Vajolet Towers

The Vajolet Towers, or Torri del Vajolet, are a cluster of slender rock spires in the Rosengarten group of the western Dolomites, rising to about 2,800 metres above the Vajolet valley. Their clean, near-vertical limestone made them one of the birthplaces of Dolomite rock climbing and one of its most photographed scenes.

The three most famous towers bear the names of pioneering climbers, Delago, Stabeler and Winkler, each first climbed at the close of the nineteenth century. The Winkler Tower was scaled solo in 1887 by the seventeen-year-old Georg Winkler, a feat of daring that became legendary and helped launch the free-climbing era in the Dolomites.

These are pure rock-climbing objectives. The classic traverse of the towers strings together multi-pitch pitches from grade III to V on generally excellent limestone, with the exposed Delago edge a particular favourite for its airy position. Climbers need ropes, a rack and confident abseiling, since there is no walking route to the summits and the descent involves several rappels. Modern lines on the faces reach far higher grades for specialists.

The Rifugio Re Alberto and the Rifugio Vajolet sit directly beneath the towers, reached by a steep walk up from the Gardeccia area or via cable cars from the Fassa valley. The season runs from mid-June to September, when the rock is dry and the huts are open. Vigo di Fassa is the valley base, with guides available. Even non-climbers hike up to the huts to watch parties inch up the sunlit spires, and the setting beneath King Laurin's legendary walls is among the finest in the range.