Embracing the mediterranean, we had a simple breakfast of boiled eggs, tomatoes and salami with coffee before heading out to our first Via Ferrata of the holiday.
Col dei Bos is a fairly recent addition to the area in 2008, re-establishing a route that was used in the 60’s. The Italian army usually take it over in the summer for training and so it’s very well traveled.
After a nice walk in, past the remains of a military hospital, you start up a very tricky vertical section of rock. I suspect it’s there to sort the amateurs from the experienced, as the rest of the climb is not that hard. This being a route Angus has done before, he was confident we could complete it, so followed him up.
The route itself was really good, if a little polished. Plenty of things to grab, but not very exposed or vertical for the most part. A good starting point for the trip.
Reaching the top, we had our sandwiches in one of the tunnels to be found dotted across the landscape. These are scars of the 1st world war and open for investigation by nosey climbers.
I decided to get my drone up and take a bit of video. The view was just spectacular and I wanted to capture the group walking off down the ridge. I got what I wanted, but then dropped too low behind the cliffs and lost control link. The drone plunged to the floor, luckily not all the way to the bottom of the valley, but just beyond view. The video signal was strong so it wasn’t far away and again, luckily, had landed the correct way up so once I had stood up and held the radio up, I regained control link and was able to take off and fly back to me.
The drone was a bit battered, with several things broken, but I had to catch the group, it would have to wait till home. Walking off Col dei Bos, down into the valley and then up to the cable car at Rifugio Lagazuoi where we had a drink to celebrate the days achievement.
