Ever since the first trip to the Dolomites I have been planning to return. Finally in 2015 I had the opportunity, this time as part of a Motorbike trip. What better way than to ride down through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria and into the stunning Dolomites?
Leaving England on a wet Sunday morning we made our way down to Folkestone for the crossing by train and were soon on the continent. We had planned a four day ride down which went well and we soon found our way heading up the valley to the small town of Corvara which was to be our base for a week of walking and climbing.
The self-catering apartment was perfect and in an ideal spot, close to the supermarket, several walking routes and a couple of cable car stations.
Our first day in the mountains saw us ride up to the Falzarego Pass to take the chair lift up to the top of the Langazuoi Tunnels. Rising quickly we were soon on the top, in the mist! Okay, coffee first, then walking. We headed down to the tunnels on the obvious path and were soon opening the wooden door to the entrance. Donning head torches and crash helmets we ventured in, only to find the way blocked by a sign saying that the tunnels were closed! Disaster! We re-traced our steps and headed down a little further to another likely looking entrance. This one took us a little further into the mountain and gave us an excellent view of the valley but still a dead end. The same story repeated itself as we descended. Finally concluding we were not going to be going into any tunnels today, we enjoyed the walk down, stopping along the route for lunch in a shelter from the wind. Eventually we skirted round and came upon a wired ladder. Unable to resist, I climbed it to see what was at the top - not much! Nice view though. Further down we came to the lower exit of the tunnels, so I decided to investigate and found the route apparently open. Not convinced we decided to abandon for the day rather than climbing all the way back up through the tunnels only to find our way blocked at the top.
Standing at over 3,100m, Piz Boe is a nice mountain to climb for lots of reasons; there is a cable car, well, two actually, that take the walker past the boring bits, there is a nice refuge at the top of the second cable car providing coffee on the way up and beer on the way down, the route is pretty straightforward and there is a refuge at the summit! What is there not to like? Well...
After coffee we headed out along the signposted route at the base of the huge cliff to our right. We had bought our Via Ferrata gear with us as there was a nice route to the summit but made a decision to stick to the walking route. Eventually, the path splits, one route continues straight ahead, our route turns sharply right and uphill through a gap in the cliffs. It is extremely steep, made more so by the fact that it is a giant scree slope so progress is slow and hard but thankfully short-lived and after about 30 minutes of hard slog, including a roped section that we had to pull on to gain purchase on the friable rock, we emerged onto a much flatter section. From there, the summit aerials are in sight, but still some distance away. There is an easier walking section, still uphill but nowhere near as hard as the scree slopes, but then it goes steep again, but this time on much better rock. Finally we could see people milling about on the summit and eventually crested the rise and saw the refuge - a very welcome sight. I was dispatched to secure refreshments, returning with coffee and cake, which whilst not cheap, wasn't stupid at 11 Euros for both of us.
Of course, no mountain ascent is complete without the obligatory photos which were made even better with the Marmolada in the background which was taken full advantage of to give a nice record of a climb well done.
Suitably refreshed we started our descent which, whilst easier than the ascent, had its moments where steep steps down caused knees to complain bitterly. Once at the top of the scree slope we slowed our descent, picking our way slowly down taking full advantage of the rope to ease our descent to flatter ground and the walk back to the refuge, this time for a very welcome beer, followed by the short walk to the cable car and a very relaxing descent to Corvara.
The start for this Via Ferrata is at a car park off the main road, in fact the first big car park out of Corvara so easy to find. Geared up, I headed out along the sign-posted path which is initially a walk until an obvious wall is reached with wire runners disappearing upwards. I found myself behind five other climbers, but quickly donned my Via Ferrata gear and was on the climb whilst they were still thinking about it - result. The first section is steep, but featured good hand and foot holds plus staples where necessary to aid the climber. At the top of this section, there is a further 5-10 minute walk along a terrace before reaching the main climb just before the huge waterfall. The route is relentlessly steep and airy and would definitely not suit those of a nervous disposition! I climbed quite quickly, passing others on the way, enjoying the experience, the fabulous position and the joy of climbing. After just over an hour I came to a split in the route, one showing the route off to the left which was the walking route to the hut, moving away from the Via Ferrata, the other staying on the rock and heading steeply upwards - my route choice! From here, the route got much harder and required some elegant moves to gain height - definitely not one for the beginner. I began to see why the route split off where it did. Moving upwards I eventually reached the bridge which crossed a huge chasm and marked the end of the climb. It was safe to remove harness and gear at this point and follow the path up to the hut which took a further 15 minutes.
Happy to rest for a while and have lunch, I enjoyed the views all around before packing up and heading off to the descent route. This follows walking route 666 off to the left facing away from the summit tower. Easy walking soon gives way to a steep descent, wired at the top and in fact, forming a Via Ferrata of its own. It is not essential to clip in but the wire can be useful at times for some of the steep downward steps. Eventually this relents and a zig zag path on the scree leads down to the car park again. This can be either walked, or in my case, jogged down taking about 30 minutes to complete. The ascent guide time is 2 1/2 - 3 hours and descent is at 1 1/2 hours, I had summitted in 2 hours and descended in 45 minutes so was well pleased with my efforts.
The Col Alt footpath starts just above the supermarket and follows a steady but steep path to the summit at 2,000m. The path is mostly in the wooded area so makes a pleasant walk, boosted by the regular viewpoints along the way. We ascended steadily, promising ourselves a nice coffee at the summit and maybe a double treat of a cable car ride back down. Eventually the path emerges from the woods and becomes very indistinct, mostly one would presume because the summit refuge is directly above. Some elect a direct ascent, we decided to skirt around and take a more pleasant route up. Tragically, not only was the cable car not running, but the refuge was closed! On the upside, the views across the mountains were spectacular so we had that as a reward if nothing else. The descent, as they say, is a reversal of the ascent and we soon found ourselves back in Corvara, electing as we often did, to find the nearest coffee and cake serving cafe to gain our reward.
All good things must come to an end and we were packing for the three day return, this time though Austria and Germany to France where we would take the Peage direct route back to Calais for the return trip. Our total mileage was just over 2,000, the bike performed faultlessly and for the most part the weather was kind to us, although we did have some heavy rain on the first couple of days and the day before we left Corvara it actually snowed, but cleared for departure day. The apartment in Corvara was perfect (Villa Trieste) and the owners did everything to make our stay a good one - we would have no hesitation in recommending them. The hotels on the way down and back were mostly budget hotels, but on a trip of this kind, that is all you need and all of them were good with no complaints.
