Torre Grande
Peak · 2361 m · Dolomites
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Torre Grande, at 2,361 m, is the tallest of the Cinque Torri, rising about 170 m of sheer rock above its base. On its Cima Sud, Angelo and Giuseppe Dimai, Arturo Gaspari and the American climber Miriam O'Brien opened the Via Miriam route on 29 June 1927; the line still bears her name. The towers have long served as a training ground for generations of Cortina's climbing guides.
During the First World War the towers stood on the Italian front line: gun crews hid 210 mm artillery among the rock, and an observation post on nearby Monte Averau relayed targets down to them by field telephone. Protected barracks, a field hospital and telegraph lines went up among the towers to keep the position supplied. The trenches, gun emplacements and shelters are preserved today as a free open-air war museum. The Via Miriam itself climbs 160 metres over seven pitches at grade V, and had its first winter ascent on 3 January 1954, by Marino Bianchi and F. Faccin.
What you see
Torre Grande anchors a skyline of five rock towers rising straight out of alpine pasture, with the peaks of Tofana and the Falzarego group filling the view beyond.
Practical
A chairlift climbs from Baita Bai de Dones on the SR48 up to Rifugio Scoiattoli beneath the towers, running through the summer into early autumn; a steep access track off the same road reaches the towers on foot or by bike.
climbingwwi historyopen air museum