Alta Via 1, Part 3

We spent most of day 5 hiking with our new friends Anh and Keaton, heading out from Refugio Averau in the morning. The morning scenery featured some iconic Dolomite vistas, passing nearby Cinque Torri and many other dramatic rock formations. Along the trail, we passed the crumbling remains of a notable military fort carved into the granite at the base of the peaks. We descended through some weathered canyons, then made our down to a roadside Refugio that was a popular stopping point for motorcyclists. From there, it was a short but steep climb to one of the other spectacular views of the trail, a bowl-shaped valley rimmed with peaks and a monumental grassy slope that seemed like a ramp to the sky. My little Alta Via guidebook talked about how this valley used to an ancient hunting ground, where animals would be funneled into the valley, and hunters would block the few entry points, trapping their prey. We said farewell to our hiking pals who were splitting off to go into town, and continued along the Alta Via.

Alta Via 1, Part 2

Day 3 was short, but it featured one of the most memorable stretches of the trail. The morning started with a climb into the hills surrounding Rifugio Lavarella, with the trail eventually transitioning to a relatively flat gravel road for a few mellow miles. We decided to make things a little more exciting by taking an alternate over a nearby pass. The trail quickly started climbing along the steep hillside, headed towards the distant notch in the mountains. We were keeping pace with the couple we met the other night at Lavarella, and took turns taking photos as we approached the top of the pass. The views from the top of Forcella di Lago were dramatic. Standing at the top of the pass, we were flanked by steep cliffs rising up on either side of us, with views of Lagazuoi across the valley and a pale blue pond immediately below the pass. The descent was marked by the most ridiculous series of switchbacks that I’ve ever encountered. I don’t believe it’s an exaggeration to say that there were over 100 zigzagging down the steep slope.

Alta Via 1, Part 1

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.