darren
Poobah Emeritus
Yet another part. Old threads: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
We headed just West of Cortina to the Pomedes area for 3 days of hiking and some more fun on the via ferrata. Trail # 403 starts off as a dirt access road. We drove up as far as we could and then set out on foot to Rifugio Dibona. Tofana de Rozes loomed above us. At a trail intersection just past Rifugio Dibona, we took trail # 421 towards Rifugio Pomedes. This high mountain hut would be our home for the next few days.
The trail had some steep sections and some loose scree, but the switchbacks were excellent. So were the views looking up. 421 wound its way around some ledges as we got closer to the rifugio. Just below the rifugio, we spotted a hang glider soaring high above us. Watching his fly silently in front of the huge mountains was very dramatic.
We arrived at Rifugio Pomedes and Carmel checked out the view from the balcony outside our room. We sat down on the deck and enjoyed an incredible lunch of salads, meats, an assortment of cheese, and fresh bread. Oh yah, and cold draft beer. All while looking at just incredible views of the Dolomites. You just cant beat it. After lunch, we settled in for the traditional Italian siesta.
After a brief nap, we scouted out the area to see what was around us. Trails and via ferrata headed out in just about every direction. A trail across a huge open scree field headed north to the Sentiero Olivieri via ferratta route. The view Northeast to the Cristallo mountain range was incredible. I usually do a decent job of taking panoramic pictures, but I messed up big time on this chance. The resulting shot is hosed, but it is still worth checking out.
We planned on doing the Sentiero Astaldi via ferrata route the following day, but we figured we would go check it out and see what we were in for. There were some open scree fields and fairly open spots leading to the route and some open sections with no cable on the beginning of the route. Carmel and I took our time. We went out on the route and got to a spot where there were some nice scrambling moves required on an open rock face. The drop to the valley and the view across the way to Cinque Torre was impressive. There was a really cool notch in the rock that we had to scramble through. It was my favorite part of the section we did that day. It was getting late and some clouds were coming in, so Carmel and I headed back to the rifugio.
Some thunder rolled in the distance, but it stayed clear in our area. The sun started going down and the alpineglow began to grow until it was a deep red. The glacier on Marmolada glowed in the distance until the colors started to fade. After the reds diappear, I always like the purple hues that appear long after sunset.
Next....we complete VF Sentiero Astaldi and head up behind Tofana de Rozes.
- darren
We headed just West of Cortina to the Pomedes area for 3 days of hiking and some more fun on the via ferrata. Trail # 403 starts off as a dirt access road. We drove up as far as we could and then set out on foot to Rifugio Dibona. Tofana de Rozes loomed above us. At a trail intersection just past Rifugio Dibona, we took trail # 421 towards Rifugio Pomedes. This high mountain hut would be our home for the next few days.
The trail had some steep sections and some loose scree, but the switchbacks were excellent. So were the views looking up. 421 wound its way around some ledges as we got closer to the rifugio. Just below the rifugio, we spotted a hang glider soaring high above us. Watching his fly silently in front of the huge mountains was very dramatic.
We arrived at Rifugio Pomedes and Carmel checked out the view from the balcony outside our room. We sat down on the deck and enjoyed an incredible lunch of salads, meats, an assortment of cheese, and fresh bread. Oh yah, and cold draft beer. All while looking at just incredible views of the Dolomites. You just cant beat it. After lunch, we settled in for the traditional Italian siesta.
After a brief nap, we scouted out the area to see what was around us. Trails and via ferrata headed out in just about every direction. A trail across a huge open scree field headed north to the Sentiero Olivieri via ferratta route. The view Northeast to the Cristallo mountain range was incredible. I usually do a decent job of taking panoramic pictures, but I messed up big time on this chance. The resulting shot is hosed, but it is still worth checking out.
We planned on doing the Sentiero Astaldi via ferrata route the following day, but we figured we would go check it out and see what we were in for. There were some open scree fields and fairly open spots leading to the route and some open sections with no cable on the beginning of the route. Carmel and I took our time. We went out on the route and got to a spot where there were some nice scrambling moves required on an open rock face. The drop to the valley and the view across the way to Cinque Torre was impressive. There was a really cool notch in the rock that we had to scramble through. It was my favorite part of the section we did that day. It was getting late and some clouds were coming in, so Carmel and I headed back to the rifugio.
Some thunder rolled in the distance, but it stayed clear in our area. The sun started going down and the alpineglow began to grow until it was a deep red. The glacier on Marmolada glowed in the distance until the colors started to fade. After the reds diappear, I always like the purple hues that appear long after sunset.
Next....we complete VF Sentiero Astaldi and head up behind Tofana de Rozes.
- darren
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