Alta Via I in the Italian Dolomites

August 27 - September 11, 2016

Leader: Denise Snow

Dear Fellow CMC Member:

Thank you for your interest in the Adventure Travel outing Alta Via I in the Italian Dolomites. Please read the following trip description and itinerary carefully before you consider applying for this trip. I have also included a suggested pack list and additional information for your consideration.

To apply for a place on the outing, please complete the attached Trip Application, with the Personal Risk Statement and the Payment and Cancelation Policy, and the attached Questionnaire and return them to me.

The group will have a maximum of 11 persons including the leader. All nights will be spent at Italian Alpine Club (CAI) huts, private mountain refuges or small hotels, mainly in remote locations, and all with hot showers. All accommodations will be a shared double room (where available) or dormitory.

Once you apply, you will be notified if you are accepted for the outing. Once accepted, submit a $500 deposit to the CMC to reserve a place (see cancellation policy in the application). Please do not send money before it is requested. The remaining balance is payable by July 22, 2016.

The current in-country estimated trip costs are $2240 for members. The price includes:

All lodging for 14 nights

All breakfasts

All dinners except the last two nights in Venice

Airport transfers to/from Venice

All transfers en route

Luggage transfer on the trek (all but 2 nights which are unavailable)

Two one-way vaporetto tickets in Venice

Airfare to Venice is not included. Also, expect to spend a few hundred dollars for trip insurance, dinner the two last nights in Venice, all lunches and snacks, showers with fees, bar tabs, souvenirs, and any museum entrance fees/additional transport fees in Venice. Non-members will be required to pay an administrative fee equal to 3% of the trip costs. Consider becoming a member to avoid this fee.

Pre-requisites for the trip are very good physical conditioning, the ability to hike 63 miles in 9 days with 19, 475 ft of vertical gain and an ongoing, regular, conditioning program. A CMC-Denver Group hiker rating is not needed for this trip. We will carry day packs (a suggested list of items is provided) which include all clothing typically needed for changing alpine weather conditions. Two nights will be spent in CAI huts where no luggage transfer is possible. For these 3 days of hiking you will need to also carry a change of clothes, a sleep sack for hygienic purposes at the huts, personal toiletries, water and lunch. The huts provide bedding and meals. Because we will be hiking at alpine levels, the weather can be most unpredictable, necessitating well thought out element and clothing choices.

Before applying, you may want to check with your significant other, employer, etc. to make sure you have the available time to do a 2 week trip overseas. There is no guarantee of someone being on the wait list to take your place if you have to cancel. You will need a valid passport, but no visa is required to enter Italy.

Attendance at the pre-trip planning meeting is mandatory, as there will be much to discuss. Location will be the CMC office in Golden, and you will receive ample notice of the date and time. If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, we can set up a virtual meeting link for you. Topics will include suggested equipment, packing, training, cultural notes, and security precautions. A selection of handouts and guidebooks will be available for your review.

Please let me know what questions you may haveI am at your disposal!

Sincerely,

Denise Snow

denisedansnow@q.com

719-687-9576

ALTA VIA 1 IN THE ITALIAN DOLOMITES, AUGUST 27 SEPTEMBER 11, 2016, TRIP DESCRIPTION

The Dolomites are located in the northeast corner of Italy, close to the Austrian border. From the American point of view, the Dolomites are perhaps Europe's most underappreciated mountain range. Despite their proximity to tourist-thronged Venice, virtually no Yanks go there. Too bad. These ramparts of white and pink limestone thrusting up to 10,000 feet from rolling green meadows are more dramatic and esthetic (albeit smaller) than the familiar movie-logo snow-capped peaks of the Alps just to the north. Three-thousand-foot walls attract hard-core rock climbers, while energetic hikers tread a vast network of superb foot trails serviced by a system of rifugiosovernight huts that are really more like small basic hotels, with food, wine, heat, electric lights, bunks, and sometimes even private rooms. The rifugios allow a hiker carrying only a modest pack to stay out on the trail for days or even weeks at a timean outdoor luxury virtually impossible on this side of the Atlantic.

