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Published on Leave a comment on Hiking through the Sella Group

Another summer.. another holiday in the Dolomites 🙂 This year we planned to spend our holiday in the Sella group.

On our way to Italy we stopped in Munich to visit the worlds biggest boulder hall. That was a lot of fun! The next day we took the train to Brixen. From there a bus is going to Wolkenstein. In Wolkenstein we had a really nice accommodation called Garni Chalet Elisabeth.
We spent the afternoon walking through the town. In the evening a huge thunderstorm came over the town. We hurried through the rain to the next pizza restaurant and spent the evening there. The thunderstorm took about 5-6 hours!

The next morning it was cold, but blue sky. We had a really great breakfast at Garni Chalet Elisabeth. During breakfast we heard in the radio that the road to Grödner Joch is closed because of falling stones after the thunderstorm. But still we walked to the bus stop. Actually we wanted to take the bus to Grödner Joch, but as said in the news, the road was still closed and no bus appeared. So we started walking to Grödner Joch. It took about 1,5 hours.

When we arrived at Grödner Joch black clouds already appeared at some parts of the sky, but over us blue sky was still visible. Therefore we decided to take the via ferrata Piscadu to the Piscadu hut. The start of the via ferrata (which is said to be the mostly walked via ferrata in the whole Dolomites) was very nice. But after about an hour more black clouds started to appear over us and we became a bit nervous - a thunderstorm inside a via ferrata is no fun. We were quite quick and then we came up to some really slow people. They seemed to move in slow motion... That was enough and no longer fun. Walking behind a group of slow people and bad weather coming.. therefore we decided after half way to leave the via ferrata and continue on a path up to the Piscadu hut. When we arrived at the hut we had something to drink. In the afternoon the weather was very unsettled - clouds and sunshine. When the sun came out we enjoyed it a few meters away from the hut at a nice place. The dinner was great, we had the first Kaiserschmarrn this year 😀
We shared our room with six other guys from Italy. They were very funny. We slept quite well and woke up with a beautiful blue sky the next morning.

After breakfast we decided to go up the Cima Piscadu. The summit is 2985 meters high. The way up to the summit is really nice, not an ordinary path, but a lot of rock and sometimes you need to climb a little bit. We enjoyed the view from the top - we could see many white clouds above the valley and some dark clouds behind us. After the descend of Cima Piscadu we followed the path in the direction of Rifugio Boe. The landscape there is very different to the parts of the Dolomites we have seen before. We go over a huge plateau.
Then a few meters up and down again and we arrive at the Rifugio Boe. There we take a short break and then decide to go up to the Piz Boe. On the way up we meet many many people which took the cablecar. After about one hour we arrive at the summit of Piz Boe at 3115 meters. Unfortunately it is very cloudy and we cannot see the Marmolada. Actually the idea to visit the Sella group came into our mind when we stood up on the Marmolada summit and looked at the Sella group. From there the Piz Boe looked like a huge pyramid. From the summit we started to descend in the direction of the Rifugio Pordio. On the way down many many people were still coming up from the cablecar. On the Pordoi Hut we had a nice room - and even a hot shower. We walked a bit around in the afternoon and enjoyed a huge dinner 🙂

The next morning we woke up with sunshine and blue sky again. Today we planned to go to Rifugio Kostner. There are many ways leading to this hut. We decided to walk up the Piz Boe again, this time from the other side. It was the most beautiful morning we had during this time in Italy. On our way we had a great view to the Marmolada and only a few people were on the summit when we arrived there.
We took a break and then decided to follow an exposed path in the direction of Rifugio Kostner. Unfortunately very black clouds arrived again 🙁
The Rifugio Kostner is a very nice hut. We left some stuff in our room and decided to walk around a bit in the afternoon. We wanted to go up the normal path to the Boeseekofel. After half an hour we saw that for the normal path also via ferrata gear would be required.. and more black clouds were coming.. therefore we decided to not go up to the top. Instead we walked around some easier paths, took photos and enjoyed the landscape. After some time it started to rain.. and we disappeared inside the hut. There was again a hot shower which was really nice and then we waited for dinner. The dinner was really the best we ever had on a hut I think. It started with a glass of white wine, followed by a salad. Then spinach dumplings. Next schnitzel with fries and afterwards chocolate cream. Really good!! 🙂 Shortly after dinner we disappeared in our bed..

