Piz dles Cunturines
Peak · 3064 m · Dolomites
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Piz dles Cunturines, at 3,064 m, is the highest peak of the Fanes group. First climbed in 1880, it is reached today by the Tru Dolomieu, a secured via ferrata of medium difficulty. In 1987 the remains of a previously unknown cave bear species were found in the Conturines Cave near 2,800 m; it was later named Ursus ladinicus, the Conturines cave bear.
The Ladin epic of the Kingdom of Fanes casts Dolasilla, the kingdom's warrior princess, riding into her final battle on a white horse in silver armor trimmed with ermine, carrying thirteen arrows that never missed. The saga was told only by word of mouth among Ladin families for generations until the folklorist Karl Felix Wolff wrote it down in his 1932 collection Dolomitensagen. Willy Costamoling, a guide from Corvara, made the cave bear discovery on 23 September 1987, turning up the first of some sixty skeletons; the cave is now reckoned the highest-altitude site anywhere that cave bear and cave lion remains have been found. The bones are on display today at the Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus in San Cassiano, down in the valley.
What you see
From the summit, the Sella massif fills the skyline, with Marmolada and Gran Vernel rising beyond it.
Practical
The Tru Dolomieu starts in the rocky gully between Piz de Lavarella and Piz dles Cunturines and takes about half an hour to the summit from there.
via ferrataladin legendpaleontologyviewpoint