There’s real climbing on the tops of several of these. Albeit at a low grade, I think it would be pushing the bounds of what is reasonable. Besides this, there were two people we saw solo: one fell in a crevasse and another struggled to pass up on a very narrow ridge section and was clearly very uncomfortable. It is a stunning area though. From the Aosta side you could get up to most of the huts without these concerns.

Yes, to activate the emergency call all you need do is press the SOS button under the flap. The emergency ops centre then message you via your inReach to find out more details. This back and forth only took a few minutes. They then contacted the emergency services, but also called both of my emergency contacts before they (immediately and then when they knew what was going on). We pressed it because we witnessed an accident with a guy badly injured and we had no phone service. It was in the Lake District, UK so rescue times are not the most relevant as we have our particularly variable system. The first of the two helicopters was there in less than 30mins because they monitor all emergency calls and decide what they go to for themselves from a nearby town. The second was actually dispatched by the official system but was more capable for SAR. It took nearly an hour but came from much further away. It was over an hour and a half for the first land-based rescuer to arrive (actually pretty quick for where it was).

Memory serves that I down climbed. Did a couple of lowers for the other half where it looked like it’d speed things up

Thanks a lot. Difficult to know what shape it would be in in April, but likely a bit ropey following the winter. It’s only really the top climb and subsequent bad step would be a significant barrier to the solo climber. I’d do it with a rope 1st time you go up there as it’s the kind of ground that could easily catch you out while your attention was on something else like route finding. Have fun :)

Can’t remember the timing but we comfortably had time between lifts. The descent looks a pain from research and doing part of it to go along to another summit on a previous trip so I’d aim for the lift down if you can!

Ps. Keep an eye on the state of it in May: this route can be blocked by ice and snow left over from the winter pretty easily even in June. If the wires are covered it becomes tough to safely do even with the right kit, it’d be slow too.

@@PhilBehan87 thanks Phil that's really helpful. Sorry to pester you but been looking online for the joint Punta Anna and Gianni Anglio route you guys took, did you use online map/ref or would you suggest specific map?

@@PhilBehan87 will do, that's very helpful.

@@eddavison1250 They run back to back so that they’re pretty much one route. The best English descriptions you’ll probably find are in the cicerone books (come as pocket sized book / kindle ebook). They’re worth their weight in gold. I like the Tabacco Cortina map as it’s good for showing the VF as well as paths (available on Amazon). Worth getting a map for any area you choose to go as they show you where to bail off if a thunderstorm rolls in! Having mentioned that worth using ARPAV Dolomiti weather as it predicts storms the best from what I’ve seen.

This hasn’t been entirely true over the years. For a long time police forces and ambulance services used Vodafone, because before 4G they had by far the best voice coverage. Interestingly EE these days has fab 4G coverage as they’re covering a lot of hydro projects in odd places. In 999 emergencies your network shouldn’t matter and you should piggy back to another network. As data coverage isn’t a big deal to myself the protection of 999 piggy backing and being able to just call home is good enough for me. The inReach evidently is something you’ve considered if watching the video and I can assure that if you feel the need for better coverage at some point in emergencies it will provide it. The one time I’ve pressed SOS a 999 call wouldn’t go through. Sadly the mobile networks haven’t made it to the back of beyond in Alaska and other spots we head to so it remains a necessity to us.

Urgh the sound drove me mad…don’t get me started! Thanks ☺️ I have a couple of plans!

Nope, you can buy them in a set on loops of webbing tape. I think mine came from Zpacks, but it’s easy to find other suppliers online.

I have a 45L and use it rarely because it flaps about a bit when it’s not very fully. Good for backpacking overnighters with a little more stuff and packrafting though!

@@PhilBehan87 great thank you and for comfort and being able to hold items like roll matts etc is it ok

@@josephhayden8849 they are actually very comfortable for their style, but they have no padding so they'll never be as comfy as a big cushy Osprey. As for what they can hold I've not used a roll mat with it, but it certainly carries a full nights camp kit. In this Insta post my girlfriend is using my 45L. It has her packrafting kit on the outside and inside it she has her full camp kit (inc half of a tent and half of the cooking stuff) and gear for being out in the mountains: instagram.com/p/CRTc3Zxjl8b/?

The lifts are there for people doing the climb or going for lunch so they are timed fairly safely for you getting down. We had no problem. The paths up to the routes are well signed and there’s paint on the rocks to help as you go. A guide book would be useful to be sure (the cicerone is a nice size to carry with you and has a kindle version for phone). Going between the two via ferrata isn’t normal so there’s no provision for this in summer. I think we had to move some fencing. We basically had to make our own way across the glacier. The glacier was quite changeable with a mix of dry and wet: we carried and used basic glacier travel kit. There’s also a glacier on the descent path from the summit. This one definitely has crevasses and many are hidden. It’s steep and the chances of a bad day here are high enough I wouldn’t descend it without a rope attached to a buddy. I don’t wish to preach, but take care. I’ve been climbing most of my life and been having family holidays to this area since I was a kid. I’ve climbed far harder and taller than this without a VF and wouldn’t say it was a sensible place to be on your own. Glaciers are one thing. The altitude is another - you very much can be affected by it at this height and have a simple stumble / make a silly decision that have bad outcomes without the safety net of another. Also at this height the weather changes on the click of a finger - I’ve had thunderstorms pop up around me in a few minutes in the Dolomites. Falls on via ferrata are have potential for much higher forces than a lead climbing fall. It’s by no means impossible to do it, but going up this particular route alone isn’t a great idea. Solo I’d stick to less consequential routes on lower tops. Allow more wiggle room in your itinerary: choose routes where there’s no race to a cable car, where navigation is no factor, with no other problems like glaciers, with bail-out options or drop your grades etc. Mountaineering balances a lot of risks and going solo genuinely puts a large, consequential multiplier on that risk level.

