Alta Via 1 - Dolomiti

September 2018

"The wonderful things in life are the things you do, not the things you have."

Reinhold Messner

Before starting the walk we spent one day in Bolzano and went to visit the Messner Mountain Museum located in Castel Firmiano, this was really a great place to visit and to find the right set of mind for the walk to come. Not only the location is beautiful (the fortress offers fine views of Bolzano and the Texel mountains), but the structure, richness and sense of peace and the impossible adds up to the overall experience. The itinerary starts with pictures of a young Messner climbing barefoot and on others people shoulders, then it went on to explore other parts of the castle, with Buddist's statues, symbol and chants everywhere, on top of paintings, expeditions and climbers all over the place, it was a true hymn to mountains. And the main quote I will remember from this place is:

“The most important thing is to know where the mountain is”

The fact that we were the first to get there and could enjoy the place to ourselves was certainly a plus. When we left it started to get packed with people and somehow it would not have been the same experience. The best way to get there is by train (don't even think to get a bus!), there are regular trains to Merano, you need to get off at the second stpo in Ponte d'Adige and from there there is a nice path passing first through apple fields and then up the forest to the entrance of the castle. We staid at the Rosergarten Room, 5 min from the train station, and the guy running it gave us, unexpected and included in the price of the room, 2 weekly passes, with which we could travel by bus and train pretty much in all the Bolzano province, and include also the entrance to the museums, a true deal since just the entrance alone was worth €12.

Bolzano is a very pretty and unexpensive town (huge ice cream worth €2!)

If you are in Bolzano this is really a must see. The other museum we wanted to visit was the Archeological one with the frozen man, however we got there at midday and the queue was ridiculous and put us off (we went for an ice cream instead...), I guess it's better to go early there too! That afternoon we stared our journey by train to Villabassa, so that the next morning we could get the bus to Lago di Braies, and start our adventure. On the train we could see wonderful cycling paths connecting the main villages and cities and we thought “this is the future!”, definitely something we need to try before heading back home. For more info on the network:

http://www.ciclabiledolomiti.com/

Alta Via 1 - Getting started

Route: The Alta Via 1 is a 120km path through the eastern Dolomites from Lago di Braies in the North, to Belluno in the South, at an average elevation of 2000m. You don't pass through villages however you can rely on the numerous “rifugi”, or mountain huts, some of which have very high standards (especially in the northern bit). The official route (if there is one...) has a few Vie Ferrate, however there are variants too so that you can easily avoid them if needed. Our guide was the Cicerone “Walk in the Dolomites” and we found it very useful and reliable. We also had a local map too, with all the paths and their numbers, as occasionally the guide would be a bit vague...

Food / Sleep: You can only camp in National Parks in allocated campsites, which means close to villages. The only option for this route is to sleep at the many Rifugi, and book them waaaay ahead of time! Ths is a very popular route with travel agencies, local people and random trekkers, so that you do need to book the rifugi way ahead (we booked 7 months ahead and one was already full). Some rifugis ask you to bring a sleeping linen/bag, however, even with it, we managed to get away with a 35l rucksack of about 9kg, and didn't even use half of the staff we brought!

Food is easily available in the many refugi (lunch consisted of bread and cheese for vegetarians, however you can get a menu if you time it right and are not in a hurry). With half board you get delicious and abundant dinners too. You can always top up with the occasional slice of cake and strudel (we can count what we ate by the metre), we certainly didn't loose any weight! Water is usually easily available, either because there are fountains around or you can fill up your bottle at the rifugi. The only place where we had to buy it was at Rifugio Lagazuoi.

Time: I would avoid doing it in July and August as you'd join a procession. September was ok, still many people around (especially in the weekend) but we could still find some space for ourselves. All the Rifugi we have been staying (apart from the Passo Giau one) were packed full, which means a lot of queuing for showers and toilets and sharing dorms with up to 10 people. Still, it must be said that the level of organisation and quality of service in most of them was outstanding given the location and the number of users. October would probably be a better month if you prefer to avoid the crowds and are hot blooded, however most rifugi would close at the end of September.

Day 1 – Lago di Braies to Rifugio Pederú - 14km

Reluctantly we left the Hotel Rose in Villabassa as we knew we wouldn't get much spoiling for a few days, however as soon as we got off the bus at Lago di Braies we felt charged up by the beautiful landscape and were ready to start the route. The lake is indeed very pretty, and got popular by the Italian TV series “Un passo dal cielo”, so popular that they can't cope with tourists anymore and they had to move it to a different spot.

