Two for the Road: Couple goes hut-to-hut in Italy’s Dolomites
Two for the Road:
Scrambling from hut to hut in the Dolomites
Outdoor adventure travel is a rewarding way to see the world, especially for people who think the whole idea of relaxing on a vacation is overrated. A pair of travelers often is the most thrifty way to go, sharing cost for travel, food and accommodations. And couples who’ve made a commitment to each other reap even longer lasting memories.
In the next few weeks, The Spokesman-Review will run a “Two for the Road” series of stories featuring several local couples who cooked up trips of a lifetime to match their cumulative interests.
First: Brad Myers and Alex Butler, two rock climbers head to Italy’s Dolomites, where they not only rope up, but also take a leap to tie the knot.
Cost per day per couple: Roughly 125 Euros, not counting the ring.
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It was midday in the Dolomites when an Italian man stopped my fiancée and me for an impromptu history lesson. The three of us peered over the cliff face together as he pointed at trenches dug during WWI.
“You see that odd gap over there,” he said. “The Italians made a tunnel to the center of that mountain and blew it up.”
Months earlier, from the comfort of my living room, I’d enlisted the help of my favorite travel agent, Google. Searching for a trip in the Dolomites, a mountain range in the northeast corner of Italy, I came across a weeklong hut-to-hut itinerary from a reputable guide service.
Based off the guides’ trip description, I made all the necessary reservations listed in the itinerary and with that our self-guided adventure of Italy’s most famous mountain range was booked.
Choosing rails over a rental car, we took a train from Milan to the mountain town of Bolzano. Another train to a smaller town and a bus ride finally had us in the heart of the Dolomites. We welcomed the switch from navigating public transportation to some of Europe’s most stunning peaks.
Our trip was a combination of hiking and navigating via ferratas – the “iron roads” of Italy’s precipitous peaks. Via ferratas, made of heavy gauge steel cable, are fixed to the side of mountains, allowing the hiker to clip into the cable system using a climbing harness.
Once clipped into the system, the hiker can climb steep, exposed sections of a mountain face that would otherwise be unsafe for traversing.
Via ferratas can also include rebar ladders, tunnels and suspension bridges in addition to the cable. With more than 130 ferratas in the Dolomites, the options seem endless.
Via ferratas date back to World War I when the Dolomites were still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy waged an intense high alpine battle against Austria in the surrounding mountains between 1915-17.
By installing via ferratas, the Italian Alpine Military was able to move men and supplies more quickly and safely. The original ferrata hardware installed during WWI has long since been replaced by the Italian Alpine Club, which is responsible for the maintenance of the via ferratas.
What remains of the military installations is a haunting reminder of the war. With headlamps we crouched through long tunnels carved deep into the mountainside. We took a lunch break in front of a barrack built into the rock. And stood inside military emplacements, peering through the same small holes used to attack the enemy.
The Dolomite Mountains are a well-known winter destination, but the region also draws large crowds during the summer season. Knowing this, we booked each night’s stay well in advance, which left us little flexibility but also ensured our accommodations.
We found plenty of people on the mountain routes – and the via ferratas can get a little crowded at times. But by timing our trip for late July, we avoided the more crowded European vacation season of August.
We tweaked our route often, heeding suggestions from fellow hikers, locals and hut staff. Sometimes that meant jumping a chairlift to shave off a chunk of elevation, catching a gondola to skip a grueling descent, or hopping a local bus to dart down the valley.
One day we finished an 8-hour hike by hitching a short lift in the back of a pickup.
Luxury is a word not often associated with mountain huts, but in Italy you’re never more than a couple of miles from a cappuccino, a cold beer or a freshly baked piece of pie. Many of these huts are owned and operated by families. At one hut, a woman checked us in, her son served us dinner and her husband saw us off in the morning.
We alternated accommodations between private rooms and dormitory discounts. Half board costs around 50 euros per night per person and includes lodging, an impressive 3-course dinner and a hearty breakfast spread of meats, cheeses, cereals and coffee.
Without needing room for tents and food we traveled “light and fast” with 30-liter backpacks that held everything for a seven-day journey.
To minimize the chance of getting caught in an afternoon thunderstorm, we set off early each morning. Spectacular sunrises cast an orange glow across endless limestone peaks as we hiked along trails lined with colorful wildflowers. Mornings were also the best time to see small herds of chamois, a wild goat-antelope with short hooked horns, bounding up the rock face.
On our last day we trudged into the lobby of Hotel Ospitale on fumes. The roadside hotel was nicely positioned for our bus ride back to civilization. On the terrace, with a cold beer and cheese plate in front of us, we had reached the end of our self-guided tour of the Dolomites.
The week had not passed without challenges, both physical and logistical, but then again, adventure rarely begins or ends with a private shuttle.
The Dolomites, in our case, are the foundation for more than memories. I chose this trip as the special occasion to propose marriage to Alex Butler. She made it the trip of a lifetime by saying, “Yes.”