Adventures and encounters among the peaks of the Dolomites
A true story by David P. Anderson – It happened in July 2023
These three days in the Dolomites were an unforgettable adventure among rock faces, breathtaking views, and fascinating encounters. Every day it offered new emotions and challenges, from challenging climbs to moments of relaxation in the refuges. In this story, I will take you with me through the paths and stories of a journey that celebrates the beauty and culture of the most iconic mountains in Italy.
Thursday 27 July
I retire early and fail to sleep for the above reasons. I’m at the breakfast buffet when it opens at 7. It’s about the same as the Casa in Rome.
I meet Enrico, who’s about my age. We drive to Cinque Torri (5 towers). The view is stunning. We start with Via Miriam, a 530′ 5-pitch climb with a couple of cruxes and an exposed traverse, but mostly straightforward (though since I haven’t climbed outdoors in years, it seems pretty hard to me, especially aerobically). I take a fall at the 2nd crux but get through it. I use my helmet a number of times.
The route went up the middle, then traverses to the left at the overhang halfway up.
The descent is 2 rappels and some scrambling. I pinch my L hand in the belay device on the first rappel and lose a little chunk of skin.
The area is empty when we get there but soon there are lots of climbers.
We go down the trail a little and do 3 single-pitch climbs. The first two look hard – there are overhangs – but I’m getting the feel of climbing Dolomite and I get up them pretty easily. The third one is hard even for Enrico, and when I try it I can’t do the 3rd move, off a slippery side-pull with bad feet – and give up.
We descend to the Cafe (here in Europe there are cafes high in mountains). Enrico buys me a beer. We sit outside on a bench and talk with Yasmin, a very athletic Croat (she does competitive white-water rafting) who is doing a hut-to-hut hike in the Dolomites.
The first of these three days in the Dolomites leaves me undoubtedly satisfied.
Enrico and I make plans for tomorrow. On advice from Ann, I go the Molo Pub for dinner, and have a bacon burger and a British IPA in a can. Hamburger in Europe tastes different, not sure why.
Friday 28 July
With the help of a web-based white noise generator and 1.5 sleeping pills, I sleep reasonably well. We need to leave early today because of weather, so I’m at the buffet when it opens at 7AM, eat a lot fast, put some more into a plastic bag, and meet Enrico outside at 7:15.
We drive about 30 min to the base of Tofana di Rozes, a large massif. We do a hike that circumnavigates this, climbing up to the left shoulder, way down to the valley in back, up a 300′ Via Ferrata, then up a long steep rocky slope to a refuge on the right shoulder.
We stop at the refuge for a beer. They know Enrico there and everything is free. Actually everyone in Cortina seems to know Enrico.
There’s a utility gondola – a big metal basket – that is used to supply the refuge. Enrico says that once, in his youth, he and his friends got so drunk at the refuge that the keeper strapped them into the gondola and sent them down that way to avoid mishap.
On the way down, we take a detour so that Enrico can collect Edelweiss to put on his father’s grave – a yearly ritual. I feel honored to be there. This takes us on faint use trails through lush meadows with lots of flowers.
Enrico drops me off at the hotel. Organ music is coming out of the nearby church so I check it out.
Mi tolgo i vestiti fradici di sudore e faccio un bagno caldo. Accendo i getti della vasca idromassaggio ma sono un po’ violenti e spruzzano acqua ovunque.
Ho deciso che mi piace un po’ l’Hotel de la Poste, nonostante il materasso duro.
I take off my sweat-drenched clothes and take a hot bath. I turn on the Jacuzzi jets but they’re sort of violent, and water sprays all over the place.
I’ve decided I kind of like the Hotel de la Poste, in spite of the hard mattress. It’s ancient – the oldest in Cortina, according to Enrico – and a little funky; the keys look like they’re from the 1800s. But the staff tries really hard. When I return to my room, not only is the bed made but all my stuff has been organized and neatened in a pleasing way.
The phone USB cable is missing. I realized it’s in the car and get it.
For dinner I go to the bar across the piazza. I have a weird chicken sandwich and a lackluster IPA, then get a gelato and watch tourists go by for a while.