The Dolomites are justifiably popular. Here lies the beauty of the long distance, high-level trails, the Alte Vie or "high routes". Six established hiking trails traverse the Dolomites from top to bottom, from north to south, maintaining medium-high altitude with stunning vistas.

The local culture in the Dolomites is more GermanicSwiss-style chalets, Mercedes taxis, lederhosen, sauerkrautthan Italian. The Dolomites were part of Austria for centuries, but after World War I the

border was moved north to its present position. The Italian government at first tried to eradicate all vestiges of the German culture, but now Italian and German traditions and language exist side by side in a cordial apartheid (Many Dolomite villages, in fact, have dual names, one in German and one in Italian).

This trip will mainly consist of a ten day trek of the Alta Via I (abbreviated AV I) from mountain rifugio to mountain rifugio. Much of the hiking is above tree line with wonderful panoramic views and well marked trails. Rifugios are situated in remote and highly scenic places along the trails where you can buy drinks, meals or a night's lodging. There are an extraordinary variety of walks and hikes through every imaginable type of terrain, mountain formation and setting. There are gradual ascents through meadows and woods, which end at picturesque small lakes.

Some trails pass through World War I ruins, some pass through the heart of a WWI battle zone where cut-away galleries can be seen. There are some strenuous, but magnificent mountain treks over rugged tundra between towering mountain walls where the change in elevation is a gain of 1000 meters and a loss of 1000 meters. There are many 360-degree views to be found.

World War I Ruins Rifugio Averau

The wildlife is rich in chamois, deer, ibex, marmots, the golden eagle, the eagle owl, grouse, and the rock partridge. Recently, even the brown bear and the bearded vulture have been spotted.

The Dolomites are also known for its mountaineering possibilities as well as its hiking. Tourism of the town Cortina d'Ampezzo was built on the climbing challenges offered by the mountains of Cortina. Over the years, the exhilarating mountain climbing experiences in the Cortina mountains earned this area the reputation as the one of the premiere mountain climbing regions. In 1939 the Scoiattilo Society was created by an Ampezzo climber and its climbing activities are still widely renowned. The Cinque Torri are considered a rock climbers' paradise since they offer wide ranges of difficulties, degrees and levels. This was the area that the movie Cliffhangers with Sylvester Stallone was filmed in.

There are more than 100 Via Ferratas in the Dolomite Mountains. Via Ferrata means "iron way" and are climbing paths that offer the possibility of reaching remote mountain areas that are usually accessible only to professional and experienced mountain climbers. Climbing paths are built with equipment including metal ladders, wire ropes (cable), metal rungs, bridges, etc. The equipment most needed to climb Via Ferratas includes a helmet, harness, a special dynamic belay device, optional leather palmed gloves to protect against the wire rope, and boots.

We will have the opportunity on this trip, on our rest day in the middle of the trek, to climb an easy Via Ferrata, the Via Ferrata Averau. Because we will have a luggage transfer at this point, it will not be necessary to carry Via Ferrata equipment on the trek. For those that are not inclined to climb the Via Ferrata, there will be plenty of hiking opportunities that day if they desire.

The Rifugio Lagazuoi

All overnight stays on the trek will be in scenically placed rifugios, either privately run or Italian Alpine Club (CAI) huts. All of the rifugios offer hot showers, some of them with restricted times operated with tokens. The easier access establishments will offer private rooms with single or double occupancy. The listed price assumes double occupancy but there will be opportunities for single occupancy for an extra surcharge.

Casunziei (beet filled ravioli) Breakfast at the Rifugio Lagazuoi

All the rifugios will provide breakfast and dinner. The variety of foods offered will depend on the accessibility of the rifugio. Most Italian breakfasts are simple, mainly coffee, tea, breads and jams. Dinners will always be substantial and packed lunches are available at every rifugio for purchase. Our luggage will be transferred every night except for two nights where we will stay in remote CAI rifugios.

