Passo Duran - Moiazza Sud (Ferrata Gianni Costantini)

Access to the starting point:
The starting point is at the Duran Pass, reached by roads from Agordo and from the village of Dont in the Zold Valley (Val di Zoldo). For access from Slovenia, the second option is probably preferable. In this case, take the Italian motorways A4, A28 and A27 to the end of the latter after Bellun, and from there continue along the main road towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. Leave this road at Longaron and take a side road into the Zolda valley for 20 km to the village of Dont, where the road to the Duran Pass branches off to the left. There is still 8 kilometres to climb to the top.

Path description:
We start with a climb up to Carestiat's hut at the foot of the southern wall of the Moiazza. It is reached by marked route No 549, which leaves the road on the south side of the Duran Pass, just before it begins its descent towards Agordo. There is a moderate climb through pastures before the path joins the forest road and follows it eastwards more or less flat to the hut. It takes less than an hour from the car to get here. At the hut, we are almost directly at the foot of the cliff, and it is heart-rending to think that we will have to climb over it.
Now the signpost for the Costantini Ferrata leads us along a sort of vegetated ridge towards the wall, which takes just over ten minutes to reach. The entrance is marked by a red rectangle, visible from a distance, and a sign with the name of the route, and there is plenty of space to put on our gear and have a snack before we start climbing.
When you finally start climbing, the first thing to do is to climb the entrance traverse. The first few metres are on a comfortable ledge, but then the route immediately shows its teeth as it sweeps upwards and continues by traversing the smooth wall to the left. The traverse is quite tricky at times (somewhere C/D), so it quickly becomes clear what kind of ferrata we are dealing with. Eventually the gradient eases a little and we find ourselves in the middle of some fairly flat slabs, which in this area form the rugged and not too steep lower part of the Moiazza wall. Here the difficulty eases off considerably, the path passing over sloping slabs with only a few steeper places, but not too difficult. In this part we gain altitude quite quickly and soon approach the top of the aforementioned flatter part of the wall. After an hour or so of climbing, the terrain becomes a bit more level and the ropes are over for a while in this area. The red dots reliably lead us first in easier climbing over broken rocks, and then even along a path through grass and scrub all the way to the top of the lower part of the wall. Here, however, we literally collide with the upper, vertical part and it is immediately clear that we are facing one of the most difficult places on the route. In short: there is a vertical to slightly overhanging traverse of about ten metres, sloping to the left. Although there are steps carved into the rock to help us, in addition to the rope, the passage is still difficult and winding. And that's not all - at the end of the traverse there is a redemptive jump where we can catch our breath a little, but immediately from there onwards we have to climb through a long and completely vertical chimney, followed by a few more vertical places, alongside a steel cliff and a few stepped wedges. From the top of the traverse we have about 50 metres of complete vertical with no possibility of a real rest, this part can certainly be graded D. Finally, the rappel gradually starts to curve to the right, the gradient eases a little and we find ourselves at the top of a side pillar, which is connected to the main wall by a narrow notch, over which we have to scramble a little along the rappel (an attractive spot). Ahead of us is a wide rubble ridge, at the top of which we see a sign indicating that the town is called Pala del Belia and that we are 2295 metres above sea level. But if all goes to plan, we will continue our journey. The initial ascent from Pala del Belia is surprisingly difficult, with a short traverse and a climb over a slightly overhanging butte (somewhere C/D, it looks easier from below), but it is also very short. Above the butte, however, the difficulties ease and we soon find ourselves at the bottom of a long, wide and fairly level gully, which we follow for quite a while. We climb more or less straight up, and the terrain is a little bit loaded, so I would warn you to be careful not to run over any rocks. Otherwise, there are no problems, only the exit from the chute is again vertical and a bit more difficult. At the top of the chute you find yourself on a rubbly slope, which you follow up a little further, whereupon the path turns to the right, crosses a small staircase and follows a ledge over a slightly flatter wall to the right (crumbly, loaded, unguarded - caution!). At this point, we can look down towards the Duran Pass, and we can see our car below us and see that we have climbed quite high. But the end is still a long way off. We cross for a while, but finally we see the rocks again above the ledge and the trail turns up again. The next part is one of the easiest in the ferrata. We climb over not too steep slabs, unprotected easier rocks and finally through a short, slightly steeper but nicely broken chimney until we reach the side peak Cima Cattedrale at 2558 metres. We are already 700 metres up the face, and we are certainly getting tired, but we are getting closer to the ridge, the views are getting wider and wider, and we can feel that it was worth the effort. The last part of the climb to the ridge is still ahead of us. This initially runs up a side ridge and is largely unprotected, but as the terrain gets steeper, the rocks reappear. These run open and attractive for a while on the side-ramp, then the route curves to the left, clings to a ledge and even descends a little before the abseilers retrace their course over the wall towards the ridge. The last part is again a