Spigolo del Velo - Cima della Madonna

It can be considered as the queen of the classic routes in the Dolomites that boasts a great reputation in the international mountaineering world, counting an infinite number of repetitions. A very aesthetic and fun climb that wins the western edge of the summit of the Madonna and always has solid rock and a good grip. From the Rifugio del Velo, the homonymous via ferrata (n.739) is attached until it turns clearly to the left. From here, we climb up through easy rocks for about 120 m until we reach a comfortable terrace at the base of the corner where the attack of the route is located. From the base, we climb with modest difficulty for 3 lengths until we reach the first pillar. Here we have two possibilities: go slightly to the right and go around the next pillar (original way) or go vertically and pass a sustained plate that goes directly back to the pillar (variant Zagonel-Steger). From the top of the pillar we must then descend a few metres and cross the evident carving placed between the pillars. Here the edge rises grey and compact and with another couple of lengths you reach the next pillar where you will find the most characteristic passage of the road: The famous split. After passing the latter, with 2 last lengths, we reach the summit. The descent still requires a lot of attention, even if it is well equipped and has exposed stretches that should not be underestimated. From the top, we cross the summit ridge in an easterly direction, following clear traces on the south side, until we reach a clear split which, with a more difficult passage, leads to the first abseiling ring. With 3 double 25m climbs and short easy climbs we reach the gap between the top of the Madonna and Sass Maor. We descend the SSE canyon to a crossroads, we continue in the right canyon until we reach the final jump. A last short descent takes us to the scree slopes at the base of the mountain.