Before the start of the trek we will have one day to rest and recover or do a local hike to the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo. After the trek we will stay two nights in Venice with one full day to explore this beautiful canalled city.

Venice

Tre Cime di Lavaredo

ALTA VIA 1 IN THE ITALIAN DOLOMITES, AUGUST 27 SEPTEMBER 11, 2016, ITINERARY

Note: All times given are estimated hiking times and do not include breaks. VG means vertical gain.

Sat, Aug 27 - Fly to Venice.

Sun, Aug 28 - Take the Cortina Express shuttle from the Venice airport to Dobbiaco in the Dolomites. Overnight in Dobbiaco.

Mon, Aug 29 - Local hike to the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo area in the Sexten Dolomiten Natural Park. Considered to be one of them most awe-inspiring places in the Dolomites with guaranteed dramatic alpine scenery. This was also a WWI hot spot with the front running right through the area,

Tue, Aug 30 - Start of the Alta Via 1. Hike Stage 1 and part of Stage 2 starting at Lago di Braies and ending at the Rifugio Fedara Vedla. Lago di Braies is a beautiful alpine lake set amidst pine forest and soaring Dolomite peaks and is a thrilling opening to the Alta Via I. It entails a straight forward steady climb through the Fanes-Senes-Braies Natural Park to a high plateau that rewards hikers with wide-reaching vistas. VG 2854 ft, 6 miles, 4 hrs.

Rifugio Fedara Vedla

Wed, Aug 31 - Hike Stage 2 from the Rifugio Fedara Vedla to the Rifugio Fanes . The AVI crosses undulating rocky terrain on easy paths and 4WD tracks constructed for military purposes during WWI. Along the way lie several rifugios where refreshments, with spectacular outside seating and views, may be in order. VG 2066 ft, 6.5 miles, 3 3/4 hrs.

Thurs, Sep 1 - Hike Stage 3 from the Rifugio Fanes to the Rifugio Lagazuoi. A laidback stroll along former military roads and across undulating stony pasture uplands becomes, little by little, more enthralling as all types of Dolomite formations are approached. The Forcella del Lago marks the AVI's entry into the dramatic and breathtaking Cortina Dolomites. The day concludes after a tiring climb to the Rifugio Lagazuoi with its dramatic location above the peaks. We will also have the opportunity to explore the living World War I outdoor museum. VG 3608 ft, 7.5 miles, 5 1/2 hrs.

Fri, Sep 2 - Hike Stage 4 from the Rifugio Lagazuoi to the Rifugio Averau. Today we will do a memorable traverse along the bottom of the awesome Tofane de Rozes with a side excursion to the base of the start for the climb of the Tofane de Rozes Via Ferrata. Here we will explore the Gallerie del Gasteletto, the site of a WWI gallery used as a strategic military location and still containing a WWI canon. VG 2624 ft, 8 miles, 4 3/4hrs.

Tofane de Rozes on the left Entry to the Gallerie del Gasteletto

Sat, Sep 3 - Rest day at the Rifugio Averau. We will have the opportunity to climb the easy Via Ferrata Averau to the top of Averau and/or do some alternate hikes in the area of Cinque Torri and visit the Great Outdoor War Museum. Or you can just relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Averau Cinque Torri

Sun, Sep 4 - Hike the rest of Stage 4 and Stage 5 from the Rifugio Averau to the Rifugio Citt di Fiume. This day has quite an amazing series of Dolomite landscapes in a superb succession of peaks and ranges. The stage begins with a short and easy, but moderately exposed, via ferrata section of 25 meters of wire and a small ladder to get you over the rocky realms of the Nuvolau. No climbing equipment is needed for this section but it is also possible to avoid it by going on TR 443 if you choose or if weather dictates. Once crossing the road pass of Passo Giau, a few moderate climbs lead to a magnificent open pasture basin, once the hunting ground of Mesolithic men. Panoramas are non-stop as a brilliant line-up of Dolomites come into view. VG 1312 ft, 7.5 miles, 5 hrs.

