Alta Via 1, Part 1
Day 1, Lago di Brais, the Alta Via 1 terminus
Day 1, The opposite shore of Lago di Brais.
Day 1, Alex on the steep section with cables.
Day 1, View of Refugio Dibella.
Day 1, Green rolling hills with wildflowers.
Day 1, Refugio Fodara Vedla.
Day 1, Sunset after our first day.
In June 2022, Alex and I hiked most of the Alta Via 1 in the Italian Dolomites. We were traveling to Europe for Munich Jewellery Week, and we decided to spend a week hiking beforehand. I thought the Alta Via would be the perfect introduction to backpacking for Alex since we would sleep indoors at the trailside refugios and get to enjoy delicious food and drinks along the way. The whole trail is about 75 miles and goes from Lago di Brais to La Pissa. We ended up hiking about 60ish miles in total because that’s all we had time for in our schedule. It was a little tricky to plan the logistics and mileage around the refugios (camping isn’t allowed) so that created some awkwardly short days. Still, I didn’t want to push my luck with bigger days to try and ensure that Alex would enjoy the experience.
We flew into Venice and took a series of trains and buses to a small town near the start of the trail to stay the night before we began. On the morning of June 26th, we got a bus to Lago di Braies, the Alta Via 1 terminus. The lake was a stunning turquoise, dotted with little rowboats and surrounded by peaks. The trail passed around the lake, then started to climb into the hills on the opposite shore. We ascended for a while, every so often, glancing back over the lake where we had just come from. There was even a short section that zigzagged steeply up a rocky slope with iron cables bolted into the rock, a little taste of what’s possible on the via ferrata routes in the area.
At the crest of the climb, the view looked out onto Rifugio Biella, the first on the trail, nestled down in the speckled valley. We sat down at a picnic table outside and had a beer and a snack. Being able to stop for lunch breaks at the refugios along the way was another alluring quality of the Alta Via 1. After our break, we passed through green rolling hills and saw our first cows loitering on the path and grazing in the grass. The sound of their bells was a constant soundtrack. At the end of the day, we came to Refugio Fodara Vedla, where we’d stay for the night. I got a spritz, Alex got wine, and we roamed around the property, taking in the scenery. There was a multi-course dinner and even a fire once the sun went down.
Our second day was much shorter. We got to Rifugio Lavarella fairly early in the day, which gave us plenty of time to sit in the sun at the picnic tables. We explored a bit; the surrounding land had tons of little streams. There were tiny tributaries that cut narrow crevices into the rock that you had to step across by hopping from one spongy tuft of grass to the next. Alex went for a quick swim in the small blue alpine lake. Back around the picnic tables, we befriended another couple from the United States and talked with them for a while. It was an early night for us after spending hours roaming around the landscape.
Day 1: Lago di Braies to Rifugio Fodara Vedla (9.5 miles, 4100 feet)
Day 2: Rifugio Fodara Vedla to Rifugio Lavarella (5.75 miles, 1906 feet)
Day 2, Meadow views approaching the Refugio.
Day 2, Alex and the alpine lake.
Day 2, Refugio Lavarella.
Day 2, Alpenglow after our second day on trail.