bit harder, but it cannot compare with what we climbed below. Eventually the ropes run out again and the last steps of the ascent to the ridge are made on a comfortable path. This is how we reach the highest point of the Masenade ridge, 2737 metres high. Needless to say, this is a good place to stop - when the views open up and, in addition to Agner and Pal, which we have already seen during the climb, we see Antelao, Pelma and, of course, the Moiazza peak to the north, we will certainly keep our mouths open and stop of our own accord. Let's just indulge ourselves, we've come high! But needless to say, it's still a long way to the summit and even further back down into the valley. From the top of Masenade, the markings follow the ridge. Here the path is mostly unprotected, but in reality it is more or less easy - the ridge is precipitously cut only on the left side, while the right side is most of the time sufficiently sloping to allow normal walking along the top, and only in a few isolated places do we have to deal with narrow and exposed passages. There are a few places where there are some rocks, but the passages are not at all problematic. So, with the wide views, we continue our gentle descent until, just before the Forcella delle Masenade, we reach a steeper passage, but it is well protected, so that we can cross it without any problems and reach the notch. Here we have another option for an early exit from the ferrata - a sign on a rock indicates a trail branching off to the right down the scree towards Grisetti's bivouac in the Vant della Moiazza valley, which is visible to the naked eye when visibility is good. If we have enough climbing, we can reach the bivouac in about three quarters of an hour, and from there it is possible to cross the 578 route back to the starting point at the Duran Pass. This ascent is a bit tricky in the upper part, the extensive scree can be problematic in poor visibility, but otherwise it is generally easy. Given that we are pretty tired at this point, we are bound to be tempted, but on the other hand we are perhaps too close to the summit to leave the trail just like that. So if we still have any energy left, it is definitely worth continuing, but I must warn you straight away that there is still quite a lot of difficult terrain on the ferrata from here on, and we are nowhere near the end.
So if we do not decide to get off, the ferrata continues to follow the ridge on the other side of the notch, but it is soon blocked by a vertical rock barrier. The route reaches a smooth rock slab a short distance before it, bypasses it on the underside and approaches the wall. It does not enter it immediately, but descends a little further on the rubble to the right, until a shelf passage opens in the wall. Here the ropes reappear, the passage is easy at first, then the route turns upwards and leads first through the much more difficult steep chimney, and at the end there is a short overhang to climb (athletic place, also helped by two stepped wedges, somewhere C/D), which ends in an easier boulder. Here the ropes end again, and after a few steps the route reaches a large scree slope below the buttress of the Moiazza summit head. Now we have a good fifteen minutes of strenuous climbing on rubble, which leads us to a saddle below the summit wall, where the path to the right branches off towards the top of Moiazza. The ferrata continues to the left, crosses the saddle and descends on the other side towards Ghedini's bivouac, but at this point the summit is really not worth missing. There is only a half-hour-long wall of the protected path leading up to it. In the same breath, I must add that the first part of this summit section is quite boggy and can easily be compared in difficulty with the most difficult places in the lower part. But if you have made it this far and you are not too tired, it is definitely worth the climb to the top. The final climb - if you choose it - shows its teeth right from the start, in the switchback just after the turnoff, just a few metres above the ground. This is perhaps the only place in the whole ferrata where you run out of footprints for a few moves and have to help yourself only by friction. Just a few movements, just a metre or two in length, but the crossing is very awkward, especially as we also have to switch the harness of the self-protection kit in the middle of it. Once over, we step onto a small ledge in the still vertical wall, from which we have to climb up through the vertical chimney, where we can already help ourselves with good footwork (the passage certainly deserves a D grade). Chimney ends on a ridge, which the belay now holds on to and leads us over another vertical spot, and then the belay is over for a while and we can say that at this point we finally have the ticket to the summit in our pocket. From here on, there are no more special problems. We climb for a while in the ridge area, then leave it and follow the narrow ledge to the left over a steep wall. The passage is very exposed, but the first part of the ledge is quite easy, and in the second part, when the ledge narrows, the cornice reappears. So follow the ledge around a side crack, after which the ropes turn up again and take you over some nice climbing spots in a smooth but fairly level wall. At the top of the climb, the ropes are over again and a comfortable route takes you to the summit in a few minutes. We have to descend a little further to the main summit and traverse the ridge (a few short belayed places) to the final slightly undercut chute, through which we finally climb to the spacious, plateau-like summit. Certainly one of the most difficult summits in our wider area, at least as far as those climbed by the marked route are concerned! So here we can take a breather and enjoy the views, which are now finally complete - only here we also get a view to the north, where, after all, the queen of Dolomites - Marmolada - has a central place. Once we've had our fill and had a bite to eat, we prepare for the still long and challenging descent.