Mon, Sep 5 - Hike Stage 6 from the Rifugio Citt di Fiume to the Rifugio Coldai. After a spectacular traverse that gives hikers an ample time to appreciate the Pelmo from close quarters, the main ATI makes its straightforward way via a road pass and up for a stiff climb to a superbly reun alpine hut, Rifugio Coldai, in the realms of another awesome stone giant, the Civetta. Our luggage will be transferred to our Wednesday night location at Passo Duran. We will carry what we need for the next three days. VG 1705 ft, 6 miles, 3 hrs 40 mins.

Rifugio Coldai Rifugio Vazzoler

Tue, Sep 6 - Hike Stage 7 from the Rifugio Coldai to the Rifugio Vazzoler. This is an easy-going and absolutely brilliant stage spent appreciating the phenomenal Civetta, one of the most impressive Dolomite formations. Shaped like an enormous trident and likened to a set of organ pipes, it rises majestically between the deep-cut Cordevole river valley and smiling pasture of Val Zoldana. VG 1246 ft, 6 miles, 3 hrs 45 mins.

Wed, Sep 7 - Hike Stage 8 from the Rifugio Vazzoler to the Refugio Passo Duran. This stage progresses at lower altitudes on the edge of forest and scree, beneath a breathtaking lineup of soaring rock walls and towers belonging to the Siamese twinned Civetta and Moiazza groups, to our stop at Passo Duran where our luggage awaits. VG 1968 ft, 6.3 miles, 4 hrs.

Another view of the Refugio Coldai The peak of San Sebastiano rises above Passo Duran.

Thurs, Sep 8 - Hike Stage 9 from Passo Duran to Forno di Zolda. Today the AVI enters the Parco Nazionale delle Dolomiti Bellunesi, heading through quieter, less frequented places with the spectacular San Sebastiano-Tamer groups and beautiful woodland. We can stop along the way at the dairy farm of Malga Pramper for delicious home-made cakes and we will end our beautiful trek in Forno de Zolda where we will spend the night in a hotel. VG 2092 ft, 9.3 miles, 5 1/2 hrs.

Fri, Sep 9 - Take a shuttle to Venice. We will overnight in the Hotel Titian Inn nearby to the Venice airport. From hear we can catch a bus at the nearby bus stop for a trip into old Venice for dinner and a little sightseeing.

Sat, Sep 10 - Spend a day sightseeing in Venice. Possibilities include walking the back alleys of Venice to St. Mark's Square, with its huge trapezoid 596 feet long by 266 feet wide, and then taking a vaporetto (water taxi) back down the Grand Canal. From St. Mark's Square you can visit the magnificent St. Marks Basilica, built between 1043 and 1071, a harmonious blend of Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, and Islamic styles. We can also visit the Doges Palace, decorated mainly by Venetian marble craftsmen in the most elaborate of the medieval styles, the Flamboyant Gothic. Other options are to take a water taxi over to the island of Murano and view some glass factories where skilled glass blowers have been blowing glass since 1289. For those that want to skip the tourist attractions, it is easy to walk away from St. Mark's Square down small alleys to visit lazy tree lined quaint neighborhoods and squares where the real Venetians live. Be sure to try some of the fresh local seafood. We found the grilled seafood platters particularly scrumptious at this time of year!

St. Mark's Basilica The Grand Canal

Sun, Sep 11 - Fly home.

Suggested reading for the Alta Via 1:

Trekking in the Dolomites, Alta Via Routes 1 and 2, AV3-6 in Outline - A Cicerone Guide. Gillian Price. Cicerone Press. Third edition 2011.

Alta Via, High Level Walks in the Dolomites. Martin Collins. Cicerone Press. 1990.

Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites: Vol 1 - A Cicerone Guide. John Smith and Graham Fletcher. Cicerone Press. 2002.

Suggested Maps for the Alta Via 1:

Dolomiti di Braies: Number 031, 1:25,000. Tabacco.

Cortina d'Ampezzo: Number 03, 1:25,000. Tabacco.

Dolomiti di Zoldo: Number 025, 1:25,000. Tabacco.

