Though David had been many times to the Alps, this was his first visit to the Dolomites. He joined Mark for five days of climbing. We began at the eastern edge of the range, with a base in Misurina, not far from Cortina. Later we moved over to a base in Canazei, closer to the Sella pass and the fine routes there.

As was typical for this August, the weather was chilly and occasionally rainy. But every day, there was at least enough sun and warmth to dry of a bit of rock and go climbing. Fortunately for us, it seemed that most of the rain fell at night.

The lake at Misurina. You can see the new snow on the north-facing peaks behind. Every morning we would wake up and try to determine last night's snow-line, choosing our objectives accordingly.

For our first day of climbing we visited the Cinque Torri group, just west of Cortina. There are hundreds of fun routes in this jumble of giant blocks. With a lift (this photo was taken from the top lift station) and good trails, it is very user friendly.

This was our first climb, as it was one of the first to dry after the previous night's showers. And it simply looked fun and exposed.

(Unfortunately, as I write this I don't have access to my guide books and, frankly, I don't remember the name of the route, so it will have to go "unidentified".)

David pulls on a good hold at the top of the previous route.

And our next routes.... (again, the names escape me). But they were quite fun, on good rock.

Rappelling off our third climb. The rains arrived shortly after this picture was taken, putting an end to the day's climbing.

The Hexenstein, with the South Ridge marked. This is a very fun route, with very diverse climbing on great rock.

David wriggles up a chimney on the Hexenstein. Most of the route is open face climbing on exposed crests, but it does have the occasional "confined" sections.

On our third day, we climbed the First and Second Sella Towers. So close to the Sella Pass, and with great rock and a wide variety of routes, these Towers are justifiably popular. But we only saw a few other parties, some human, some bovine.

David pulls through the crux section of the Kostner route on the Second Sella Tower.

Relaxing on the summit.

With morning funky weather, we started with a bit of sport climbing on the slabs at the base of the Hexenstein. Only about a 5 minute walk from the road, and with dozens of routes, this is a fun place to spend a bit of time.

After a few pitches in the previous sport area the weather started to improve, so we went looking for bigger fare. And we found it on this route on the Gemsband of Piz Ciavazes.

Climbing on Piz Ciavazes. Again, I don't remember the name of the route, sorry.

Looking across the Gemsband on Piz Ciavazes, towards the Sella Pass.

And towards the Marmolada...

For our last day of climbing wee decided to return to the Cinque Torri and climb the Torre Grande, which we missed on our first visit. The "Guide's Route" is marked in red.

David near the top of the Torre Grande.

Rappelling down from the Torre Grande.