Via Ferrata Santa Felicita

Introduction:

Review of the short and athletic Ferrata Santa Felicità located in the homonymous valley near Bassano del Grappa. Short itinerary with a short approach and return and a ferrata of about 30 minutes. At the expense of its brevity, the aided itinerary is varied, intense and requires good arm strength. Ideal for training in the cold months it extends in an area famous for its climbing routes.

Starting location:

The starting point of the itinerary is the access car park to the Valle Santa Felicita near the town of Romano d'Ezzellino in the province of Vicenza. Once in Romano d'Ezzellino follow the signs for Via Santa Felicita and leave the car in the large parking lot at the end of the road. Directions for Google Maps available here.

Approach:

From the parking area we are heading north along the path which leads to the rock wall. Part of the path is quite winding along one series of steps in rock. Go up in the trail up to the climbing wall where the directions for the via ferrata are found.

Via Ferrata:

The via ferrata starts on a beautiful one vertical wall aided with abundant brackets. One immediately notices the excellent composition of the granitic rock which, where not replaced by artificial brackets, offers solid grips for hands and feet. The brackets move gradually to the left with a slight overhang that presents the first difficulties of the route. After the first stretch of about ten vertical meters, the route moves to the left for a short horizontal section to the left, followed by a second vertical section, again with the support of brackets with which we quickly gain altitude and exposure. We now walk along a traverse to the left using handles for the feet present. We finish the traverse and find ourselves under one vertical wall of fifteen meters which in the upper part takes the form of a dihedral along a crack. Initially we climb on a series of metal brackets for then move from the left side to the right side of the dihedral. We continue uphill, we face a slightly overhanging pass and we leave the dihedral on a ledge to the left where it is possible to rest.

From the ledge there we move to the left in a downhill section. We go around an edge and find ourselves on the most characteristic part of the route: an airaerial horizontal traverse where we will use the nails as support for the feet. We complete the traverse and go down one aided partition wall for about 6 meters. We go down diagonally to the left and the last section of the route begins. Let's face a sideways downhill aided again with foot nails. We gradually lose altitude until the end of the traverse. We go down a new vertical wall aided with brackets beyond which we cross a diagonal aided ramp and we reach the end of the Ferrata Santa Felicita (30 'from the start - 1h 15' from the parking lot).

Descent:

From the end of the via ferrata we follow the path that soon brings us back to the start of the ferrata. The return to the car park takes place along the backward approach path (30 'from the end of the via ferrata - 1h 45' total).

Notes:

The Ferrata Santa Felicita is a short and intense via ferrata with challenging passages. The via ferrata is ideal for training in the cold months given the low altitude and the shortness of the itinerary. Strong exposure along the route. Limit technical difficulties to athletic passages while the actual possibility of climbing is limited given the abundant use of brackets and pegs.

Opportunities:

The Ferrata Santa Felicita extends close to the Grappa massif and lends itself very well to being traveled and combined on the same day of one of the two aided routes that climb it: the Via Ferrata Sass Brusai and the Ferrata Guzzella. From the Grappa area going northwards we meet the Aided path of the Heroes and the Ferrata Gabrielli at the Cima d'Asta. Moving instead in the Val d'Astico you can go along the recent one Via Ferrata Anelli delle Anguane. Proceeding westwards instead towards the Small Dolomites we meet the Aided path to Monte Cornetto, the Ferrata Viali and Ferrari at the Gramolon, the Ferrata Pojesi and Vajo Scuro.