ALTA VIA 1 IN THE ITALIAN DOLOMITES, AUGUST 27 SEPTEMBER 11, 2016, 2014, PACK LIST

The following is a list of recommended items to carry in your luggage and/or pack (including the 2 nights in the CAI rifugios):

1) Pack cover

2) Rain jacket/pants

3) Warm gloves

4) Warm hat

5) Several warm layers

6) Gore-Tex over mitts to keep hands dry

7) Headlamp

8) Change of hiking pants and shirt (quick dry material preferred)

9) Change of undergarments (quick dry material preferred)

10)Change of socks (quick dry material preferred)

11) Sleepwear (personal preference)

12)Sleep sac (required for hygiene purposes at the CAI huts/refuges)

13)Personal toiletries (including ear plugs, soap, detergent for washing clothes, a few clothespins, etc.)

14)Lightweight shoes to wear inside/outside of hotels/huts/refuges (ask leader for recommendations)

15) Sunscreen, personal first aid requirements (Mole skin, pain relievers, etc.)

16) 2 liter capacity for water (water bottles that hold bottled water are a cheap and lightweight choice)

17) Travel towel and washcloth for huts/refuges

ALTA VIA 1 IN THE ITALIAN DOLOMITES, AUGUST 27 SEPTEMBER 11, 2016, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

CurrencyThe unit of currency in Italy is the euro (), with 5-, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 200- and 500- euro denominations. The eight denominations of coins vary in size, color and thickness according to their values, which are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and 1 euro and 2 euros.

Credit & Debit CardsShould you use a credit card or a debit card when traveling? Both have benefits. A credit card allows you to delay payment and gives you certain rights as a consumer. A debit card, also known as a check card, deducts funds directly from your checking account and helps you stay within your budget.

Otherwise, the two types of plastic are virtually the same. Both will get you cash advances at ATMs worldwide if your card is properly programmed with your personal identification number (PIN). (For use in Italy, your PIN must be four digits long.) Both offer excellent, wholesale exchange rates, and both protect you against unauthorized use if the card is lost or stolen. Check your bank's policies concerning foreign transaction fees and interest and fees charged for cash advances

For the trek, you will need money for the purchase of alcohol, packed lunches, any extra snacks, shower tokens or souvenirs. I will give you more detailed information on specifics prior to the trip.

Exchanging MoneyFor the most favorable rates, change money through banks. Although fees charged for ATM transactions may be higher abroad than at home, Cirrus and Plus exchange rates are excellent, because they are based on wholesale rates offered only by major banks. You won't do as well at exchange booths in airports or rail and bus stations, in hotels, in restaurants, or in stores, although you may find their hours more convenient. I recommend we get a little money at a Venice airport ATM and then hit a bank ATM first thing Monday.

Electrical Devices

To use your U.S.-purchased electric-powered equipment, bring a converter and adapter. The electrical current in Italy is 220 volts, 50 cycles alternating current (AC); wall outlets take continental-type plugs, with two round prongs. Therefore, you need an adapter plug to adjust your appliance to the European socket.

If your appliances are dual-voltage, you'll need only an adapter. Otherwise, you will need a converter as well. Don't use 110-volt outlets, marked "for shavers only," for high-wattage appliances such as blow-dryers. Most laptops, tablets, cell phones etc. operate equally well on 110 and 220 volts and so require only an adapter.

Country CodesThe country code for Italy is 39. The telephone number for the Rifugio Fanes, for example, is: 0474/501097, where 0474 is the area code. When calling from abroad, the initial 0 from the local area code should be left out. For example, a call from Denver to the Rifugio Fanes would be dialed as 011 + 39 + 474 + 501097.

Travel Documents

When traveling internationally make at least two photocopies of your passport (one for someone at home and another for you, carried separately from your passport). Also, take a photo of your passport so that you have an extra copy on your camera. When staying in a hotel, it is best to leave your passport in a safe in your room while you are out for the day. If you lose your passport, promptly call the nearest embassy or consulate and the local police.