Via Ferrata Sci Club 18

The rock turns vertical early, and where it does the face offers steel clamps or barely a foothold. Sci Club 18 runs up the western wall of Monte Faloria through sections graded A to D, 360 metres of ascent that takes an hour and a half to two hours on the cables. The line is well maintained and the signage along it is clear. The finish is the good part: the last moves come out on a viewing plateau beside the cable car station, restaurant and all, with Cortina d'Ampezzo spread out below. Opinions on the grade pull apart. Climbers with some ferrata mileage behind them have found it middling; others call it a route for experienced hands only; one who has climbed a lot of them reckoned the D sections felt closer to C.

• Wrong pin: a second Sci Club 18 shows up in Google Maps. Check the start against the western face of Monte Faloria before setting off.
• No water, no toilets: nothing within 800 m of the route, so carry what the climb needs.
• The walk in is the tiring part: a steep, narrow path off trail No. 206. The cable car to the mid-station cuts out part of it.
• Budget the time: 360 m of ascent and 1.5 to 2 hours on the cables, plus the approach and the way down.
• Food at the top: the route finishes on the plateau by the cable car station, where there is a restaurant.

Cars stop at the car parks roughly 1.8 and 1.9 km from the route, and everything after that is on foot. The approach breaks off trail No. 206 and climbs to the foot of the western face on a steep, narrow path that is well marked the whole way. One way to shorten the grind is the cable car to the mid-station, then on foot to the start. The nearest bus stop, Lago Scin, sits about 1.2 km out.