Venice

Thursday 15^th September to Monday 19^th September 2016

We went from Dobbiaco to Venice via Bolzano where we stopped off to see the iceman. Gill and Nick met us at the train and we went straight for Spritzers (it being way past beer o’clock at 6.20pm).

This was an evening routine for the next few days as we spent time relaxing at Gill and Nics, doing our washing, going for long walks around Venice (more of Gill’s strolls!), eating gelato, shopping and generally chilling.

We had our second day of rain while we were there but it didn’t matter because there was nothing we had to do.

Also visited the museum at the Jewish ghetto which we hadn’t done before and went out to dinner.

Nic's tiramisu

For the kids -hint - in St Mark's Square

View from Gill and Nicks terrace

Stage 10 - Rifugio Bianchet to La Pissa

Wednesday 14^th September 2016

6kms, 800m height loss, 1.75hrs walking

 Left the rifugio at 7.25am to descend the final 800m of the AV1 and catch the bus back to civilization. The descent was on a fairly steep track, then the 503 and finally the bitumen to the bus stop at La Pissa. Caught the 9.40 bus to Belluno to pick up our AV1 badges from the tourist office and then caught 2 further buses to Cortina and then Dobbiaco where our excess gear was stored in a locker at the youth hostel.

Stayed the night at the Dobbiaco youth hostel and had a little shopping spree on minerals and fossils from the best rock shop we have ever seen.

Stage 9 - Malga Pramper to Rifugio Bianchet

Tuesday 13^th September 2016

14.4kms, 1200m height gain, 1350m height loss, 7hrs walking

 This was our toughest day’s walking firstly because we had to ascend an extra 300m which we had lost by staying at the Malga and not the rifugio which was booked out and secondly because we went beyond the stage end to give ourselves a quicker exit from the track the next day.

The ascent back to the AV1 and the 514 was made fairly quickly via the 523. We caught up to a big French group at Portela del Piazedel (2097m) and saw 2 chamois (our live chamois count had now tripled!). We continued upwards across an exposed ridge to Forcella de Zita Sud (2395m) which involved an essentially vertical scramble. This was probably the most challenging section of the AV1 for me. The descent to Pian de Fontana (1632m) was also steep but very doable with the first warning signs we has seen. We saw lots of marmots and a herd of 19 chamois plus a lone male on this section of the track which crossed a grassy valley between the two steep sections. We had a well-deserved hot chocolate once we arrived at the rifugio.

The afternoon continued with a further descent before a climb to Forcella La Varetta (1701m) and then an exposed belvedere before a further 450m descent to Rifugio Bianchet (1245m). While neither Andy or I found the belvedere challenging some other walkers on the trail did. My knees were certainly sore when we arrived and we had certainly earnt our beers.

Breakfast at Malta Pramper

Stage 8 - Rifgio Carestiato to Malga Pramper

Monday 12^th September 2016

13kms, 550m height gain, 830m height loss, 6hrs walking

 Walked down a road and then path to Passo Duran. Stopped at Rifugio San Sebastiano where we had morning tea and looked at all the mineral specimens on display at the rifugio. Continued down the road and took the 543 which we would follow for most of the day. We followed a climbing belvedere across scree and through forest, firstly to Forcella Dagarei (1620m), the Malga Moschesin (1800m) and finally Forcella del Moschesin (1940m). We passed an abandoned army barracks and then descended to Malga Pramper. Malga Pramper turned out to be a real surprise with a spacious dorm, hot showers and traditional food. It was also a working dairy farm and we got to watch the cows being milked, sample the cheese, butter and cream made at the farm and view the cheese room. Andy also got to taste the homemade grappa after dinner.

Stage 7 - Rifugio Tissi to Rifugio Carestiato

Sunday 11^th September 2016

14kms, 774m height gain, 941m height loss, 7.5hrs walking

 

Walked to Rifugio Vazzoler (1714m) where we had morning tea and then continued down the road until we reached the 554 track. We separated from Gill and Nic who headed back to Venice at this point. We continued to Forcella Col dell’Orso (1823m). It was initially a belvedere but turned into a hard uphill slog in very humid conditions. Once we had crossed the forcella we had a long traverse across a scree slope before climbing through a meadow to Forcella del Camp (1933m). From here on it was a belvedere across scree slopes and finally a larch wood to pop out at Rifugio Carestiato (1839m) which is perched on an old glacial moraine. 

Stage 6 - Rifugi Passo Staulanza to Rifugio Tissi

Saturday 10^th September 2016

8.8kms, 1077m height gain, 606m height loss, 6hrs walking

 Started on the bitumen and then farm track to Malga Vescova (1734). Then uphill via a zig zagging mule track to Rifugio Coldai (2132m). Had morning tea and then continued uphill to Forcella Col Negro (2203m) then down to Lago Coldai for lunch. Andy considered a swim but settled for skimming rocks. Serious downhill over boulders and scree before climbing again to Forcella di Col Rean (2107m) and Rifugio Tissi. Rifugio Tissi has amazing views of the Civetta. Unfortunately there was slight cloud cover but it was still pretty good.

Typical Morning Tea