Soldá route: Report and pictures

On August 24 and 25, 2001 Hermann Comploi and I took one of the very great extreme routes in the Dolomites. This was the Soldá route through the north face of the Langkofel.

The route description in the Goedeke guide:

VI (in several rope lengths) and V+ and V (even still far up), to a large extent also IV. The extreme classic through the wildest part of the mountain with an impressively forbidding ambience of sunless, often icy chimney gullies with difficult, interesting and varied free climbing. 1050 m ascent, climbing route about 1100 m to the North Tower.

Reaching the peak involves a total of 1400 m climbing. We needed 16 hours before we reached the bivouac box beneath the peak. It was my longest, most difficult and toughest tour to date.