wetterhorn in 1854 and Edward Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, during which many major peaks in the Alps saw their first ascents.
Promin ...
*
Silver age of alpinism
The silver age of alpinism is the name given in the United Kingdom to the era in mountaineering that began after Edward Whymper and party's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 and ended with W. W. Graham and party's ascent of the Dent du Géant ...
References
Dolomites
Mountains of Veneto
Mountains of the Alps
Alpine three-thousanders
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