Lago di Braies

We were there early so that we didn't find many people. The path takes you first along the right side of the lake, and then it starts to climb up, until we reached Forcella Sora Forno and, all of a sudden, we found ourselves in front of a 5 star view, we didn't know if it could get any better than that (and the pictures really don't make any justice to the place!).

View from Forcella Soro Forno, Rifugio Biella below

Passed Rifugio Biella, we went along a wide landrover track cruising among this high up plateau with majestic mountains popping up from every side. We then went down to Rifugio Sennes for lunch and a coffee (this Rifugio looks great, pity we didn't sleep there), and then it was a long and steep downhill to Rifugio Pederú, so steep that even ebikes had to be walked down.

Rifugio Pederú, day destination

Rifugio Pederú is more of an hotel than a Rifugio. It's connected by a road, which means full services and herds of people. However as soon as the sun set we were just those staying there and the sight of the mountains and the stars made for a great finish of the day. The food was quite good too, definitely a great place to stay.

Day 2 – Rifugio Pederú to Rifugio Lagazuoi - 19km

After an abundant breakfast with everything you can think of, we set off early as the forecasts predicted thunderstorms in the early afternoon, and since our day destination was up at 2700m we really didn't want to be caught in a storm up there.

The first bit up to Rifugio Fanes was very nice and chilled in the freshness of the morning air. The Rifugio was another beautiful modern place, and we managed to grab 2 sandwiches to take away for lunch.

Rifugio Fanes

The scientfic proof of global warming

The path brought us up a bit more to Passo di Limo, where another great view was waiting for us. It then went gradually up on a wide track along the Malga Fanes Grande, and by this stage the clouds were gathering and a few drops falling, still,we managed to get good views and couldn't really complaint (I have definitely been in Scotland for too long as I now prefer clouds to sunshine...).

there were quite a few marmots jogging around, but didn't see much more wildlife

After Passo Tadega we got at a junction, the official route would go up to another pass with a tricky descent, and because the weather was not that great we decided to follow the variant to Capanna Alpina...little did we know that the variant brings you back all the way down to the valley, and then you need to regain all that elevation again! The descent was super steep, and after eating our cheese sandwiches in the picnic benches at the Capanna Alpina we were resigned for a long way up (from 1700m to 2700m). But, we were motivated and in a good mood, and still aiming to avoid the thunderstorm, so that in no time we got first to Rifugio Scotoni, refilled the water and started the second bit of climb on a zig zag path up a gully to reach Lago di Lagazuoi (where the other path rejoined). At that stage it started to pour down with no mercy, we put on our waterpoof and kept going up this rocky path surrounded by majestic peaks from every side. We could already see the Rifugio but it was still a long way up from there, and, despite the rain, we were boiling in our gtx. Then it stopped a bit and slowly we went up again to Forcella Lagazuoi.

Where the path rejoins

you can see the Rifugio but it's still a long way to go

Finally it was the last zig zag stretch to the rifugio, by what was during WWI trenches and fortifications of the Austrian side, still can't believe people were fighting up there, that stretch was somehow shadowed by a feeling of uneasiness.

View from the terrace of Rifugio Lagazuoi, that was so worth every single drop of sweat

The Rifugio was full with 82 people

Rifugio Lagazuoi is by far the best one of the walk. The view from the terrace is stunning, and the rifugio itself amazing. True there is no water, you have to share a big dorm, and a cable car gets there too, but, the service received, the quality of food and the structure itself it's really outstanding. Not to mention the views from the terrace!

Day 3 – Rifugio Lagazuoi to Rifugio Passo Giau- 16km

Breakfast at Rifugio Lagazuoi was at 6.30, so that we had a very early start and went for some sunrise pictures with still clouds but stunning landscapes. After yet another abundant breakfast, we set off slowly to take in all those places, it was a rainy day but we were not too bothered, the clouds added to the drama and we didn't sweat much.

After Forcella Col de Bois it started to feel domestic, we were losing elevation and could see the road which we would cross later. We stopped for a coffee at Rifugio Dibona, and then kept going down through a very steep and muddy forest track, so that when we crossed the road and started the climb we opted for a drier road instead of another muddy forest path.

We reached Rifugio 5 Torri and had a cheese sandwich there. Since it was early we decided to go up to Rifugio Scoiattoli and visited the war museum, where the trenches and fortifications of the Italian front still stood.

We then continued to our final destination on a narrow path up and down the side of a mountain. We decided to avoid Rifugio Nuvolau as there would have been a via ferrata on the other side, and headed to Rifugio Passo Giau instead. This was a good call as it's more like an hotel and we had a double ensuite room with balcony and the best view ever. We were sharing it with another group only and the dinner was just great (finally veggies!!).

