Day 3 – Refugio Lavalera to Refugio Scotoni
All 9 days of the trek were amazing, especially the 3rd and 4th days. In my mind It felt like something very special. Maybe it was the beautiful weather, the blue skies, the spectacular rock outcrops, or the highest elevation we reached. Or maybe it was the two older men strangely transported as wedding crashers high in the Dolomites. Read on. Either way, these were extraordinary highlights of the trip.
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Google Earth images – Day 3 (yellow) and Day 4 (green).
The red lines are cable car and chairlift itineraries |
On the third day we hiked about 7 miles and did about 10km of downhill walking in total. 1,800 feet We then climbed the same distance: on day 4, it was 7.5 miles, climbing 1,900 feet to Refugió Lagazuoi, taking a cable car down to Pian Falzarego, then a chair lift (both shown as red lines on the map above) up closer to our accommodation.
The Alps experienced their driest February and rainiest April in years. We were lucky to have very little snow on this early trip. I chose this time of year because I wanted to get here before the dull summer haze sets in. I wanted the bluest skies possible. And that’s what we got!
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Starting the climb from Refugio Lavalera
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After a short climb of about 250 feet we reached the plateau above Lavarella and it was a perfect warm-up to start the day.
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| Looking north as we approached Lavarella the previous day |
We were surrounded by mountains, and with each step the views became more spectacular: some of the peaks were eroded into pinnacles, others reflected gently sloping limestone beds, and in some views we saw both, with broad talus aprons on the slopes.
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| Refugio Lavarera and the summit of Cima Nova Neuner On top of that |
At first the sun was shining brilliantly, but we noticed the clouds were gathering quickly – weather in the mountains is changeable.
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| Self-portrait of Wayne and Helen, above Lavalera |
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| The plateau slopes gently downhill to the south. |
Like many places around the world, traffic ebbs and flows as everyone starts their day at roughly the same time.We climbed a short hillThere were plenty of other people on the trail, including mountain bikers, but after an hour or so the fast people had disappeared and we were the only ones left on the trail.
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| Folded and distorted limestone layers |
Before I came here, the Dolomites fake generally
Highly distorted and vertically oriented limestone. Alpine orogenyAs I mentioned in my previous post, the strata throughout the mountain range were broad and gently dipping to the northeast, but here on the plateau between Lavarella and Scotoni I was finally able to see the crumpled strata. There may also be some thrust faults in the photo above, where the bends in the strata pushed through the folds and eventually shifted, pushing one block up over the other.
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| More crooked bed |
Limestone originated in the Tethys Ocean about 220 million years ago (see short article here and great cartoon of the ocean here). This ocean separated the northern supercontinent of Laurasia from the southern supercontinent of Gondwana. Geologists believe that most of the limestone was deposited in shallow, quiet lagoons that fringed the edges of the continents.
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| The trail passes by a huge rockfall |
One of the highlights for me was seeing many instances where large sections of cliff had collapsed. The size of the rockfall was truly impressive. The photo above is one of the rockfalls we passed on day 3. This rockfall was only Glaciers have completely filled these valleys over the past 8,000 to 10,000 years. The next glacial advance will bulldoze this rockfall material. It is interesting to note that the top of the rockfall has no vegetation whatsoever (no soil?), but there are trees and shrubs growing below the falls (maybe where the broken rock formed soil).
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| The photo above is a Google Earth image of the rockfall site and the road. |
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| Alpine Meadow – South View |
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Hiking paradise – a little up, a little down.
An alternative trail through a high notch in the rock. |
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| What would the Alps be without cows! |
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| Descending the Russian Pass to Capanna Alpina |
The gradual descent came to an abrupt halt as we approached the Col de Russo lookout. This 1,200-foot descent was a rocky, partially fenced path. Even more exciting, a little rain fell on the way down. This was the first time it had rained in nine days. photograph If you look at the photo above you can see the clearing where Capanna Alpina sits, and in this cozy shelter we enjoyed a hot drink and some French fries whilst waiting for the rain to stop. (Accessible by car).
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| Capanna Alpina fountains and artworks |
Despite the above description, These fountains They actually provide drinking water for hikers! Wait for the rain to stopWe stayed inside the Capanna Alpina for about 90 minutes, and when it stopped we began a short uphill trek.
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| Ski run next to the trail that leads up 870 feet to Scotoni |
I found it hard to understand how skiing works here. In the photo above, the ski runs are clearly visible, as are the snowmaking machines (yes, there are water pipes underground to feed the snowmaking machines), but there are no lifts to carry skiers up the hill?
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| Refugio Scotoni It’s in a great location Elevation 6,693 feet – iIt was idyllic. |
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| A view to the east showing the drainage for the next morning’s climb |
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| Beyond the tree line, heading towards Refugio Lagazuoi |
I was surprised to find that at this latitude (about 46°33′N), the tree line was about 7,500 feet lower.
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| On the skyline to the right is Refugió Lagazuoi, our lunch destination. |
To the southwest of Lagatsoi we could see the glacier flowing down the northern slope of the Marmolada.It is the highest mountain in the Dolomites, at 10,968 feet above sea level.Before World War I, the border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire passed through the top of this mountain. Amazingly, the mountain is just 62 miles from Venice and can be seen from there on a clear day.
