Top of the World
Mount Antelao rises imposingly to dominate the Boite Valley and with a height of 3,264 meters it represents, after Marmolada (3,343 meters), the second highest peak and for this reason it is also called "King of the Dolomites" or "King of Cadore". The Antelao mountain group is characterized by a compact pyramidal structure, culminating in the main peak, near which there are other important peaks: Punta Menini (3,177 metres), Punta Chiggiato (3,163 metres) and Cima Fanton (3,142 metres).
On the north-eastern side there are two glaciers, the Superiore and the Inferiore; on the southern side there is the Valòn dell'Antelao, a steep and very deep gully; and on the western side there is a group of enormous slabs, known as "Le Laste".
The first ascent to the summit of Antelao was made by Matteo Ossi in 1850, who repeated the feat in 1863, accompanied by the Austrian alpinist Paul Grohmann.
Even today, the fascinating King of the Dolomites continues to attract the bravest mountaineers to its walls, who abandon themselves to the challenge by taking the "Normal Route", which from Forcella Piccola (2,120 m) leads to the summit dome, or the glacier ferrata.