View from the room at Rifugio Passo Giau

Day 4– Rifugio Passo Giau to Rifugio Coldai - 18km

The weather finally improved, and the view from the room that morning was a great start of a promising day. We had our last great breakfast (somehow, after passing the old border, we did feel the spoken German decreased and the overall service in rifugi, signals and path conditions gradually deteriorated...) and off we went for our forth day on route. Having a private room really helped restore energies and with the sunshine we were really in a great mood!

I really need to learn how to make this torta saracena..

We set off with a crystal clear sky and really enjoyed the first bit, despite the muddy ground...The morning had us pass many forcelle: Forcella Giau, Ambrizzola, Cold Duro, Moran. In one of them we could see Cortina d'Ampezzo, and thought that if we only had 1 week we could have done the first 3 days, and then on the 4^th go to Cortina for a couple of explorations days there. For us the best and more panoramic bit was definitely the first one. 

Anyway, we kept on and after negotiating our way with seas of mud started the decent to Rifugio Cittá di Fiume, we got there at 11.30 and asked for a sandwich, but it turned out it was too early...this never happened in the German Italy! We kept going on an unemotional path to Rifugio Staulanza, which is on a road. We finally managed to get our cheese sandwich but definitely the people working there were not the most cheerful...not much luck with rifugi today! We went along the main road for a bit, then on a dirty track until Malga Vescová, after that the path started to climb steeply to Malga Pioda, and this place was a treat to the eyes. The last bit to Rifugio Coldai was steep too, and busy with day trekkers coming down.

Rifugio Cittá di Fiume

View from the terrace of Rifugio Coldai

Rifugio Coldai is very popular with climbers who go up to climb Mount Civetta. It can host up to 50 people and it was full. With one shower for 50 people things got a bit queuy, but we got away by getting there early and skipped most of the mess (shower token is €5). Toilets and breakfast were all a queue too, and the dorm tight...It's definitely not one of my fvourite rifugi (remember to keep any record of paid deposits as they don't seem to keep track of them there, while any other rifugio did), but still, we got great views and a handy starting point for the day after.

We also had an amazing dinner with polenta with cheese and mushrooms which added a few points. While hanging around waiting for the dessert (which came 1h 30min after the second dish...) we realised by reading the guide that the last day had a tricky exposed bit, and found out we could avoid it by cutting the walk 9km short and going to a village instead...this was very tempting and for the following points we went for it: something bite me on my elbow the day before and it got really swollen = wouldn't mind a trip to the pharmacy + I was running out of rolling papers + 1 less night in a rifugio (oh yeah!). I could probably make up a dozen reasons more but the truth was that we felt we got the best in the first half, and now we needed a bit more of peace and privacy, so that we booked what turned out to be the best hotel ever in Forno di Zoldo.

you mean we can cut that bit and sleep one less night in a Rifugio??

oh yeah!!!

...adding on the cheese diet! It was actually delicious

View from our table

Day 5 – Rifugio Coldai to Rifugio Carestriato - 19km

We woke up very early as breakfast was at 6.30, and for once we were not the first to wake up!! We shared the tiny room with 3 climbers who were going up the Civetta and were very excited. We had a great sunset and started fresh up to Lago Coldai. The short climb warmed us up so that we started to take off clothes, what we didn't realise is that all the first bit was in the shade of the huge Mt Civetta, and it was flattish/down, so that by the time we saw the sun again at 11am we were frozen! Still, this first bit, high up in the rocks and with nobody around, was by far my favourite part of the day.

breakfast of coffee, bread and jam

Good morning sunshine!

Lado Coldai

In the shade of Mt Civetta, 2h long..

As soon as the we met the sun we stopped to warm up and eat some chocolate, then kept descending to Rifugio Vazzoler where we had a wake up coffee. It was not even midday and we were not far away from our day destination, so that we took it super extra slow and stopped wherever we could. It was sunny and hot and we were about to get out of water, so that when we got to Rifugio Carestriato at 3pm it was a relief and we drank 1 bottle each. The course of the rifugio from the day before was over, as this one was lovely, clean, and run by great cheerful guys who were really there to help you or just for a chat.

We were also happy that that was our last night in a rifugio and couldn't wait to wake up to reach the Valley!

Day 6 – Rifugio Carestriato to Forno di Zoldo - 18km

At 7 we were up, ate out bread and jam breakfast and set off full of energies. My elbow was not getting any better and a trip to the pharmacy was due.

