In summer 2019 we traveled to Europe with two hiking objectives. The first was to thru-hike the GR5 in the French Alps and the second was to complete a thru-hike of the Alta Via 2 (AV2) in the Italian Dolomites that we’d begun two years earlier, between Aug 30 and Sep 9, 2017.
The purpose of this video is to illustrate why we felt compelled to return to the Dolomites. Unfortunately, I’d just begun to shoot video back in 2017 so this “video” review is mostly comprised of still images. Nevertheless, I hope it conveys just how fabulous the Dolomites are.
The Dolomites are fabulous not just because of the scenery and the food, but also because there are a lot of Via Ferratas and, back before we were “over the hills”, we used to do a lot of technical rock climbing. Via Ferratas make rock climbing very accessible. Minimal gear is required, just a helmet, a harness and an energy-absorbing lanyard.
Despite this gear you really don’t want to fall because a fall on a Via Ferrata is typically much more serious than a fall on a technical climbing route, and that’s especially true if you’re not leading. Even if you’re leading I believe that you’d likely fare better after a fall on a technical climbing route than you would after a comparable length fall on a via Ferrata.
We saw one woman, a member of a guided group, fall off the end of a Via Ferrata cable on the Brigata Tridentina. She and the guide both thought she’d broken her wrist. It could have been much worse.
During our 2017 hike in the Dolomites it snowed twice. The first time it snowed we stayed three nights at the fabulous Hotel Cir and got to know a couple from Seattle, John and Tara, and their friend Tanarin. They’d been following our same itinerary and schedule, but we hadn’t interacted with them very much until we were all snow-bound together. The next day John, Tanarin, Patsy and I did a couple of south-facing Via Ferratas that were close to Hotel Cir.
Last year, in 2018, John and Tara met, and then rescued, us from the PCT when we ran into heavy smoke just south of the Canadian border. Then we learned that the PCT was closed ahead of us anyway. We were able to return just over a month later and complete that last 100-mile section to the Canadian border.
John, Tara and Tanarin stayed two nights at Hotel Cir, whereas Patsy and I stayed three. Patsy and I decided to do the Via Ferrata Brigata Tridentina on our last full day staying at the hotel. When we told the receptionist at the hotel that we planned to climb the Brigata Tridentina, she was worried about us and tried to talk us out of it. We were fine on the south-facing cliff face. The return to the hotel via an icy/snowy gully was another story, but we managed to make it back in one piece. The morning we left the hotel the staff presented us with a bottle of wine as a parting gift. How often does that happen?
A few days later we spent three nights at the Hotel Tyrolia, which was also fabulous, and climbed the Via Ferrata della Trincee. The buses had stopped running since we were so late in the season, but the hotel’s owner drove us to near the start of the climb. A nice Italian family gave us a ride back to the hotel at the end of the climb.
The following day we set out to climb the Via Ferrata Paolin-Piccolin, but the approach (a 1,450 m ascent) took us so long that we figured we’d miss dinner if we did the Via Ferrata. Okay, so that was an easy decision. We turned around near the base of the climb. At Hotel Tyrolia we enjoyed three days’ meals with Michael, who had traveled by motorcycle from his home in Germany to tour the Dolomites. We also met a young couple who were using Hotel Tyrolia as a base camp for their technical rock climbing adventures. Fun was had by all.
Heavy rain started just after we reached the, once again fabulous, Hotel Arnika at Passo San Pellegrino. I’d called ahead and reserved a room for the night. It was so fabulous that we decided to stay a second night, but it turned out that this was their last night prior to taking a months-long break before reopening for the busy ski season. The forecast indicated it was going to be snowing for an entire week so we decided to head back to Treviso.
We caught a bus to Moena, stayed that night at Hotel Zirmes (very good although not quite fabulous), then made a day trip to Bolzano, hoping to see Ötzi, but the Ice Man museum is closed on Mondays. Oh well, next time. After staying another night at Hotel Zirmes we took a bus to Treviso, rented a car and spent two weeks traveling like tourists in Croatia and Slovenia.
We had such a great time in the Dolomites, on the AV2 (we’d already thru-hiked the easier AV1 in 2015), that we just had to return to finish it. Completing the AV2 will be the subject of our next few videos.
We still haven’t had enough of the Dolomites. We’d like to go back again (and again). Maybe next time we’ll see you there!
Thanks for following along. We wish you all an adventure-filled, happy new decade.