It’s the back end of summer, but more importantly at the end of a dry spell. At this height up a river the levels rise and fall pretty fast. I’d be careful of your group mix up here. There is definitely some areas where non-climbers would find it hairy. It’s really rather slippery in some key areas too so experience with that would be good. You can walk most difficulties though. Cat Gill on Walla Crag goes at I/II and may also be worth a look (same cautions, more parking).

Hi Richard, thanks for sharing your feedback. The content of us in this video clearly didn’t match your expectations. It is difficult to answer your comment without more information like where you are referring to a slip occurring. Generally stream beds like the one in this video are great places to practice for movement on poor ground precisely because they are slippy and loose. They are often relatively low consequence areas when dry. This particular one is used for training of mountain leaders (non-climbing mountain guides in the U.K. - they can work doing walking and light scrambling) because it is highly accessible and easy to escape. The role of ropes is a whole discussion and debate in itself: here they were deemed unneeded. On a different day / different location / different grade scramble / different group mix that may change and should be seen as a dynamic decision. If I can help anymore get in touch directly!

Thanks. It’s surprisingly awkward to get up to!

Not tried. Almost certainly not.

There's an optional dive case that makes it waterproof enough for scuba diving. That might be an option for you.

Thanks. Glad you had fun. It’s a much quieter way up a busy hill! (And way more fun) The music thing is difficult. They’re more fun to make and not necessarily made wholly for KZfaq either. There’s some things I don’t want to talk people into either. With the scrambling videos it’s pretty obvious where they’re iffy and it’s easy for people to decide how much risk we’re taking though I feel, but the alps especially I try to do it differently as I don’t want people following us into trouble.

Stays*

I’ve not had this problem, but the one software glitch I’ve had was fixed by updating it. Tried that?

@@PhilBehan87 all is well. If you just let it sit it eventually defaults back to the time

Only the belays. It’s trad in between but helps with route finding and appends up change over at belays a lot.

🤣 plenty of animals with bells around their necks making the same sounds in Europe

Pretty much

It’s the central swiss government mapping site. The equivalent to OS in the U.K. or USGS in the USA. Their site is geo.admin.ch The french version works well too, but there are similar across much of Europe and they’re very handy.

@@PhilBehan87 Thanks for letting me know this Phil👍

Thanks!

Depends on where you end up too. a flat, dry glacier with few crevasses and there's room to make a judgement. Left them out before for this reason and surely will again.

I use a couple of different waterproof mitts. The GTX ones are by Extremities and a lighter pair by Montane. Extremities Tuff Bags GTX: www.terra-nova.co.uk/gloves-mitts/gore-tex-gloves-mitts/tuff-bags/ Montane Minimus: www.montane.com/mens-c1/accessories-c26/gloves-c47/montane-minimus-waterproof-mitts-p76#attribute%5B3%5D=13

@@PhilBehan87 Thank you very much!

Thanks :)

She’s a champ

@@PhilBehan87 what were the guys behind you moaning about?

Getting overtaken and then having to wait at the bottlenecks

@@PhilBehan87 such moaners are common.

It may not be as exciting, but it does feel like a separate mountain I agree. It may be that the ridge between does not drop very low and it’s more a scientific line in the sand... but I could just be the UIAA making decisions that make them happy - Corno Nero is hardly as significant a peak after all!!!

@@PhilBehan87 be anche gli aghi dell aguille du diable è difficile considerarli cime e metterli nella lista principale dei 4000. Quindi se inserisci l aguille du diable inserisci anche il corno Nero poiche la sua parete sud è spettacolare . Ritornando al naso non può essere inserita nella lista secondaria una cima che si vede dalle pianure di Vercelli, merita la lista delle vette primarie.

Depends how much of the Breithorn you do and how comfortable you are on that ground. We had a couple and placed them a couple of times, but that was it

But yeah: could (probably wouldn’t)

@@PhilBehan87 thanks!

A reasonable view point. It’s quite limited in its use without a fair amount of compromise for me, but I still have it rather than putting it on eBay for some reason...

@@PhilBehan87 I chickened out and cancelled my order at REI!! Going to give Hilleberg a go or the Tarptent Scarp 1. Good review, saved me some stress for sure.

Not yet, but it’s certainly a possibility. Thanks for watching!

It’s a difficult call for me... On the one hand I take the thing out a fair bit, but i don’t push my luck: poor weather or particularly rough terrain and I take something else. I have a more fragile, smaller, lighter Nordisk tent I also use... the sacrifices with that are much greater, but this is still up there for the number of sacrifices vs weight. If the balance tips more in the way of a sturdier or more weather resistant design I find my MSR hubba series tent has very comparable space and stands up better to weather while having a little less condensation. It’s heavier though. That’s in one of my videos (Cairngorms Munro Tour) - I don’t really talk about it but it would give you a feel as I spend two cold, wet nights in it and the second was actually really rather windy. The thing is great in that mild - moderate weather. Another thought is going for an older design and trying a trekking pole tent if you carry them. At 1.6kg my Black Diamond Beta Light is similar to a Hubba Hubba, but has more room and will put up with a lot more weather. It’s easy to use without the inner too and comes in ~500g then! You can see it used on this trip here: instagram.com/p/CGX8VlCj1Lc/?igshid=1jdn1vsb33rom To more directly answer your question though: if you like the design idea of the BA tents, but want it a bit netter executed and don’t want to be out in anything too extreme yeah the Hubba series is a good shout, as is the copper spur my parents have. I have too many tents so the tiger wall has a place in my collection still as it fills a little niche others don’t quite. No. If you want to push into the 4th season with a similar design I know people with MSR Access tents that rate them too.

Ha. If only that was all of them.