Italy – Page 4

Val d’Aosta redux

September 8, 2019

Last month I returned to the Val d’Aosta for 10 days hiking in the amazing Italian Alps. I managed to secure an AirBnb apartment above St. Nicolas at 1550m elevation (the valley is only about 900m here) with a great view looking south to Gran Paradiso National Park. Although I never made it across the valley and into the park (see my blog post from last August that included GPNP), I was well placed to do several interesting hikes either directly from my front door or necessitating only a short drive to the trailhead.

Morning view from the shared balcony of my apartment. The Grivola summit was almost always shrouded in clouds.

A piazza in Vens, a hamlet located about 20 minutes walking uphill from my apartment. Note the traditional shale roofs on the houses.

Cappella della Madonna delle Neve, near Lago di Joux above Vens.

View on the descent to Vens with Gran Paradiso NP behind

Less than 30 minutes walking from my place, this canalized stream near the hamlet of Vedun reminded me of the Levadas of Madeira.

Fireweed with Monte Bianco, taken from near Vedun (and . There were some nice “balcony” trails right out of my apartment. This morning view (very similar to a photo from last year) was taken before Monte Bianco became completely cloud-covered

This is a view on the trail north of Punta Oilletta looking towards Punta Leysser. I did a longish loop hike/scramble up from Lago di Joux.

A Cobweb House-leek. It was late in the season for many flowers. Although I managed photos of several species, nearly all (including this one) I had photographed last year and included in my blog. Oh, well!

My final big hike above the Val d’Aosta was to the summit of Monte Fallere. Here the view is near the start of the hike in Vetan, looking back towards the trailhead.

“Ibex” seen near Rifugio Monte Fallere. Someone there is quite a sculptor as there were several dozen wood sculptures of animals and people along the path up to the rifugio, about 1/2 the way to the summit.

The Monte Fallere ridge traverse. Only about 15 minutes, but airy enough to have some chains installed!

Monte Fallere domesticated Ibex. With bells on their necks, from a distance I thought they were cows. The alpha male took exception to my presence close to his herd, and I discreetly retreated after a couple of photos.

A misty morning view from my apartment towards Gran Paradiso NP. I never get tired of mountain views!

As my sojourn in Italy continues, stay tuned for some photos from the Dolomites and Lago Garda. . .

The Vagabond Hiker

Walks and Ferratas among the High Peaks of the Dolomites

September 15, 2018

Early morning a few hours before my flight to Dubrovnik Croatia, and I hastily dash off another blog post. During the past three weeks I have done some easier hiking in the meadows and woods of the Dolomites as well as some adrenaline-pumping climbs on expert level via ferratas (VF), again with OnTop Mountaineering out of Canmore, Alberta. First the easier hikes and walks…

Cencenighe Agordino. A late August morning view from my apartment after snowfall the night before.

View of Lago Alleghe. The giro di Alleghe was a pleasant one hour stroll around the lake.

View of part of the Civetta Massif from the Pian de Pelsa, following a 900m ascent on a gondola from the town of Alleghe.

Rigugio Coldai on Civetta. This hike was along the northwest flank of this mighty mountain.

Detail of Common Monkshood seen above Rifugio Coldai

Lago Coldai on Civetta’s Northwest flank

Willow-leaved Gentian seen on the descent through the woods from Civetta’s northwest flank

Lago Alleghe from the descent to Masare from Civetta’s northwest flank. The town of Alleghe is partially seen on the right side of the lake.

Meadow Saffron (aka Autumn Crocus) above Cencenighe. There were fields of these flowers in bloom.

Civetta in clouds from its eastern side during my circuit of Monte Pelmo hike. This day was the only one I was caught out in the rain.

Cencenighe Agordino, behind my apartment. This road becomes the path that traverses high above the Cordevole Valley up to Lago Alleghe

Interesting mushroom on the path above the Cordevole valley

A typical view along the high level path above the Cordevole valley. It was wonderful finding such a lovely walk right out my back door.

And now the ferratas. All the photos with me in them were taken by another client, Ron, who was our unofficial photographer. My thanks to him for sharing these with me so quickly.

Climbing at the start of the Via Ferrata delle Trincee, with our guide Walter below me.

The Marmolada in clouds from the VF Trincee. We would climb it only 3 days later.

Climbing on VF delle Trincee, definitely expert grade, though not a particularly long route.

Our OnTop group on a VF della Trincee knife edge. Note the wooden bridge.

The Civetta Northwest face from VF della Trincee

Ron traversing on the VF Tomaselli with a lot of air beneath him

Me pulling over a crux on the VF Tomaselli

View of where we climbed up to Punta Sud on the VF Tomaselli. Despite appearances, it didn’t rain where we were that day.

The Moiazza (VF Costantini) in the early morning light. This was our longest day, about 11 hours and 1500 meters gain on this expert level ferrata.

Smiling during a short rest on the VF Costantini

Monte Pelmo from Moiazza. This not-so-good photo shows the mountain from the south. I had just done the circuit the week before.

Our group that reached the top of Moiazza Sud (2878m)

Me descending a crux on the VF Costantini. My carabiner got caught on a U-bolt here, necessitating me using a Quick Draw to help free it.

Our full group on day 4, the VF Marmolada to the top of Marmolada.

Our group ascending an ice field on Marmolada. I am in front here

Another group heading up the Marmolada West Ridge VF route

Me with Miriam behind, ascending an easy snow field on Marmolada

View north from Punta Penia on the Marmolada, the highest in the Dolomites at 3343 m.

