Dolomites Day 6

Dolomites 2005

A personal diary ....

Day 1 .. Travel to Bergamo
Day 2 .. Travel to Rifugio Vajolet
Day 3 .. Vajolet to Rifugio Alpe di Tires .. Kesselkogel
Day 4 .. Tires to Rifugio Passo Sella .. Sasso Piatto
Day 5 .. Around the Passo Sella .. Col Rodella
Day 6 .. Passo Sella to Rifugio Castiglioni .. Sasso del Cappello
Day 7 .. Castiglioni to Rifugio Contrin .. Passo Ombretta
Day 8 .. Around the Contrin .. Cima Ombrettola
Day 9 .. Travel to Trento
Day 10 .. Travel to Bergamo
Day 11 .. Travel home

I got up and had a look out the window. The view was very misty but I could still see the Sassolungo peaks .. a change from the previous days’ clear skies. However, by the time we had got dressed and were down for breakfast, the mist had mostly cleared.

As we were getting the bus to Passo Pordoi, we had more time to get the rucksacks packed up. I went down to settle the bill and Daniella looked up the number of the local tourist board and also gave me the number for one of the local guides so that we could check out the possibility of climbing Marmolada.

I went outside to take some photos, but the mist had come back, so had to settle for one of the rifugio.

The bus arrived on time and we all got on. It was an enjoyable trip with lots of hairpins. On the way down several cyclists passed the bus as they were able to take the corners a lot quicker, but the bus eventually passed them on the way up to Passo Pordoi.

The plan had been to take the cable car up to Sass Pordoi but, when we arrived, the top station was shrouded in cloud. We decided to have a look around at the various points of interest (Including the Fausto Coppi Memorial) and also to have a coffee in case the cloud shifted. Unfortunately the top station never cleared and we decided that we should head off to start the rest of the day’s journey.

As we started up on route 601 to the Col del Cuc, we passed an area with a large number of marmots. However before anyone could get out a camera, a dog darted off down the slope and all the marmots disappeared. The dog’s owner was still trying to get it to come back long after we were away from the spot – it was at least a kilometre down the slope and still running.

The walk along the ridge was easy going apart from a slight scramble near the start. The views to both sides were good and a lot of photos were taken. After going over a summit of 2563m (unnamed on the maps), we eventually spotted the Rifugio Viel del Pan on the main track and headed down to get some lunch. It was the busiest that we had come across, but we all managed to find a seat to seat so that we could eat some lunch. We could see the Lago di Fedaia and even the Rifugio Castiglioni di Marmolada where we were to be staying that night.

After lunch, Iris and Diane decided that they would continue on route 601, while the rest of us decided to climb the interesting nearby summit of Sasso del Cappello. This was a large rocky outcrop on the ridge and involved a small scramble to get on to the summit. We had to descend by the same route and then continued along the ridge before coming down to meet with route 601. We then followed the path to the dam, but the last bit down to the road was quite a steep descent.

Iris and Diane were sitting in the garden as we arrived. The signora doesn’t speak any English but with Iris’s help we get booked in OK. The accommodation is good. One room for 2 and two for 4, although the top bunks are held in place by chains which causes some concern. There is no charge for the showers, so we soon got settled in and changed and headed out to the garden to join Iris and Diane for a pre dinner drink. Andy contacted the guide who assured him we need no special gear or a guide to climb Marmolada’s via ferrata.

We troop in for dinner. It’s a good meal .. enough pasta as a starter that you would get as a main course at home. After dinner, some had a coffee and a round of schnapps was ordered. After another drink, we mostly headed off for an early night as we were going to have an early start tomorrow.