Italy - Dolomites - Day #5

 Monday, August 10th

Cortina to Refugio Sennes

5,000 vertical

8.5 miles

Wow - what a 1st day on trail!!  We were told the Alta Via 1 is steep and can be very technical at times - it certainly lived up to its billing today.   Tough - but absolutely stunning!

We started the day by getting a direct shuttle at 6am from Cortina to Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee) - the official start of the Alta Via 1.  We could have taken a 2-bus connection to get to the start for a bit less (30 euro) - but that option would only get us to the start around 10:30-11:00am.  We knew there was a chance of afternoon thunderstorms and we had a big day ahead of us - so we paid the 90 euro for an early morning start/transfer.  

The day started at Lago di Braies - a truly stunning lake at the base of the Dolomites.  This lake reminded me of Lake Louise in Banff - very similar as a hotel stands at one end of the lake.  There was a wedding taking place when we arrived as well - at 7am.  

To get it started - we walked 1/2 way around the lake - then the climbing began.  We had a 3,000’ climb - in just 4-1/2 miles.  There were some sections with cables to hang onto to help from falling as the grade was steep and technical.  We made it to Refugio Bella at the top of the climb around 11am.  It was here we had a decision to make. The trek today offered us an option to do a bonus 2.2 mile out/back to the summit of Croda del Becco - another 1,500’ vertical.  We decided to go for it. But - we weren’t doing it with our 30-pound bags.  We decided to hide the bags behind some rocks and do the climb as light as possible.  This climb was super steep - but the footing was pretty solid - which made it possible.  It was totally worth it!!  The scenery at the summit was the top scenery of the trip to date. Unreal!  We could see the lake where we started our hike this morning. 

We completed our descent after a 20-30 minute break at the summit - just taking it in.  Once down from the mountain, we rested a bit at Refugio Bella — then walked the 1.8 miles to our final destination for the day - Refugio Sennes.  Greg and I were both pretty exhausted by this time.  We had a nice room to ourselves with a bunk bed.  The Refugio offered a shower - which was a nice bonus at the end of the day. 

The night ended with a great dinner at the Refugio - with an actual menu offering several options (this is unique - as most Refugios have a base dinner for everyone staying for the night).  

Early to bed. Sleeping was tough - as our small room was pretty hot - forcing us to open the windows (and me wearing earplugs). This Refugio is surrounded by cows - and these cows have bells around their necks to help with location.  It was like a musical melody of cow bells throughout the night. 

A really solid Day - #1.   The expectations of the Dolomites coming into the trip were met - and even exceeded.  Can’t wait to see what else is out there for us!