Day 27 – to the Falzarego Pass

Liberation Day is Italy today, which commemorates the victory of the Italian resistance movement against the Nazis, but with unseasonably cool weather the crowds, fortunately for me, aren’t drawn to the Dolomites.

I descended the curves, and about 600 metres, to Santa Catalina lake and the town of Auronzo. It was laundry day. One wash should last me now. It hasn’t been T-shirt and shorts weather much, but I expect it to be in May. There was an automatic laundry, in a town sleeping in the gap between the seasons. During the wash we went round the lake.

Then it was up into the Dolomites. There is far more snow around than usual, so what you can do on foot without snow shoes or skis is very limited. I am very much passing through the high Alps, heading for the Emmental region of Switzerland, then the Jura and Vosges.

I led a course in the Dolomites 25 years ago or so. I’ll come back with the exact date.. We had driven over with bikes in a trailer, and planned to do some of the Via Ferrata. We came over the Brenner pass and indulged in probably the most famous of the Via Ferratas, at Falzarego Pass. It’s a cable car up to a vast rock bowl, with various metal ladders and precipitous walkways with a cable to guide. But it is most famous for its tunnels and caves in the rock which served as barracks in the First World War. The whole place now, is basically a huge outdoor museum of the War.

Our group then headed down to Cortina, where we had something of a shock, due to how well people were dressed in comparison to us, and the prices, there is a 5 euro cover charge in every cafe or bar. We ended up camping wild, being awoken by park rangers and chased off at 7:30 in the morning. We then returned to Austria and took on their Via Ferrata at much more sensible prices, and much more ordinarily dressed.

I didn’t stop at all at Cortina, but headed up to Falzarego, at 2100 metres. It was showers of snow, with cloud in and out, just about freezing point. The dog and I were able to get out for a couple of hours though, skirting up the side of cable car route, currently closed, and down to the Pass. Midway through the weather set in, and as we got back to the van the snow was heavy and settling.

This was a great place to spend the night. None of the bars or cafes are open, and there is indeed no one around at all. The settling snow meaning the Pass was closed to traffic also. Perfect.