Dolomites - Fanes

Our final walk in the Dolomites was a simple trip up to the Fanes restaurant hut from Pederu. We had hoped to stop at Lago Ju de Limo to sunbath, but the weather closed in, so we opted instead for a nice lunch at the hut. The most shocking thing on this walk was the water level in the lake compared to two years ago. It almost looked like somebody had put a pump in and drained it.

Rocky spires on the way up from Pederu.

Climbing towards the lake, with Fanes behind.

An almost empty Lago de Limo - August 2012

Lago de Limo - July 2010

Choosing lunch in Fanes.

One of the huts, just below Fanes.

Start of the 4WD track down to Pederu.

Final descent to Pederu.

Dolomites - Monte Muro Mauerberg

An easy warm up walk to Monte Muro Mauerberg from Pe de Borz. We walked up to the Refugio Monte Muro Mauerberghutte for morning tea before lunching on the summit. The lower sections were all pine forest, but higher up there were good views across to the Putia massif, where we had walked round in 2010.

Just above the hut, with Putia's summit poking in to the clouds.

A long lazy lunch on the summit.

Heading back down to the hut.

Approaching Refugio Monte Muro Mauserberg.

Dolomites - Col Bechei

Our final walk in the Dolomites was to climb Col Bechei. Once again we started from Pederu, this time climbing south east to the Fannes Refugio, about an hour and a half from the start. This hut is situated in a wide open basin and remains in the sun all day.

Behind the refugio the track (a mixture of foot trails and 4 wheel drive roads) climbs to the small but beautiful Lago de Limo. From here the summit still looks a long way off. The track then climbs across the southern slopes of the mountain to reach a high shoulder from where you can look down on Cortina.







The route climbs directly from here to the summit, up a loose gravel ridge, with a small rock band to negotiate near the summit. The difficulty is never too great however. As with the other mountains we had climbed this week, the views from the summit were superb in all directions, in particular we could see the Tofana massif to the south and the route that we had walked earlier in the week Croda del Beco.













We returned the same way, taking our time to enjoy the scenery and stopping for a well deserved beer at Fannes for a late lunch.

Dolomites - A circuit around Putia

This was an easier day which all the kids walked as well.

From Ultia de Borz we walked up to Munt de Fornela, before making an anti clockwise circuit of the mountain. The first section is the steepest and the children had to pay attention on the narrow path crossing several scree slopes, however this was soon safely negotiated.



From the Forcela de Putia I took a side trip to climb to near the summit of the mountain itself. This was about an extra hour, walking at a good pace. I had planned not to go to the true summit on account of its difficulty, but on refection and after seeing it I think it would have made a straightforward scramble, with chains helping to protect the narrowest sections.





Back on the main route, the easy path swung around through alpine meadows before eventually crossing the east side of the mountain. The return trip was more enclosed, passing through sections of pine and rocky grottos.

Dolomites - Croda Del Beco

Our second walk in the Dolomites saw us climbing Croda Del Beco from Pederu.


Pederu is 16km up the road from San Vigillio and you have to pay to park. After a quick coffee we took the 4 wheel drive road up to the Refugio Senes, which sits in a high mountain pasture. The road is a continuous series of switchbacks which climbs besides a sheer rocky cliff and is quite a feat of engineering.









From Senes we continued on easy tracks climbing to Refugio Biella alla Croda del Beco. This is a delightful area with alpine meadows and the flowers were in full bloom. We heard the shrill cry of the Marmot and spotted them watching us whilst perched on rocks above us.





The Refugio is the same colour as the mountain, so is quite hard to spot, despite it's large size. Carolina's Mum sunbathed on the col above the refugio whilst we climbed the steep east ridge to the summit of Croda del Beco. The drops to the south were vertical and there was one long chain section on the most exposed part of the climb. On the summit itself there are fabulous views in all directions. We stopped on the top for lunch and to sign the visitors book.











Once back down at the col we carried on down past Lago Gran de Foses to create a circuit. We headed back down to Pederu with more stunning views across to Tofana and met Carolina's cousins on the way down.

Dolomites - The Tre Cime

In Italy we had almost a week in the Dolomites with Carolina's family in San Vigilio
There were 13 of us in total: 6 adults and 7 children. Most of the family were already in the mountains and on the drive up from Udine we stopped at Moso to have a look at the Tre Cime Di Lavaredo, one of the most famous mountains in that area.



From Campo Fiscalipo, in the midday heat, we climbed up to Refugio Zsigmondy-Comici. The track was easy and well marked. The views of the towering cliffs and mountains were outstanding. The route up to the hut is very popular and with it being a weekend as well there was almost a constant line of people on the way up.







After the hut things quietened down a bit as the route split in several directions. We headed across to another hut: Refugio Pian di Cengia, which gave great views across the north face of Croda Dei Toni









The most exciting stage of the route then followed as we crossed steep scree slopes below Paternkofel. At all stages though the path was wide and the exposure minimal. It takes longer to get to the final refugio on this route (Refugio Tre Cime di Lavaredo) than you would expect. This hut is so large that it appears you are closer to it than you really are.





Once at the refugio the Tre Cimi pop in to view, a great spectacle that many people had come to see. We took afternoon tea at the refugio, before heading down Val del Sasso Vecchio - a steep sided valley with less views and then on back to the car.