The first bit was a downhill on a car track to Rifugio Duran, then we followed the main road for a couple of km, and then started climbing on a forest path to Forcella Lagarei. Next bit was an endless flattish path on scree and forest tiny paths full of roots and stones, and it took some time to deal with. Finally we reached Malga Moschesin and the final climb to Forella del Moschesin. I'm glad there was that climb as it was beautiful and on top rewarded us with the final farewell view of the Dolomites. 
 

 

We then stared the long descent to the valley, stopping at Malga Pramper for a super big cheese sandwich (it was honestly huge!) and then to the the village through a beautiful and peaceful forest track, a perfect way to end the walk (the huge coppa di gelato was even a better way...).

Our beautiful room with balcony at Hotel Garní Posta

Waiting for the train in Longarone (which was a bus...)

Cortina d'Ampezzo

After saying goodbye to the Alta Via 1, we spent a couple of days in Cortina d'Ampezzo (to get there it was a bit of a mess with public transport but we made it eventually in what we remember as a surreal trip).

We stayed in the centre in the beautiful Hotel Olimpia and were highly spoiled with a beautiful balcony looking over town and the mountains around, and most important, we would spend 3 nights there = no packing for 2 mornings!! We got there at 10.30am and spent the day checking out town and planning the next 2 days. The info office was quite useless (we got the feeling that this town, apart from being super posh, is kind of too rich and they can't be bothered to work with tourists any more). We were told the bus service to the 3 Cime di Lavaredo finished that day and the only option was a taxi. We found out later that this is not true, you can get a bus to Dobiaco and from there the bus to the 3 Cime, but anyway, there we were and we thought we had to do it. We also considered cycling up and back but we were done with the hardcore bit of the holiday and thought it may have been too much.

Strolling in Cortina

Room with a view

Day 1 – 3 Cime di Lavaredo (loop + walk down to Misurina) – 16 km

So we paid €80 for a taxi up to Rifugio Auronzo, surrounded by a sea of cars and buses, good stuff it was not high season anymore...

We went for the loop anticlockwise to Rifugio Lavaredo and Locatelli, we set off with all the crowd and the first bit felt more like a procession, but later on we did manage to find some space for ourselves so that it was not too bad. The sun was fierce and way too much for me, I couldn't tolerate light anymore and the day after next I started to feel sick, still, it was worth it!

We then descended on the path to Misurina for a final view of the 3 Cime and got our taxi back from there, we really don't regret it, and adding the cycle with the heath and the amount of cars would have really been too much.

 

 

Day 2 – Cycle to St Candido and back – 68km and 1040m elevation

There is no way we would have left without a cycle on this amazing cycling paths! This is the dream of every cyclists: long, safe, panoramic, wide and well paved roads to go wherever your legs brings you!

We woke up with sunshine but the forecasts said there would have been a thunderstorm at 2pm so that we decided to go for a ½ day cycle to Lago di Leandro. We rented a couple of mountain bikes at the Snow Service Cortina, in front of the Bus Station and handly located by the cycling path and a delicious Gelateria. Off we went at 8.30am following what was once a railway, which means that the gradient was always human, despite climbing 500m to get to Passo Cime Banche. After that it was a descent to Lago d Leando, and because the sun was not out yet it was freezing!! glad I brought my jacket with me... We reached the lake early and decided to keep going to San Candido, which was a nice quite village in the valley below. The way back was even more pleasant and scenic as we could see all the mountains around, among which the 3 Cime di Lavaredo. There were many cyclists and no wonder, the path is really amazing and you can go really far away on it, something to think about in the future!

Warm up – Ca' San Marc to Rifugio Benigni – 18km

I couldn't go back to Italy without saying hi to Mum and brother, so that we flew to Bergamo first and had a warm up trek in the Orobie, one of my favourites. The path started in Ca San Marc to Rifugio Benigni and then back via Lago Pescegallo. 

http://geoportale.caibergamo.it/it/sentiero/101_5  

The weather was not the best but it held until the afternoon so that we managed to get our views and got back relatively dry.

I may have told Paul that it was all kind of flat...

I still think that I should redo my nose as an eagle nose

We also flew back home from Bergamo (there is actually a very handy bus service with Flexibus which goes from Cortina to Bergamo airport in less than 6 hours, way better than the ordeal of trains and buses we used to go to Bolzano first). 

This gave me the change to show Paul the city where I studied and Cittá Alta, and a final farewell dinner with my family, a great way to finish this trip.