The crevasse is scary, new prohibitions: Capanna Ghiaccio and Cima XI closed

Risk of other detachments of ice, lowered the level of the lake: a possible wave would not overflow

ROCCA PIETORE. The temperatures on the Marmolada are lowered, the thermometer at night returns below zero, even reaching –2. And therefore, the hope of those who would like to return up there to the summit is rekindled, obviously without crossing or even just touching the glacier. But the civil protection of Trento is not only cautious, it has closed two shelters and advised the mayor of Canazei to prohibit walking or cycling along the Fedaia lake valley road.

If you look up, at the dam, your gaze intercepts that mountain of ice which, if the heat persists, at least during the day, could detach from the 200-meter-long crevasse that has expanded its thickness in recent days, from 25 to 35 centimeters. . The detachment, if it happened, would probably end straight into the lake.

Furthermore, according to the technicians of the Province of Trento, other openings have occurred. “The potential instability of the glacier detachment niche and the widening of some crevasses placed on the changes in the slope of the mountain led to a redefinition of the red area on the massif, after the tragic events of last July 3”: this is the conclusion that they pull.

This is why the dam was almost emptied; first because of the drought, now because of this risk. And that’s why Giovanni Bernard, the first citizen of Canazei, signed this ordinance with which the forbidden area on the Marmolada is widened, closing the road downstream of the lake. «The study of the morphology of the area has in fact made it possible to identify the potential paths of the ice masses that should also detach from these two languages ​​- reads the technical report of the Risk Prevention Service and Civil Protection Cue -. This analysis has in fact confirmed a flow path that is very well suited to that of the historical cartographed avalanches and those simulated as part of the drafting of the hazard map », the report reads.

The hypothesis that a possible detachment could reach or enter the artificial basin of the Fedaia dam was also evaluated: “From the evaluations carried out, the effect of a possible inflow to the lake with the current reservoir level would be contained in the interior of the reservoir without directly affecting the crowning of the dam and / or the road surface of the SS 641 ».

With the establishment of the new red zone, the dam of Lake Fedaia and the pass of the same name continue to be accessible, while the old path that runs along the lake on the orographic left is partially closed, starting from the bridge over the Gronda canal. The closed refuges are the Glacier Hut and Cima Undici.

“The prohibition of transit and access to the enclosed area also applies to mountaineers and climbers who have to travel the mountaineering routes of the South-West face of the Marmolada”, states Trento. Anyone entering the area between: proximity to Villetta Maria path E618-E619, proximity to Rifugio Dolomia path E618-Altavia n. 2-E606, near the chairlift refuge, path E618 from the junction E604 to the dam, path E606 from the junction with the path E610 towards the Marmolada fork, the old road that leads to the dam of Maria to the lake up to the house of the Enel civic guardians 9, ski slope called “Sas de Mul-Fedaia.

Already last Friday he had to close the Cima XI Refuge. It is managed by Ermanno Lorenz di Canazei, with his wife. «We are very sorry to interrupt the summer activity, but we have been ordered to do so and we certainly cannot but comply. In the mountains, in conditions like these – husband and wife share -, maximum responsibility is necessary ». They admit that it is the first time that this has happened and say they hope that as soon as they pass Fedaia and the Marmolada will return to offer all their beauty. “Temperatures are dropping and therefore the glacier should stabilize too,” they say. As soon as climatic conditions permit, the latest searches for the human remains of the eleven victims that were not recovered in the first phase of the campaign could start again. The court of Trento is currently carrying out the appraisals.