Via Ferrata Segata at Bondone

Introduction:

The Ferrata Giulio Segata at Monte Dos d'Abramo above Trento. The via ferrata, although short, is definitely challenging, technical and aerial, which in just over thirty minutes will put us to the test. Characteristic of this short ferrata is the ascent in two natural holes carved by water inside the Dos d'Abramo. It will be very satisfying to continue the itinerary by climbing all 3 of the Bondone peaks.

Starting location:

The starting point of the itinerary is near the town of Viote del Bondone. Both rather winding roads can be reached from Trento or Rovereto. We have two options on where to leave the car.

1. Coming from Rovereto it might be more convenient to leave it in the large car park following a short dirt road (directions here).
2. Coming from Trento you pass the Botanical Garden until you notice a dirt road on the left that runs for about a kilometer until you park at its edge (directions here).

In both cases there are paths with a similar approach towards the via ferrata.

Approach:

In the case of parking with itinerary 1 go up near Malga Fragari, we ignore the CAI 607 path that goes straight for about twenty minutes until you find an indication that to the left leads us towards the tour of the 3 peaks of the Bondone. We continue uphill until we reach the CAI 636 which goes uphill from the left. We take it and continue uphill to the right.

The CAI Trail 636 is the path that we take with itinerary 2. In this case, after leaving the car, we follow the directions for the tour of the 3 peaks of the Bondone and we go up to the CAI 636 ignoring the CAI 9 that goes down at the crossroads. We continue uphill to where the path indicated in point 1 joins.

We continue uphill on 636 towards Cima Verde (2102 m - 1h 30 'from the parking lot) on whose grassy summit we meet CAI 630 downhill to the left for the Aided Sparaval Path. We keep the CAI 636 which to the right continues in the direction of Dosso d'Abramo. From this stretch we see Dosso d'Abramo straight to us in the south-west direction. We continue on a ridge path in a beautiful environment with a natural watershed of colors with green towards the west and red towards the east. Continuing along the easy path we will arrive just below the Dosso d'Abramo in a junction of paths: on the right the 636 continues in the direction of Monte Cornetto going around the Dosso d'Abramo towards the west, straight up the 638A which leads us along an aided path to the top of the Dos d'Abramo on a steep canal, to the left follow the 638 "Sentiero Corazza". Taken to the left on 638, after a few meters we reach crossroads where 638A continues downhill and we keep straight under the eastern wall of Dos d'Abramo reaching under the east wall the visible red sign of start via ferrata (2h from the parking lot).

Via Ferrata:

The beginning of the via ferrata coincides with its most iconic point. Go up through a natural hole in the rock. As you can imagine the hole is vertical and you have to look for every single natural grip to climb it reducing the traction on the rope. In particular we will notice some holds right side of the hole. The rock is very smooth in this section and, although possible, climbing becomes difficult. At the upper point of the hole we go out on the right and cross to the left on a strong exposure on rock again very smooth. We climb a short vertical pass and we are on a rocky terrace from which the second section of the via ferrata starts.

The stretch we take now is vertical and it develops on smooth rock with few holds which is often difficult to climb. This stretch is very vertical and exposed but there are a couple of small balconies where you can stop. The upper part of this wall makes us pass through a crack inside the rock in a single non-trivial passage but in which a metal bracket helps us as a handle for the hand. We end this first section a ledge towards the right (15 'from the start). Continuing the ledge we go out on an escape route that leads us to the top of the Dos d'Abramo going up from the CAI 638A.

If, on the other hand, we continue the via ferrata proceed vertically on a fairly smooth wall in which the sufficiently detached metal holds that will be useful both for hands and feet will be providential. We continue uphill also taking advantage of a couple of additional pegs and climb inside a chimney that leads us to a small terrace and then into a cavity. This cave is often wet and from the bottom it has a decidedly bold development. The first few meters are fundamental and the pegs on both the right and left sides must be used wisely. The climb inside the cavity takes the form of a narrow chimney in which to proceed in a split trying to alternate pegs and cracks in the rock. We leave the chimney with a couple of passages where you need to move with agility between pegs and then we continue on a diagonal passage towards right beyond which the via ferrata ends (30 'from the start - 2h 30' total) and shortly we reach the peak (2133 m).

Descent:

At the end of the Ferrata Segata we basically have two options:

• wanting to go back towards the Cima Verde and then to the car you will have to go down from the Dos d'Abramo towards the north going down a steep gully on the CAI 638A (CAI white red signs) with some parts are aided with ropes that will lead us on a ledge where the escape route came out of the ferrata. Continuing along the trail to the north we will reach the junction following the approach with the CAI 636. From there back to the car along the approach path (1h 30 'from the top of Dos d'Abramo - 4h total). An interesting option to return is once you arrive at Cima Verde to leave the CAI 636 that descends towards the north-west and take the CAI 630 (Sparavei Aided path) on a steep descent cutting an impressive rocky ridge with some aided sections. Downhill we will reach a junction of paths near Acqua del Maradet where we will keep the left for the CAI 630B until we reach the parking area indicated with option 2. If you want to choose to go down the Aided path of the Sparavei it is definitely recommended use the approach option 2 indicated above.
• wanting to continue the hike up to Cima Cornetto (2180m) from the end of the ferrata we continue southwards on the Dos d'Abramo until we descend on the southern ridge with the CAI 638A (some sections aided downhill from a gully with the help of some brackets). Now let's graft onto the CAI 636 which leads us up the Cornetto along the ridge uphill (45 'from the end of the via ferrata - 3h 15'). From Monte Cornetto you go back along the entire ascent route except for the Dos d'Abramo which instead of going up it we go around it from the west with CAI 636. Subsequently up to Cima Verde and then downhill to the car (5h 15 'total).

Notes:

For this ferrata, climbing shoes can be decidedly useful given the particularly smooth and smooth type of rock.

In order to overcome the hard sections of this via ferrata, we reccomend you to read out article "How to temporarily take a pause in a Via Ferrata".

Opportunities:

The Ferrata Giulio Segata al Bondone is a short, decidedly technical and exposed ferrata. The itinerary, if it leads us to reach all the 3 peaks of the Bondone, is long and with a good gap, which could discourage us from starting a second itinerary on the same day. If at the end of the via ferrata we return directly to the parking lot, we could combine a second short itinerary, such as the exposure Via Ferrata Marangoni in Mori or going up the Adige Valley Via Ferrata Rio Secco or the Ferrata del Burrone Giovanelli. Moving instead towards Andalo you can go along the Via Ferrata Aquile. Moving instead to Val di Sarche towards Garda, we will be able to walk along the Via Ferrata Pisetta, the Via Ferrata Che Guevara, the Casteldrena ferrata, the Ferrata Signora delle Acque and the Via Ferrata Preore.