Dolomites Youth Meet
August 2007Eli Stein, left, and Ben Lepeasant from Luxembourg at Cinque Torre, Italy.
Eli Stein, 17, from Los Angeles received a small grant from the Mountain Fellowship Fund to attend a UIAA youth meet in the Dolomites. His report follows:
This summer the American Alpine Club’s Mountain Fellowship Fund helped me attend a UIAA international youth meet in Italy. I am happy to report that it was a fantastic success! For a week in August, William Peterson (another American) and I climbed with Swedish, Spanish, Austrian, English, Luxembourgish, and Serbian climbers. The ages of the 12 participants ranged from 15 to 29, all living together at the Bergheim Landro Hut in the middle of the Italian Dolomites.
We got to know each other by easing into the Dolomite classics. First sport climbing and than doing low-commitment multipitch affairs, we eventually got the weather we needed for the bigger climbs. Highlights include multiple climbs on the Tofana di Rozes, including the 20-pitch mega-classic the “Pilastro.” We also got the opportunity to climb on the iconic Tre Cime di Lavaredo, where teams climbed the classics on Cima Grande, Cima Piccola, and Cima Piccolissima. My favorite route was Otzi Triftt Yeti on Cima Piccola’s south face.
Some of our best times were before and after climbing, however. We Americans were amazed that Swedish people eat the entire apple, and the Swedes were in awe of the multitude of dishes that are good with ketchup. Card games were fantastic as well. The group favorite was undeniably the Spanish “Mentiroso.”
I would like to thank the AAC for this tremendous opportunity. The climbers were strong, fast, and brave, necessary traits for the Dolomites. We climbed classics, ate Italian pizza, and poked fun at cultural oddities. In all, I spent a month in the Dolomites and didn’t do a bad route. I hope to return to Europe soon and climb with my new friends. Supa!