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July 2004
Elevation 3,343 m (10,968 ft)[1]
Prominence 2,131 m (6,991 ft)[1]
Ranked 9th in the Alps
Listing Ultra
Marmolada is located in Alps
Location Italy
Range Dolomites
Coordinates 46°26′05″N 11°51′03″E﻿ / ﻿46.43472°N 11.85083°E﻿ / 46.43472; 11.85083Coordinates: 46°26′05″N 11°51′03″E﻿ / ﻿46.43472°N 11.85083°E﻿ / 46.43472; 11.85083[1]
First ascent September 28, 1864 by Paul Grohmann, Angelo Dimai, F. Dimai
Easiest route rock/ice climb

Marmolada (Ladin: Marmoleda) is a mountain in northeastern Italy (just east of Trento) and the highest mountain of the Dolomites (a section of the Alps).

The mountain is located about 100 kilometres north-northwest of Venice, from which it can be seen on a clear day. It consists of a ridge running west to east. Towards the south it breaks suddenly into sheer cliffs, forming a rock face several kilometres long. On the north side there is a comparatively flat glacier, the only large glacier in the Dolomites (the Marmolada Glacier, Ghiacciaio della Marmolada).

The ridge is composed of several summits, decreasing in altitude from west to east: Punta Penia (3,343 m), Punta Rocca (3,309 m), Punta Ombretta (3,230 m), Monte Serauta (3,069 m), and Pizzo Serauta (3,035 m). An aerial tramway goes to the top of Punta Rocca. During the ski season the Marmolada's main ski run is opened for skiers and snowboarders alike, making it possible to ski down into the valley.

Paul Grohmann made the first ascent in 1864, along the north route. The south face was climbed for the first time in 1901 by Beatrice Tomasson, Michele Bettega and Bartolo Zagonel.[2]

Until the end of World War I, before the region was invaded and then occupied by Italy, the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy ran over Marmolada, so it formed part of the front line during that conflict. Austro-Hungarian soldiers were quartered in deep tunnels bored into the northern face's glacier, and Italian soldiers were quartered on the south face's rocky precipices. As glaciers retreat, soldiers' remains and belongings are occasionally discovered.


  1. ^ a b c "Europe Ultra-Prominences". Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  2. ^ Reisach, Hermann (2001). "Beatrice Tomasson and the South Face of the Marmolada". Alpine Journal: 105–113. Retrieved 8 April 2014. 
This article incorporates information from the revision as of September 23, 2005 of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

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