The next morning started really cloudy. We had an amazing breakfast and afterwards started to go back down to the valley. During the descend we could see only 2 meters and were completely wet when we arrived back in the town. But the sun came out and we were dry again after a few minutes. We took the bus back to Wolkenstein and went back to our accommodation. Before we started our trip trough the Sella group we left some stuff there. We now picked it up again and waited in a nice Italian bar until the next bus to Brixen arrived. Then we took the bus to Brixen which had no air conditioning, it was really hot and horrible.
Nevertheless we arrived just in time at the train station to get the next train to Innsbruck. Innsbruck should be our stopover on the way to Switzerland.

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Published on Leave a comment on Tour through the Sextener Dolomites

In 2011 we decided to spend our summer holiday in the Sextener Dolomites! We had seen the Tre Cime di Lavaredo on many photos and read about them in so many books that we finally wanted to have a look at them by ourselfes.

So we took the train to Fortezza where we stayed for one night in a hotel close to the train station. The next morning we continued our journey to San Candido. In San Candido we took the bus to Kreuzbergpass. There we wanted to start.

At Kreuzbergpass we were welcomed with lots of sunshine and blue sky! What a good start for some days of hiking! We went up and up until we arrived at the Rifugio Berti. Because this was the first day we did not want to walk too much. So we had a drink and left our bags at the hut. Then we walked around a bit, lay in the sunshine and watched the clouds. The clouds were amazing! We thought that this clouds could lead to a thunderstorm... but there was no one this afternoon. We enjoyed dinner at the hut and discussed if we should take the via ferrata Roghel or the Alpinisteig the next day. This was not a long discussion, because we were both convinced that the Via ferrata Roghel would be more fun 😀

In the night we woke up because there was a huge thunderstorm!
The next morning the sky was very cloudy and we were not so sure if the via ferrata Roghel (which is quite difficult) is still the right choice for this day.. we talked to the owner of the hut, but he said that it will be ok. Therefore we started to walk to the beginning of the via ferrata. A long way up! From the beginning we could the that three men who stayed with us at the hut walked the same way. We couldn't believe it, but when we arrived at the beginning of the via ferrata Roghel the sky was blue - not even one cloud could be seen! We were in a good mood and started to climb up. A really nice via ferrata!! When we arrived at the top we took some photos and climbed down again. Down was not so nice, but it was ok. At the end of the via ferrata we reached a snowfield. We had no crampons and it was quite slippery. After we had passed it we could see a bivouac. And we could see even more.. the weather was changing again! No more blue sky, but dark clouds! We do not like this kind of sky! We had to make decision.. stay at the bivouac over night and wait if a thunderstorm will arrive... or risk it and continue via the via ferrata Gabriella to the Rifugio Carducci. We decided to continue, because it was not soo late yet. From the via ferrata Gabriella we could see the other three climbers still at the descend of the via ferrata Roghel. The via ferrata Gabriela is really nice, Brenta-like!
We enjoyed the first minutes, but then we felt some rain coming down.. or was it just water which came through the mountain? We became nervous, because the air was quite humid and the sky covered with clouds. But we had to continue.. we became quite fast and hurried safely trough the via ferrata. When we came around a corner we could see the Rifugio Carducci. But above the hut really dark clouds!! We had no time for a break and continue. When we reached the descend with its fixed ropes it started to rain! Luckily the rain was not very heavy. During the last part of the descend we had to go down a snowfield. Because of this snowfield we could not access the fixed ropes. Unfortunately the rain became very heavy at this moment and it was slippery. At least there was not yet a thunderstorm. There was a textile rope fixed above the snowfield. We used this to descend. At this time we were completely wet and only one person was able to use the rope at a time. We started to become cold, but we reached the end of the snowfield without any problems. When we finished the snowfield it stopped raining and the sun came out again - weather almost like in April. We had to take a break, because we were very exhausted. So we sat down and ate something. But after a few minutes we could hear thunder! We thought that the hut must be right around the next corner and felt quite safe. We started to walk again and felt very exhausted. Then we saw that it is still a long way up to the hut! The last minutes we were very slow and we heard the thunder. We were so happy when we reached the hut!! The Rifugio Carducci is a really nice hut. The owner is a nice and funny man! We sat down, a nice cappucino, learned some words in Italian and enjoyed the view around. When we had dinner the other three man arrived - around three hours after us.. They were also really exhausted.. After this exciting day we decided to rename the via ferrata Roghel to via ferrata Rock Hell. In the evening the owner of the hut told us that the mountain rescue team had to help six people out of this via ferrata yesterday...

