Day 5/6 Dolomites: Foodie Heaven and Hard Trekking
Trek starting point. Cinque Torri.
Elevation gain 1560 feet (474.5 metres) Elevation loss: 1900 feet (579.1 metres)
One thing about trekking, the mileage is not as important as elevation loss and gain, and your starting elevation level also gives you an indication of the degree of difficulty ahead. The higher you are, the less oxygen you breathe, so you need to work harder going up and down hills.
Also, conditions are important. You can travel a short distance but if it's steep and the ground is scree with medium sized moving rocks, then it can be quite difficult. Maintaining your balance as you ascend and descend can be very challenging. If it's raining, the terrain becomes slippery and downhill needs to be approached carefully. Yesterday, we had scree/rocky terrain up and down steep hills but fortunately, no rain.
On day 5 we started off at the base of the Cinque Torri, accessible from Cortina d'Ampezzo via gondola. This is where you find the open World War I museum, which contains what is left of the settlement of the Command of the Artillery Group from the Italian mountains. From here, cannons trained on the Austrian emplacements of Lagazuoi, during the first World War. You see still intact trenches and shelters.
World War I cannon rooms and hospital
The army hospital hidden at the top of the mountains.
As we crossed the valley in between the mountains, we saw many climbers, taking advantage of the smaller hills and fantastic weather.
The climber's outline is visible on the left.
Climbers on top of the rock.
The Italian army training train to climb in the mountains.
Rifugio Nuvalao (on top, this is their website photo)
Our ultimate goal was to reach the rifugio Nuvolao, on top of the monte Nuvolao, at 2575 metres. The effort is well worth it for it's incomparable 360 degree panoramic views, from the Marmolada mountain (the highest in the Dolomites), the Tofana mountains and Austrain glaciers. The rifugio is one of the oldest in the Dolomites, founded in 1883 and has no hotel facilities (warm water, showers, etc) just basic dormitories. Still, you can grab a great sandwich and a beer there.
They make good sandwiches but do not talk to them as the sign says, they're concentrating!
Just in front of the rifugio with the great views.
Marmolada , 3343 metres (about 10,968 feet) snow capped. It lies between Trentino and Veneto as seen from the rifugio.
After our descent, we proceeded to Rifugio Averau, for a delicious meal. It's been listed by the Sunday Times as one of the ten best restaurants of the Alps. It is at 2413 metres (7917 feet). If you are having lunch at the terrace, you have the stunning sight of the Cirvetta mountain and the Marmolada.
I started with the schüttelbrot (crisp flat bread) with deep fried mushrooms and a salad.
Then a trio of pasta: gnocchi with Gorgonzola, tagliolini with black truffles, and spaghetti with bottarga. Missed out on the affogato made with homemade gelato. Yum!
After lunch, it was about half two, I flaked out and opted to do a shorter route down. Hiking the scree and rocks downhill was not very kind to my knees, which I am trying to preserve after my four knee operations (2 ACL reconstructions and 2 shattered menisci). I haven't had any problems since I started hiking seriously, but I know to stop when I'm pushing it.
My shortened hiking day (by an hour) gave me enough time to try the award winning spa in the hotel. This is the third spa hotel we've stayed in this week in the Dolomites, and I haven't had the time to try out any of the facilities, outside of a sports massage.
At 6:15, our trek organiser Backroads, summoned us for our second wine tasting this week, at our hotel. Italy's alpine region is a great source of little known but interesting wines. This wine tasting continued onto our dinner at St. Hubertus, the 3 star Michelin restaurant at our hotel, the Rosa Alpina.
Wine tasting
Chef Norbert Niederkofler, chef of St. Hubertus, explains the philosophy of his cooking to us.
Dinner
Of course it was delicious. I enjoyed the two desserts and the final selection of chocolates with candy floss. We had our appetisers at the start of the wine tasting and we just continued on to the dinner menu. All was excellent, the white fish tartare, the ox steak, the oxtail, the beetroot covered gnocchi with horseradish cream, and the salad made of local herbs and flowers. I consumed all with great enthusiasm. What a good way to end a day of trekking!
Today, day 6, was our last day. I did manage (though only one other person made it up bright and early after the after dinner drinks finished us all off) to do the 500 metre hike up to the hills around San Cassiano. Then off to Venice airport 3 hours drive away, where I am sitting at the moment, writing this blog.
A great many thanks to the Backroads Prestige team, Save, Davide and Stefano. They were absolutely amazing and a pleasure to spend time with. Organised, efficient, prompt, cheery and constantly anticipating any new requests or needs from our trekking group. They were very knowledgeable about the history of each area and could name every mountain we pointed to, as well the flora in the paths.
The Backroads prestige group chose hotels of a very high standard, the wine tastings and all meals were truly memorable. I didn't have to make any decisions. Everything was planned perfectly and I didn't even need to bring any money with me anywhere, unless I wanted to buy a souvenir or a glass of wine at lunch. I was given maps and detailed directions, if I wanted time alone, and was supplied with a driver to pick me up at the end of the route. I will definitely be using Backroads again.
Thanks to the trekking group who were also a lot of fun and helpful. I enjoyed their company, even if I felt a bit old (they were all younger than me). Hopefully see you in the next trip!
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