Tofane is a mountain group in the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form pa ...

of northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, west of

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite (river), ...

in the province of Belluno,

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

. Most of the Tofane lies within ''Parco naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo'', a nature park.Natural Park of the Ampezzo Dolomites
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Peaks

The highest peaks of the Tofane group are ''Tofana di Mezzo'' (), ''Tofana di Dentro'' (), and '' Tofana di Rozes'' (). Tofana di Mezzo is the third highest peak in the Dolomites, after

Marmolada Marmolada ( Ladin: ''Marmolèda''; German: ''Marmolata'', ) is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites (a section of the Alps). It lies between the borders of Trentino and Veneto. The Marmolada is an ultra-p ...

() and

Antelao Monte Antelao ( Cadorino dialect: Nantelòu) is the highest mountain in the eastern Dolomites (a section of the Alps) in northeastern Italy, southeast of the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the region of Cadore. The Monte Antelao is an ultra-promi ...

(). All three peaks were first climbed by

Paul Grohmann Paul Grohmann (12 June 1838 – 29 July 1908) was an Austrian mountaineer and writer. Biography Grohmann was a pioneer in exploring technically challenging mountains and is thought to have made more first ascents of Eastern Alps summits than any ...

along with local mountain guides, in 1863 (Tofana di Mezzo - with Francesco Lacedelli), 1864 (Tofana di Rozes - with Francesco Lacedelli, Angelo Dimai and Santo Siorpaes) and 1865 (Tofana di Dentro - with Angelo Dimai).La Conquista delle vette dolomitiche
– ''abcdolimiti.com'' (Retrieved on 19 September 2008)
– ''dolomito.altevio.it'' (Retrieved on 19 September 2008)

Geology

The Dolomites were formed during the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

Period, approximately 60 million years ago, due to the collision of the African and European continents. The Tofane is largely formed from the

Upper Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. T ...

rock

Dolomia principale Main Dolomite (german: Hauptdolomit, hu, Fődolomit, it, Dolomia Principale) is a lithostratigraphic unit in the Alps of Europe. Formation was defined by K.W. Gümbel in 1857. Middle to Late Triassic sedimentary record in the Alpine realm is ...

. The strata are perceptibly folded, and the mountains are finally formed by wind, rain, glaciers and rivers.

Tourism

Access

A cable lift system (''Freccia nel Cielo'', "Arrow in the sky") goes from Cortina almost to the top of Tofane di Mezzo. There is only a short walk from the top cable car to the summit. Alternatively the

via ferrata A via ferrata ( Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except ...

s ''VF Punta Anna'' and ''VF Gianna Aglio'' can be used to reach Tofane di Mezzo.

Cabins (rifugi)

Some of the cabins in the Tofane are the ''Rifugio Angelo Dibona'' (), the ''Rifugio Giussani'' (), the ''Rifugio Duca d'Aosta'' (), and the ''Rifugio Pomedes'' ().

Via ferratas

The

s of Tofane are ''VF Punta Anna'' and ''VF Gianna Aglio'' on Tofana di Mezzo, ''VF Lamon'' and ''VF Formenton'' on Tofana di Dentro, and ''VF Giovanni Lipella'' on Tofana di Rozes, where there also are tunnel systems from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

History

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, the Tofane was a battlefield of the Italian Front for clashes between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces. The front lines went through the mountains. At the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( it, VII Giochi Olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( lld, Anpezo 1956 or ), was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from ...

, Mount Tofane hosted five of the six

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

events. It regularly hosts women's speed events on the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

circuit, and hosted the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. The men's 1956 downhill and the current women's World Cup races are on the Olimpia delle Tofane ski race course (often referred to as “Tofana” for short); it is famous for the Tofana Schuss, where athletes can reach speeds over .

References

1956 Winter Olympics official report.
pp. 165–79. * ''Via ferratas of the Italian Dolomites: Volume 1 orth, central and east' by John Smith and Graham Fletcher. Published in 2002 by Cicerone, UK. . * ''Cortina d'Ampezzo e Dolomiti Ampezzane''. 1:25,000, Carta Topografica. Casa Editrice Tobacco. * ''It appears in the 1981 James Bond 007 movie:"For your eyes only". {{Authority control Venues of the 1956 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiing venues Mountains of Italy Alpine three-thousanders Dolomites Geography of Cortina d'Ampezzo Mountains of the Alps