The next morning after a nice breakfast we walked in the direction of the Zsigmondy hut. We passed it and walked along to the Drei Zinnen Hütte. When we came around a corner we could see the Tre Cime for the first time - amazing! But there were so many people!! We had something to eat and to drink and decided to pack our bags to do the via ferrata Toblinger Knoten. So we walked to the beginning - it was full with unexperienced people! People who already had problems at the easy beginning and people who caused many falling stones! And the weather was again not looking good. So we decided to not do the via ferrata this time. Instead we looked for nice and lonely place with a great view and spend the evening there laying around and recovering from yesterday..

The next morning we enjoyed a lonely breakfast in front of the Drei Zinnen Hütte. We were the first people who were up this morning, because we wanted to the via ferrata Paternkofel without so many people around. We hesistated a bit because the weather was still not good and there was said to be a thunderstorm later the day.. But then we decided to do the via ferrata. So we walked through a long long dark tunnel until we reached the beginning of the via ferrata. This via ferrata was quite easy and after a few minutes we were on top of the Paternkofel - alone and the first people this day. We enjoyed the view but because of the insecure weather we started to descend quickly. Then we walked along the Schartenweg to the Büllelejochhütte. A great path! We passed the hut and walked along to the Zsigmondy hut. We arrived there around lunch time. We had some drinks and some food and spent the afternoon watching the clouds. In the evening heavy rain began.

The next morning the weather looked really bad. So instead of going the Alpinisteig we decided to go down to the valley and take the bus to San Candido. On the way down we saw many flowers! We enjoyed these colourful plants and arrived safely back in Sexten. There we took the bus to Cortina d'Ampezzo. We hoped that the weather would change again and that it would be possible to do a two days trip trough the Ampezzaner Dolomites. But the weather stayed bad - at least in the Dolomites. Therefore we decided to go to Venice instead - afterwards we can say that this was a good decision 🙂

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Published on Leave a comment on Hiking through the Brenta

We decided to spent our summer dolomiti holiday 2010 in the Brenta. It was the beginning of September and we took the train from Stuttgart to Trento. There we stayed in a hostel next to the train station. It was very noisy the whole night and we slept quite bad. The next morning we take the bus from Trento to Madonna di Campiglio. During the drive it is raining and getting colder. When we arrive we go to the next supermarket and buy some food.
It's really cold. We start to walk and after a few minutes the sun comes out! The blue sky is coming. The weather is changing, really good. So we continue to walk up to the Rifugio Graffer.
There we want to spend the first night. We walk up to the Passo Groste and enjoy being back in the Dolomites.
The next morning we wanted to the first part of the Bocchette way through the whole Brenta. We walk again up to the Passo Groste and go to the beginning of the first via ferrata. Actually the weather is fine, but
a storm is coming. It's really windy and the path is frozen! We think and think and thinks and finally decide to go back down and walk an easy path to the Rifugio Tuckett. Arriving there it is still very windy.
We think it was a good decision to go back, because we didn't know how frozen and difficult the via ferrata would have been. From the Rifugio Tuckett we take the via ferrata SOSAT to the Rifugio Alimonta. The Rifugio Alimonta is
wonderfully situated in the heart of the Brenta. We are lucky - there are only two more beds available for this night, and we can have them! We have some drinks and great food and talk to some people and decide to do the
Bocchette Centrale the next day. Because we went a different way then planned today we cannot do the Bocchette Alte (which is longest and most difficult of the via ferratas in the Brenta). But the whole mountain
range here is wonderful, so it does not really matter which way you are going.
The next morning we walk up a little glacier and enjoy the view from the Bocchette Centrale. We walk along the path and around the 'Needle'. Then we arrive at the Rifugio Tosa around lunch time. We have some
spagetti and decide to spent the afternoon relaxing in the sunshine. What a great time!
The next morning we start early and go up to the beginning of the Sent. Brentari/Sent. dell'Ideale. We climb up and down until we reach the d'Ambiez glacier. We walk over the glacier to the beginning of the next via ferrata part.
Another up and down and then the next glacier. With our crampons these glaciers are no problem, but without them it can be very slippery. After the last glacier we walk for another hour until we arrive at the XII Apostel Hut.
What a cosy hut with a nice warm oven! We enjoy the evening and night there. The next morning there are many clouds and we walk back down to Madonna di Campiglio. A great tour trough the wonderful Brenta! Lots of sunshine and blue sky - no Brenta fog 🙂