Punta Penia rifugio on Marmolada. They bring in supplies by helicopter, making the $4.50 for a soda a relative bargain.

Chopper seen hovering from Punta Penia. I’m not quite sure what that building is.

Panorama of me and others in our group hiking up to the VF Cesare Piazzetta on day 5. The top of this massif is Piz Boe, although our route didn’t go all the way to the summit.

Our guide Walter, with Ed and Luba behind, climbing the Piazzetta

Me on an ascending traverse of VF Cesare Piazzetta

Me crossing a bridge on the VF Cesare Piazzetta.

Our guide Walter having a well-earned rest at the gondola station after completing the VF Cesare Piazzetta. Gondola ascents and/or descents were always welcome wherever possible.

My next post will be at the beginning of October after my hikes in Croatia and Bosnia these next two weeks. Until then, enjoy the autumn outdoors,

The Vagabond Hiker

The Brenta Dolomites: the Via Ferrata Bocchette

September 4, 2018

Back in Italy after my brief sojourn in the Balkans, I headed to Madonna di Campiglio, a small ski town in the winter that in the summer is transformed into an excellent base for hiking and climbing the Brenta Dolomites. Lying west of the Adige Valley, the Brenta Group, while geographically separate from the rest of the Dolomites, are, geologically identical. Furthermore, they boast a fantastic multi-day high level traverse that incorporates several via ferratas* and some sublimely-located rifugios*, or alpine huts. (For those of you not familiar with via ferratas, or the “iron way,” they are made up of cables and ladders into which one can clip, often using a special ferrata lanyard. Helmets and harnesses are obligatory).

Along with another client, I did a 5-day traverse with a local guide, staying in four different rifugios along the way. Highlights from the week are shown in the following photos. Those with me in them were taken by our guide, Martino. All others are mine. Enjoy!

* – the correct Italian plural for rifugio is rifugi and for ferrata is ferrate

Madonna di Campiglio from my garret room in the Hotel Arnica

A view of the Brentas as we approach them from the north on the first day. We took the gondola lift up to about 1900 meters, saving a long slog to the start of our north-to-south route.

A view with Rhaetian poppies on day 1 of the five day traverse. Late in the season, we didn’t see many flowers at elevations ranging from 1900 to 3173 meters.

Our guide, Martino, leading, with the other client, Elaine, on a ledge traverse on the Via Benini on day 1. The first day featured some easy wide ledges such as this one, along with numerous ladders.

Early morning view above Rifugio Tuckett on day 2. Staying in high level *rifugios*, we were able to reach the start of the *ferratas* in an hour or less each morning.

Dawn alpenglow on day 3, seen from the Rifugio Alimonta

At the top of the glacier we ascended on day 3, looking back towards the Rifugio Alimonta. These rifugios charge about 50 Euros for a bed in a dorm room with half board (dinner and breakfast).

A long ladder heralded the start of the day 3 Via Ferrata Bochette Centrale

Other climbers behind us after the glacier climb. We left the *rifugio* at about 6:30 to get a head start on some large, slow groups.

On an exposed section of the Bochette Centrale. This day had arguably the best climbing of the entire trip.

Me waving to the camera on ledge traverse of the Bocchete Centrale

Showing the ferrata lanyard rig tied into my harness

Watching the mist roll in while on a ledge traverse

Some rare greenery, looking down from Via Ferrata Bochette Centrale

Rifugio Tosa, our home for the third night

Elaine and Martino heading up for our afternoon climb near Rifugio Tosa, day 3. Most days we arrived early in the afternoon, after about 6-7 hours of ferratas. Here the good weather and some ropes and hardware supplied by the rifugio staff made for a fun addition to the schedule.

A quick rest break on our climb, with Elaine. Having an certified local guide paid huge dividends.

Early morning alpenglow and rainbow segment from the Rifugio Tosa. It was definitely worthwhile getting up a half hour early this day!

Cima Tosa south wall which we climbed on day 4. This was another addition Martino made to the schedule as the weather looked good and we had been making excellent time each day.

Climbing with Elaine on Cima Tosa. Mostly it was scrambling, but there was a lot of exposure in places.

Cima Tosa summit with Madonna. It is the highest peak in the Brenta Group at 3173 meters (10,410 ft).

Panorama from the Cima Tosa summit, showing the Alps off to the northwest

A view of the Brenta Dolomites, including the *Campanile Basso* seen on the left here

Martino and others descending to the Rifugio Agostini on day 4

View from my Rifugio Agostini bunk. Everything was supplied for sleeping, apart from a mandatory sleeping bag liner.

Climbing with Elaine on day 5, with an amazing backdrop

On our final ferrata descent on day 5. I’m in the lower middle of the photo here.

Vista with fireweed (Rosebay Willowherb) on the final day on our way down to the valley

Rifugio Brentei on our final descent. We stopped for a coffee here.

Currently I am renting an apartment in the small town of Cencenighe Agordino in the province of Belluna in the Dolomites, doing some “low level” hiking when the unsettled weather permits. Next week I will be doing some more via ferratas, including on the Marmolada and on the Civetta, two famous nearby mountains. Until my next blog,

keep on hiking!

The Vagabond Hiker

Val d’Aosta redux

Walks and Ferratas among the High Peaks of the Dolomites

The Brenta Dolomites: the Via Ferrata Bocchette

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