Saturday 29 July
I sleep OK but not great. I meet Enrico at 8AM. On the way out, the doorman says: ‘Good morning, Dr. Anderson! Where are you going today – K2 or Everest?’. I warm even further to the hotel.
Today is the third of my three days in the Dolomites, I’m really curious to see what awaits me.
This is the last of my three days in the Dolomites, and I’m really curious to see what awaits me.
Oggi è il secondo dei miei tre giorni in Dolomiti, sono proprio curioso di vedere cosa mi aspetta.
We decide to do another multi-pitch climb, at a place called Sass de Stria (Witch’s Hat Rock – it’s pointy).
There was concern about the weather but it’s another perfect day; some clouds form mid-afternoon.
It’s Saturday so there are lots of climbers; in particular there are ~4 other parties on our route. It’s a free-for-all; people just start climbing at the same time, and there are multiple belays from the same place.
Of course, Enrico and I try to pass the slower parties ahead of us. There’s a blond woman from Rome who keeps asking her belayer to pull her up by the rope, and she asks me to push her up by her (ample) behind. I decline and pass her on the left.
It’s a pretty cool route – a little of everything, including a couple of chimneys and minor cruxes. I’m concerned about the various scrapes on my hands, but these are not a factor and I have a great time.
The descent is a walk-off through some trenches that were carved out in WWI.
The Dolomites where part of a front between Austrio-Hungarian and Italian armies, and pretty much all the peaks have bunkers, tunnels, and sniper holes. Enrico says that Italians tunneled to the top of a mountain held by the Germans, and blew it up with 100,000 pounds of explosives. You can see the scar this left.
Aside: war is such a bizarre thing. Preventing it requires a new form of government.
After the trenches, we descend by a ‘secret trail’ across grassy slopes; Enrico has learned my tastes quickly. We pass the entrance to a tunnel (The Goigingrer Tunnel) that goes through the mountain. I turn on my phone flashlight and explore briefly. Enrico says there’s a lot of water in the middle.
That’s enough climbing for one day. Enrico suggests that we drop in at the (70th) birthday party for a local climber. This is at small hut halfway up the mountain, which Cortina-ites can rent at a very affordable price.
We’re there early. There’s another Enrico there – a retired teacher, also a climber. There are huge amounts of food and beer, including a Perroni IPA, which is not bad.
There’s a stand of pines down the hill, so after having a beer I walk there, lie down on the pine needles, and close my eyes for an hour.
At 2 PM I head back up to the hut. People are starting to arrive – most of them rock climbers between 50 and 70. Tanned men with enormous forearm muscles, big hands, and crushingly powerful grips.
The wife of the other Enrico arrives; she’s a professional geologist, and tells me a bit about the geology of the area. It was all originally seabed, and some of the (mountain) structures were originally coral atolls.
I’m a little bored since I can’t understand the conversation, but it’s nice being in the mountains, and I have nowhere else to go. The ‘birthday boy’ eventually arrives at 3. We hang out for a while, Enrico has a final beer and we head out.
I go to the guide service office and pay (E370 for the first day, E350 for the next two). Well worth it! I was lucky to find Enrico – everyone says he’s the best guide around. I also got lucky with the weather.
Enrico and I hang out briefly at the hotel, watching the Alex Honnold movie-review video on my laptop (he was involved in the filming of Cliffhanger) and looking at a few of my travel pics. I try to convince him to visit California someday. He heads off to meet tomorrow’s client, and older Japanese man (Enrico guided in Japan for a while).
I’ve been told that there a free movie/food event at the local climbing gym (Cortina360) so I walk there. But I don’t see evidence of the event, and I hear thunder in the distance, so I walk back. It starts to rain, and I duck into a restaurant for pizza and beer. It rains cats and dogs for an hour. Finally it lets up a little and I walk the few blocks back to the hotel.
You can read about my trip to Europe and my other travels on my website here: https://continuum-hypothesis.com/trips/trips.php.
My three days in the Dolomites end here. And tomorrow, we start again…
Si concludono così i miei tre giorni in Dolomiti. E domani, si riparte…