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Published on Leave a comment on Surrounding the Rosengarten

End of june 2008 we decided to visit the Rosengarten. Form Germany, we take the train to Bolzano. After a few minutes walking we arrive at the bus station. We take the bus going to Vigo di Fassa and get off at station Karerpass. Our first destination is the Paolina Hut (2125m).

After a short break we continue walking to Rifugio Fronza (Koelner Hut) (2337m). There we take a longer break eating a cheese and bread. Our plan is to pass the Tschager Joch and then to go further to Rifugio Vaiolet.

However, due to lots of snow in the above areas we change our plans. We head back to Rifugio Fronza and walk to Rifugio Roda di Vael (Rotwandhütte) (2283m). On that way we pass the eagle monument which remembers Theodor Christomanos.

Arriving at Rifugio Roda di Vael it turns out that this hut is currently closed due to renovation (an hour ago we met a man who told us that he is just coming from Rifugio Roda di Vael - probably for him it was just a minor detail that the hut is currently closed....). This is the moment we learned to always call a hut before we go for it... - at least in Italy. We decided to proceed to Rifugio Ciampedie which was approximatly 90 minutes away. On our way we see some quite interesting rock walls.

Quite exhausted, we finally arrive at this really nice hut. The next morning the weather is as good as it can be. Our todays goal is Rifugio Antermoia (2498m). We plan to go to Rifugio Gardecia and then take the Scalette via ferrata to Passo delle Scalette, 2348m. From there we want further proceed to Rifugio Antermoia. The first part of the way from Rifugio Ciampedie to Rifugio Gardecia is a 30 minutes walk. We follow the signs. The road turns into a small path which leads us through wood and rock up the hill.

After maybe an hour the wood disappeared. We reach the beginning of the Scalette via ferrata. In front of us lies a more or less steep path through the rocks. To the left and to the right we see large walls of stone. Technically, the via ferrata is quite easy - but still exhausting since it is going upstairs all the time. Only the last part is secured by a steel rope.

After an hour we arrive at Passo delle Scalette, 2348m. We continue walking on a plateau for some time until it becomes steeper again. Arriving at the top, we can already see Rifugio Antermoia. To the left we see the Antermoia Lake.

After approximately 5 hours, 750m up and 250m down we finally arrive at Rifugio Antermoia. We are so hungry that we almost can't wait for dinner. Finally, we both have two different meals 😀 The beds in Rifugio Antermoia are quite nice since they have three levels... we sleep like being dead.

Since we really liked Rifugio iCampedie we plan to go back there the next morning. We plan to pass the Grassleitenpass, the Grassleitenpasshütte (2601m), Rifugio Vajolet (2243m) and Rifugio Gardecia heading back to Rifugio Ciampedie.

First, we pass Lake Antermoia. Until we reach a sign which is still surrounded by snow. Passing along we leave another plateau beyond us. Finally we arrive at the Grassleitenpass from where we can already see the Grassleitenpasshütte.

From up here we follow the signs back to Rifugio Ciampedie. There we again had a beautiful evening and a great lunch 🙂

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