Hiking in the Dolomites
Hello, as a follow up to MAXPAX's thread:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63811
as promised I am posting some pictures and links that may be of further interest.
The area in question here is the Dolomites, a group off mountains within the Eastern Alpine arch. From here: 46 32' 15" N 12 09' 18" E , the village of Cortina d'Ampezzo, you can take off in the morning and do several day or multi-day hikes and treks. The scenery may be familiar, as it was the location for the shooting of the film CLIFFHANGER, with Sylvester Stallone.
There area is crisscrossed by several trails and mountain routes. Most of them were established during WW1, where the Austrian Kaiserjager and the Italian Alpini were engaged in mountain warfare at the time.
The Dolomites are famous for "Via Ferrata", whereby one can climb and scramble over steep mountains secured by a fixed steel cable. Many of the most spectacular "Ferrate" are simply the trails that the troops used to climb and establish their posts on top of mountains.
My family is originally from North East Italy, so here are some pictures of the kids visiting "the old country" with dad.
for the history buffs: I will put the coordinates and the names of the places throughout this thread: there are a lot more interesting pictures on google earth regarding the area and also WW1.
A marker from 1753, delineating the border of the then "Republic of Venice" (Not yet part of Italy), to the north, at: 46 36' 45" N 12 13' 33" E
Monte Piana, at 46 36' N 12 14' 49" E, trenches.
Still on monte piana, volunteers collecting and exhibiting objects from ww1 found in the area:
Now getting ready for a hike: it's a good Idea to keep your kids on a leash around here!
A "Via Ferrata": son of crafter scrambling & tethered to a steel cable
We meet a "High altitude nun" ! Happily strolling along at 10,000 feet. Note the difference in equipment: us vs her. She must know something we don't!
More scenery at 10,000 feet overlooking the cortina valley.
Some scenery looking north from 46 29' 40" N 12 3' 6" E, looking across the valley that was the WW1 front.
This is the view from the other side of the valley, from Mount Lagazuoi:
46 31' 40" N 12 00' 33" E
The trail, midway down the mountain, marks the position of the Italian trenches during WW1, the Austrian troops held the top of the mountain.
So the Italian troops excavated a gallery INSIDE the mountain, to get all the way to the top and place a huge bomb, which they exploded. Here we are inside the gallery.
On top of the mountain
Here are some links to historical documents regarding WW1 in the area
Il Fronte Dolomitico - YouTube
La Grande Guerra 1915-1918:In alta quota (documentario) - YouTube
Grande Guerra - La marmolada - YouTube
I found some videos in English about the "Vie Ferrate" in the area
Via Ferrata in the Dolomites - YouTube
Brenta Dolomites via ferrata via delle Bochette.WMV - YouTube
The ferrata on the Lagazuoi, with an explanation of the gallery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=...s&feature=fvwp
Thanks for watching.
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