Marmolada

A 3,343-metre peak in the Dolomites of northeastern Italy, the highest mountain in the range. Marmolada is geologically distinct from the Alpine peaks to the north and west — the Dolomites are limestone rather than granite, and the climbing character is correspondingly different. The peak holds the largest glacier in the Dolomites, the Marmolada Glacier, which has been retreating substantially in recent decades. The summit is the high point of a long ridge that includes several subsidiary peaks above 3,200 metres.

The first ascent came in 1864 by an Austrian-Italian party led by Paul Grohmann. The summit was reached via the western slope from the Fedaia Pass — a route that involves substantial glacier travel and a final summit dome. The standard route has not changed substantially since. The technical difficulty is moderate, primarily involving glacier travel with crevasse routing and a final 100-metre summit pitch on firm snow. The route is typically completed in a single day from the Fedaia Pass at 2,057 metres, with a chairlift assist available to 2,300 metres for parties starting from the valley.

The south face of Marmolada — the South Wall — is a 600-metre limestone wall that has produced some of the most demanding rock climbs in the Dolomites. The first major route on the wall was climbed in 1936; subsequent routes have established Marmolada as a destination for serious Dolomite rock climbing. Climbers who attempt the south face routes are typically experienced rock climbers operating at the top end of the European technical climbing scale.

In July 2022, a section of the Marmolada Glacier collapsed during an unusually warm period, killing eleven climbers on the standard route. The disaster was among the largest single-incident accidents in Italian mountaineering history and produced extensive discussion about the changing safety profile of Alpine climbing under accelerating climate change. The standard route on Marmolada is now considered more variable in its safety than was the case in the 20th century. The mountain is climbed by approximately 3,000 attempts per year. The Dolomite skyline from the summit, on a clear morning, extends across some of the most photographed mountain landscape in Europe.