Europe, Italy - Dolomites

The Dolomites are a challenging and beautiful range of steep limestone peaks situated south of the Austrian/Italian border. The area is stretching out 80 kilometers east of Bolzano, which is split into different groups linked by a good road network. Many of the peaks are over 3000 meters high, giving long and demanding big wall routes up to 800 meters long. Some routes can be over 20-pitches long, however most them can be done in a single days outing or with an overnight stay in a mountain hut or lodge.

The highest mountain in the Dolomites is Marmolada, with its impressive 800 meters high and 3kilometers wide south facing limestone wall. All of the routes on this face are long and serious, and unique to the Dolomites, may take longer than a day to complete. It is wise to pack a bivouac bag. Unless you catch the expensive last cable car from the summit then the descent is down the north side of the mountain, which has the only glacier in the region! It is therefore recommended that in-step crampons and lightweight boots be worn.

The north face of Cima Grande is one of the great alpine north faces and is breathtakingly steep - a real big wall. At 450 meters and 16-pitches long, and graded at UIAA V11- (UK E2 5c or French 6b) it is very sustained for long periods and therefore demands the prestige attached to it. However as with many of the routes in the Dolomites it is possible to aid across the difficult sections, which reduces this route to V1/A1 (UK E1 5B or French 6a).

The Sella Towers and Piz Ciavazes have a reputation for short approaches, easy descents, and well-protected routes that are not too long. However just on the other side of the Sella Pass is the Sassolungo area, where the routes are a much more serious undertaking and have an "alpine" experience about them.
Between Cortina and St Kassian is the Falzarego Pass, which offers some of the best rock climbing in the Dolomites. There are plenty of south-facing mid-grade routes; with short easy approaches; uncomplicated descents; and solid, well-protected routes.

Used pictures and information from http://en.wikipedia.org/, http://www.climb-europe.com/ and http://commons.wikimedia.org/