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| View to the southeast towards the Rastoni di Formin ridge (shaded side) and the summit of Croda da Lago |
The photo above shows the rest of the day’s trek. The craggy peaks form Croda da Lago (literally Crag of the Lake), one of the most famous landmarks in this part of the Dolomites. The shadowed ridge in front of the crag forms in a northeastern depression in the limestone formations, descending towards Cortina d’Ampezzo. It’s called the Rastoni di Formin. These two landforms will provide a great backdrop for the end of our day at Refugió Cinque Torri. The towers are also visible in the foreground of the photo, and against the forested slopes to the left of center. More on these later. Note the small building to the right of Cinque Torri, and the path and road leading up to it. This is Refugió Scoiattoli, where a surprise awaited Don and me later that day.
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| Pian Falzarego |
Unfortunately we had to leave Ragazzoi, but we might consider staying here overnight on another trip. We took the cable car straight up to Pian Falzarego, which is on the road between Cortina and Bolzano (Great Dolomite Road). If you hike instead, you’ll be walking another 15 miles of the road. There was a big bike race going on that Saturday, so the place was pretty busy.
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| The cable car descending from Lagazzoi to Pian Falzarego |
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| Don and I are riding the cable car up to Refugio Scoiatelli. |
We hiked a fairly flat mile to the next climb. However, since it was a Saturday, there was a large trail running event going on in addition to a bike race on the road. I wasn’t interested in competing with runners for trail space, and in Don I found a kindred spirit, so Don and I took the chair lift to avoid the crowds and the additional climb.
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| View to the southeast from Refugeó Scoiattoli to Lastoni di Forman and Croda da Lago |
The views from the top of the ridge where the lift ends were once again spectacular. The weather was perfect, with fluffy clouds and no rain. A perfect day.
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| What purpose does this have on top of a mountain on a nine day trek? |
As we looked out at the mountains, occasionally our eyes would catch the glimpses of very stylish people enjoying the view rather than hiking. We noticed them riding the chairlift below, but didn’t pay any attention to them at the time. We wandered around for a while taking in the sights – the mountains, the suits and dresses, the champagne being poured – it all. There was a private wedding reception going on, so the Refugio had to be closed to outside visitors for the day. There was a formal red rope around the private party, and Don was focused on the people.
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| The wedding party took over the entire shelter and visitors were not allowed inside. |
I wasn’t able to get many photos of the beautiful mountains so I moved on to photograph the party in progress. It’s hard to tell from this small photo, but just above the pink-clad woman’s head is Refugio Lagazuoi, perched on a sloping mountaintop.
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| Don watches as a double magnum of French champagne is poured. |
While I walked around the roped-off area, taking photos of the mountains (“I don’t want any bad guys sneaking in”), Don With obvious joy, I was becoming more and more fascinated with the party and inching closer to pouring the magnums of champagne. I was ready to make the final push to our haven for the night, about a half mile away, when Don asked if the guy pouring the champagne could give us a glass. My first response was, “Of course not. Don, you don’t have to ask.” That was not the answer he wanted to hear and thankfully he completely ignored what I said. So he snuck off to the task and proposed marriage while we were being liked first by a few guys and then by some nicely dressed ladies.
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| Champagne on the trail! |
After all, anyone who comes to a party is very happy to have other “guests” join in the fun and revelry. Soon we started chatting with people near the serving table, and a few guys told us all about the wedding: the setting, who was getting married (a power couple from Cortina), what was planned for the evening (dinner, music, and even more champagne!). Being Italian, there were no rules about outsiders, and we were just innocent (and unique) guests.
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| Selfie in the rope! |
They were as intrigued by us as we were by them. What an amazing day it turned out. Don and I were officially crashing a wedding high up in the Dolomites.
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| Wedding Guest |
It was fun! A woman upstairs wanted to know who our new guest was. We chatted happily about a variety of topics, from politics to mountain weddings. I noticed the date and abbreviations of the bride and groom on her sunglasses. I immediately said to Don, “Hey Don, weren’t our wives walking the trail with those trail runners today?… Oh yeah, we should go too…”
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| Cinque Torri |
Returning to the ridge, we followed the path towards the famous Cinque Torri. Torre Grande has an elevation of 7,746 feet. This rock formation is well known as a climber’s paradise.
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| On the way to the Cinque Torri Reserve |
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| This was our shelter for the night! |
At this link you can see a photo of the dramatic landscape beneath the Refugio’s rock formation of the same name, with Refugio Lagazuoi also visible on the skyline in the background.
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| Cinque Torri today |
This shelter was built in 1902. Check out this link Check out these great historic views of the cabin and some old postcard images: The next five photos only have captions, but they give you an idea of what the inside of this historic cabin looked like.
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| Breakfast table |
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| Coffee and Aperol Spritz bar! |
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| Stairs to the bedroom |
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| View from the bedroom at night |
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| Each refugio had its own monogrammed napkin |
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| Sunset at Croda da Lago |
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| Sunset at Croda da Lago |
If you’ve read this far, congratulations. This was a long post. The next one will be shorter.
