Via ferrata Maria e Andrea Ferrari - Ra Bujela Ra Bujela

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Via ferrata Maria e Andrea Ferrari - Ra Bujela - Ra Bujela

Italy>Veneto>Dolomites>Tofane>Ra Bujela

Enrico Maioni, Mountain Guide

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Via ferrata Maria e Andrea Ferrari - Ra Bujela

Planetmountain

Beauty

Enrico Maioni, Mountain Guide

Orientation

Mainly East. Descent West.

Ascent height difference

150m circa

Descent height difference

40m circa

Height

2257m

Difficulty

Medium

Time

Circa 1.5 hours

Route

To the delight of all via ferrata lovers, the Cortina Mountain Guides have recently equipped a new ferrata up Ra Bujela, the northernmost of the two rocky towers in the Tofana group. The chairlift that leads from the Duca Aosta hut to the Pomedes hut passes in between these two towers and while Ra Bujela means needle in the local Cortina dialect, the other tower is called Ra Pegna, meaning churn.

This new ferrata is called "Via ferrata Maria e Andrea Ferrari", and enables you to reach the top of Ra Bujela with the help of steel cables, two bridges and some pins that facilitate the ascent where this gets steeper.

The first part of the ferrata is definitely the most demanding and there are some very exposed sections up excellent rock. The difficulties ease considerably when you reach the first bridge, and when you reach the second bridge the route mainly follows the ridge up broken rocks: the poor quality of the rock at this point doesn’t affect the safety of the ascent and it is along this stretch that you can enjoy the magnificent panorama onto the Dolomites.

The proximity of the Duca d'Aosta and Pomedes huts, the beautiful view, the ease of access and the time needed to explore this relatively short via ferrata up Ra Bujela (2257m) all make this new ferrata well worth doing. Furthermore, it can be joined to other spectacular ferrate nearby, such as via ferrata Olivieri on Punta Anna, the sentiero ferrato Olivieri and sentiero ferrato Astaldi.

At the end of July the via ferrata will be inaugurated with a special mass to bless the ferrata and those who explore it.

Getting there

Reach Cortina d'Ampezzo, Dolomites.

Access

If you plan to just do via ferrata de Ra Bujela, the fastest way to reach the start of is to use the chairlift Piè Tofana - Duca d’Aosta. When this is closed, Rifugio Duca d’Aosta can be reached by car.

Those who wish the link the Ra Bujela via ferrata with Sentiero Olivieri should take the chairlift, do the two ferratas and then descend to Col Drusciè by cable car. From here return on foot to Piè Tofana in 15 minutes.

Those who plan on also ascending Punta Anna or wish to follow the picturesque Sentiero Astaldi, should park the car at the fork for Rifugio Dibona – Rifugio Duca d’Aosta and continue on foot to the Duca d’Aosta.

ACCESS TIME
From Rifugio Duca d’Aosta reach the start of the ferrata in less than 10 minutes.

Itinerary

The route is obvious and needs no detailed description. The first meters are certainly the most difficult. Here the ferrata is steep and breaches some slight overhangs via some metal pins. When you reach the first bridge the difficulties ease off. Continue briefly along the south face to reach a second bridge. From here return to the East Face and continue along the ridge.

After the two bridges and some steel pins the ferrata continues with a 370m steel cable. A few meters below the summit the steel cable forks off into two directions and this might be confusing: continue ascending rightwards to quickly reach the summit. From here descend down the ascent route, back down to the aforementioned fork.

It is worth noting that the summit of Ra Bujela is small and not more than 3-4 people can stand on top at the same time.

To descend, at the fork continue left. This leads down quickly to the meadows below the tower.

Notes

Rifugio Duca d’Aosta – Tel. 0436 2780

Rifugio Pomedes – Tel. 0436 862061

Maps/Bibliography

Carta topografica Tabacco − scala 1:25.000 n° 03 − Cortina d’Ampezzo e Dolomiti Ampezzane