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Woodland Trust
Pyrenees Walking Holidays
Guided Marmolada Summit & Glacier Treks
the marmolada - 3343m
  Guided Glacier Treks
in a nutshell
 
Guided Glacier Trek
  Every Tuesday - £50 per person. Please pre-book as early as possible with our UK Office prior to departure. A reasonable level of fitness is required but alpine experience is not necessary.  
Ropes, crampons and ice axes are supplied. Depart Arabba at about 7am and return mid/late afternoon. Packed lunch included.
Marmolada Summit Trek  
 
Every Friday - £60 per person. Please pre-book as early as possible with our UK Office prior to departure. A reasonable level of fitness is required along with some alpine experience.
 
Ropes, crampons, ice axes and Via Ferrata kit are supplied. Depart Arabba at about 7am and return mid/late afternoon. Packed lunch included.
Equipment
 
Whilst equipment is provided you must come with your own warm clothes, waterproofs, stiff boots (that can take a crampon), hats and gloves. A reccommended kit list will be provided.
 
Queen of the Dolomites
The highest peak in this range is the magnificent Marmolada, known locally as the 'Queen of the Dolomites'. Her summit at Punta Penìa (3343m) and her brilliant white glacier dominate many a beautiful panorama. Most will admire this awesome spectacle from a distance in the comparative comfort of a waymarked trail lower down in the valleys or you can go there yourself via the cable car, which rises dramatically in front of the vast eastern wall, against which the cable car itself looks like a 'matchbox' toy!
Each week, Collett's offers two professionally guided excursions on the glacier with Francesco Tremolada, an English speaking and fully qualified mountain guide.
Descending from the sub summit, Punta Rocca on the Glacier trek.
glacier trek
The north face of the Marmolada is covered by the most extensive ice formation in the Dolomites, indeed in the whole of the eastern Alps, making it hard to believe this was the scene of fierce military combat in WWI between the Austrians and Italians. This huge glacier preserves the remains of the 'City of Ice', an extraordinary labyrinth of up to five miles of tunnels built under the ice by the Austrians.
 
The Marmolada summit at 3,343 metres towers above the Val di Fassa.
Getting into the swing of things after about half an hour on the glacier, you can see the snout of the glacier and the Rifugio Capanna dal Ghiaccaio in the middle distance.
Each Tuesday, Collett's offers you the chance to trek across the glacier, traversing crevasses and touching snow and blue ice. Francesco will take you to the snout of the glacier via what we call the 'yoghurt pots.’ There you will start the beautiful glacier walk and enjoy breathtaking views all around. You will see positions taken up by soldiers in the Great War and make your way right across the snow and ice to the Marmolada’s second summit, Punta Rocca. A sound level of fitness is required for the glacier trek but alpine experience is not necessary.
Gearing up at the snout of the glacier at the start of the trek.
marmolada summit trek via the west ridge via ferrata
Francesco will take you to Lake Fedaia, where you will rise to the snout of the glacier in the aforementioned 'yoghurt pot' lift. From here you trek across the glacier to a ridge at the western end of the majestic and vast south wall, (800m high and 3kms wide) before using one of the area's most famous and ancient via ferratas to access the summit. You will return to the 'yoghurt pots' by descending a wall just below the summit and then trekking down the glacier. It is an amazing experience in an awe-inspiring and wild environment. The views of the verdant valleys below and the great Dolomite peaks all around are quite unforgettable. This excursion is offered every Friday.
High on the West Ridge Via Ferrata.
Descending the summit glacier after reaching after reaching the peak, Punta Penia at 3,343 metres, before descending the rock wall on a Via Ferrata to the right onto the main glacier itself.
On the West Ridge Via Ferrata  
Approaching the Marmolada Summit.
notes
These should be booked and paid for in advance of your holiday. Please contact us and we will send you a 'Guided Glacier Treks Booking Form', or see the information here, for the Guided Glacier Trek or here for the Marmolada Summit via the West Ridge Via Ferrata, which contains essential information about the day. Prices as follows:
marmolada glacier trek (every tuesday)
£50 per person (Party Size - 6)
marmolada summit (every friday)
£60 per person (Party Size - 4)
An average level of fitness is required for the glacier trek, but alpine experience is not necessary. As for the West Ridge Via
 
Ferrata to the summit, it is not technically difficult but its length, exposure and altitude (along with the descent of the summit
 
wall and glacier) demand some alpine experience, a head for heights and a good level of fitness.
Whilst we are happy to book you guides for excursions you might choose to do independently during your stay, these glacier
 
treks should be booked and paid for in advance of your holiday.
All the necessary technical equipment for these guided itineraries is provided by Francesco (i.e. crampons, rope, helmets, ice
 
axes, harnesses and, in the case of the summit excursion, Via Ferrata equipment), but not clothing or boots.
Prices include a packed lunch, but not the lift pass.
If bad weather causes cancellation, your money is refunded.
Our guide is also offering an opportunity for small parties of two (no more, no less) to join him on big mountain days scaling
 
one of the great 3000m peaks. These are long days with very early starts.