Climbing
After a grueling 12-hour overnight rescue at 2,800 meters (9,186 feet), three lucky climbers who were stranded on Italy’s Tofana di Rozes near Cortina d’Ampezzo were safely brought to shelter early Monday morning, July 21, in a complex multi-agency operation at high altitude.
The trio—Milan residents aged 29, 40, and 56—had been attempting the famous Costantini–Apollonio route, which features a steep, challenging 550-meter (1,800-f00t) alpine climb that typically unfolds over 16 to 18 rope lengths, or “pitches.” Around the 15th pitch—near the end of the steepest section of the route and deep within a series of vertical chimneys—the lead climber slipped and fell. Though uninjured, the fall caused the failure of the belay anchor, leaving them unable to continue safely. The team was only about eight to nine pitches from the end of the entire route, but despite several unsuccessful attempts, could neither retreat nor proceed. Instead, the three climbers were forced to secure themselves to the rock face and call for help at around 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 20.
With severe weather forecast and daylight fading, initial rescue efforts faced serious obstacles. A first helicopter attempt was thwarted by cloud cover and steep overhangs. Around 9:00 p.m., a second team of three alpine rescue specialists by Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS) Veneto and the Guardia di Finanza was airlifted as close as possible to the climbers’ position. Over the next several hours, the three rescuers rappelled and climbed approximately 80 meters (263 feet) down a vertical rock face to reach the trio. The first contact was made with the lead climber, who was then assisted upward to help guide the others.
Another rescue attempt was made by helicopter around midnight, but the mountaineers could not be safely winched up due to the helicopter’s proximity to the rock face and poor visibility. As the storm rolled in and rain started pouring down, the rescue team had no other choice but to guide the three climbers upward. The six made their way carefully down the steep wall, and by 4:30 a.m., all six had exited the climb, exhausted, soaked, but safe. However, the journey was not over yet as the group had to make its way to the nearest mountain hut, the Dibona Refuge. Off-road vehicles met the tired group and took them back to the Dibona Refuge.
The dramatic rescue is just one example of the extraordinary commitment and skill of Italy’s CNSAS and Guardia di Finanza alpine rescue teams, as our own Editor-in-Chief Martin Kuprianowicz can attest after his scary helicopter rescue at Mont Blanc in March this year.
PHOTOS
The information given is confusing. If they lost the cams while climbing, they could have rapelled down the whole route. If they couldn’t climb the crux, they could have also rapelled down. If they lost an ATC or rapelling device, they surely had more than one. They could rapel down some meters to meet the hellicopter but not the whole route? Weird.