The weather last night had taken a sudden turn for the better and we had had a view of the beautiful Croda da Lago mountain lit up by a burst of late sunshine.
Tofana was also beginning to have some gorgeous light…
That boded well for today though it was totally the opposite of the Il Meteo forecast.As it turned out, a quick check on the BBC and Met Office websites, revealed a much more accurate forecast of the day ahead.
Woke up to a beautiful morning of cloud clearing quickly with some great light on that beautful pyramid mountain which our apartment looked onto.
We also had a first clear view of Tofana di Rozes, the 10,600 ft mega peak which rises above Cortina. Wow – what a great start to the day!
Felt really excited to get underway and drive the 20 mins or so to the chairlift for the Cinque Torri (5 Torri) rock cluster and – possibly – a walk to nearby rifugios.
Tofana di Rozes looked amazing as we headed once more along the Falzarego Pass road. We were amongst the first to arrive at the parking area (free) and we had a half hour or so wait until the lift opened at 9am. No hardship – I’d read that parking can be at a premium especially on a lovely sunny day as this was turning out to be.I couldn’t stop taking photos of Tofana – what a peak!
Not a breath of wind again as the chairlift whisked us up to Rifugio Scoiatolli, which has a reputation of offering great food. The outside terrace was already all set out for lunch – an incredible lunch spot! The 5 Torri below from the top of the chairlift…
This whole area – I really began running out of superlatives, it was magnificent.Mount Averau…
Spent a bit of time sitting having a coffee, getting our bearings and admiring the panorama. A very wide gravel path headed off towards the Rifugio Averau on the right which we could just make out at a low pass. Nuvolau was a dot on the left, higher up agai. Decided to focus our time on getting to the huts, leaving out the explore of the Cinque Torri; we knew we couldn’t fit everything in today and the next two days were suggesting thunderstorms coming in.Nuvolau at end of low escarpment to the left.Averau at the low point of pass…
The walk to Averau turned out to be a delightfully easy stroll of 20mins or so with outstanding views all around. In fact, the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest, was clearly visible, a great snow covered mountain to the east.
Averau sits at the base of the craggy peak of the same name and there were a few people heading up there with Via Ferrata equipment.
Looking across to Rifugio Lagazuoi and the Fanis group…
Zoomed to Lagazuoi…
Pano from Averau…
Nuvolau Hut was another 25 mins up a wide, rocky escarpment so after taking photos, we carried on.Nuvolau Rifugio…
Firstly, a minor clamber up onto the escarpment. It was easy enough though a little slithery given the limestone was very slippy from the rain. In fact, there was a much easier way up and down to Nuvolau by missing out the Averau hut.
We now joined many people slowly ascending the limestone pavement.
We had noticed that our breathing was coming a bit heavier, this high up and had been aware of this on other walks. The path was much rockier now but there WAS path which made it a simple ascent and plenty width to feel secure on.
Things narrowed a bit more near the Rifugio itself but there was no exposure and we were soon standing at the amazing perch that is Nuvolau at 8,500ft.
Wow! We were now surrounded by a 360 degree panorama of mountain rangs – Cristallo (above Cortina), Croda da Lago, Fanis, Tofana, Cernera, Marmolad, Pelmo. It was really a complete thrill to be up here and also to have got here so relatively easily.
Mount Averau itself above the rifugio of the same name…
Croda da Lago above…
Pelmo with hikers on the steep peak next to us…
The Cernera group…
Marmolada below, the highest in the Dolomites…zoomed…
Cortina far below…
After sometime just admiring where we were, we grabbed a terrace seat and were soon enjoying nice creamy lattes, sitting in t-shirts in the warm sunshine then taking more photos…
Grossglockner (12,461 ft) zoomed…
The rifugio…
Quite a site looking down to the Giau pass…
Chatted to an Irish chap who we took some photos of, as his wife had turned back halfway up. If you are not used to mountain ascents I suppose the dizzying drops on each side of the rocky promontory which we had come up, might have been unsettling but it was so wide there was no need to look down at all. That said, I do suffer from vertigo and logic doesn’t always come into it, if you feel spooked.
After a good 40 mins or so on this lofty perch, it was time to descend as this was a travel day and we had to reach Ortisei in the western side of the Dolomites, about a 2 hour winding drive away.
It was much busier than it had been earlier, with loads of people ascending. We also found the very benign path off the escarpment and which took us down to the main service road to the Cinque Torri and Rifugio Scoiatolli.
Had lunch here, sitting out on the outside terrace, admiring the amazing vistas all around. Wiener Schnitzel and chips for Chris, home made pasta with fresh tomato, basil puree and pecorina for me. Both delicious, really big platefuls!
As at Locatelli, we bought a quality professional photo panorama of the area for 15 euros, identifying the mountains we could see.
Very sorry to have to head down the chairlift, we really could have spent the rest of the day just wandering about up here it was all so dramatic and beautiful.What an amazing experience though Ortisei and Seceda lay ahead!
Previous days:THE BEST OF THE DOLOMITES TRE CIME LAVAREDO AND RIFUGIO LOCATELLI HIKE LAGO DI BRAIES – WALKING IN THE RAIN
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