To begin with, you have to follow the same route back to the trailhead - the last part in particular requires a lot of caution, with vertical places and a smooth steel cable at the end. Once back at the crossroads, follow the many red dots north-westwards, cross the saddle and move into the wall above the Van dei Cantoi valley. Here, one of the most spectacular crossings of the entire ferrata awaits - the entire wall of the so-called Angelini Shelf. The narrow ledge winds over wild precipices, but is still wide enough to allow normal walking most of the time, and a cable car helps in places where it is narrower. We follow it in a gentle descent for quite some time, until it finally emerges into a notch above the Van delle Nevere valley on the north side of the mountain. Turn right here and follow the ledge for a while (it's a bit more tricky and knocked down than the previous one, but it goes with some feeling), then descend on easy rocks to the scree below the northern wall of Moiazza. In this way we crossed practically the whole Moiazza group, from south to north! Now we have a scree slope to descend briefly and then cross to Ghedini's bivouac on the Forcella delle Nevere. This is again a good place for a short rest, but there are a couple of things to say here: firstly, the descent we have just made down the ledge is perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of the ferrata, but it is also one of the parts where, earlier in the season, we can get snow on it. In this case, of course, winter equipment comes in handy, but the terrain is so steep that it is dangerous to cross even when fully equipped. Perhaps it is best to check with the Carestiat hut and only set off when it is definitely dry. Secondly, the bivouac is modest, but it provides emergency accommodation. If you find yourself in trouble, there is no need to worry about it, the only problem may be water, as there is none here apart from possible snowbanks. And thirdly, in a pinch, there is an easy descent north to Vazzoler's hut. Of course, this would complicate the tour logistically, so this option is not recommended except as a last resort.
Anyway, the "real" descent direction turns southwards at this point, into the escarpment above the Van dei Cantoi valley. Here, however, it is difficult to say anything other than that the key question is how much energy we have left. It is a kind of easy feratica, which first crosses a little high above the valley and then descends steeply on a broken wall. Technically, there are no particular problems, but the steep sheltered places, and especially the unguarded parts on the tricky crumbly terrain, require full concentration for quite some time, especially as we must be pretty tired by now. We have to descend some 500 metres before the path turns between the dwarf pines on the eastern slope of the valley and finally becomes easier. There is some scrambling across a more or less flat, scrubby terrain before the path starts descending again, following the easier terrain through some gullies into the valley floor and finally, at about 1800 metres, reaching the marked route No 554, which crosses from Vazzoler's towards Carestiat's hut. Only here can we finally breathe a sigh of relief and say that we have a ferrata in our pocket. If we get here at the end of the day - which is not so unlikely - we will be greeted by the backdrop of the mountain peaks of the San Sebastiano and Tamer groups in the evening sun. And we can be proud of what we have done.
The difficulties are irrevocably over, and we have a good half-hour to go before we reach the starting point, after which we will return to the Carestiat hut under the cliffs (a little redundant, I'm sure), and then follow the familiar route back to the starting point at the Duran Pass via the well-known route.
The Costantini Ferrata is certainly one of the most magnificent ferrata in the Dolomites. It is the longest of them all and is often described as the most difficult in the existing guide literature. In reality, it is not extremely difficult technically (in some places it reaches difficulty D, but nowhere exceeds it) and it is certainly surpassed by some other Dolomite ferattas (Piazzetta, Magnifici 4, Sci Club 18, and there are others). It is also a mitigating factor that the route is really well protected, with practically every peg in the right place. On the other hand, the combination of the length, the high mountain environment, the unprotected parts, and also the pretty decent technical difficulty means that this is a very challenging tour. It is definitely wise to go only when you have some experience with climbs of similar difficulty and have no problems with physical fitness, and even then it makes sense to consider staying overnight in Carestiat's hut and entering the wall early in the morning. For all those who meet the above conditions, I highly recommend the route, the combination of a large Dolomite wall, an excellent route through beautiful climbing spots and spectacular views will not leave anyone indifferent.

On the way: Rifugio Bruto Carestiato (1834m), Pala del Belia (2295m), Cima Cattedrale (2558m), Cresta delle Masenade (2737m), Bivacco Ghedini-Moiazza (2601m)

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