A room with a view! Rosa Alpina in San Cassiano in Badia is a picture perfect start to our Dolomites trek.

We’re spoilt for choice at the Rosa Alpina. Breakfast was divine!

The cutest rifugio for a mid-hike espresso. Italy’s network of rifigios make mountain treks easy to stretch over several days. We only stopped at Rifugio Santa Croce for a coffee and cake, but many rifugios offer lodging (some very luxurious!) and gourmet meals.

The Val Badia region in South Tyrol, Italy is one picturesque village after another.

Lunch break finished, we assessed our next challenge: to cross this scree field.

A first taste of a via ferrata. Italian for “iron path,” a via ferrata can be iron steps, ladders, suspension bridges or a steel cable fixed into a rock wall. First created during World War I to help troops carry supplies to remote areas in the Italian Alps, vie ferrata are now enjoyed by recreational hikers and mountain enthusiasts.

It was a bad time for a storm. We were miles from any type of shelter.

Right of the scree field and beyond is where we started our day.

Thankfully, the weather had cleared overnight and we were on the trail by 7:30 am. Our path hugged the mountains to the left and then turned left between them, to Corvara in Badia.

After a coffee break, we met up with our ferrata guide, Marco. He brought our harnesses and helmets for the Via Ferrata Tridentina.

This was to be the beginning of my love for vie ferrata, motivation to train in Chicago at a climbing gym, and future trips based on climbing.

Our big clunky hiking boots added to the challenge.

Via ferrata are popular! These are the climbers after us, who became part of our story, and a view of Corvara below.

She likes it! We are hooked.

At the end of the ferrata is the bridge of no return…

We’ve come this far…it’s cross the bridge or climb all the way down.

Ferrata accompli ✅

At some point on the ferrata I noticed the bite valve of my hydration pack had gone missing, a bummer this early on in the trek. Little did I know that it had bounced its way down the mountain and…remember the group climbing after us? He had the presence of mind to grab it. When he got to the top he returned it to me…karma.

Our refuge for the night was just above the ferrata end point, Rifugio Cavazza al Pisciadù. It looks awfully close but that last eighth of a mile can be hard.

Trail 666 and it felt…unforgiving.

Dawn surveys our next leg, scanning the landscape for the Rifugio Boè, once managed by our guide Marika’s parents.

After we had hiked the first section we could look back and see Corvara again, far below.

Marika knows this section of the Dolomites well. She grew up here.

The Piz Boè summit was for us a two and a half day hike, and the highest elevation on this trek. From the other side there is a lift from town that takes you nearly to the top, so it is sometimes busy.

Our route had been carefully chosen by Patty and Marika, and it was time for a special diversion. We left the Piz Boè summit not in the direction of the lift, but to the northeast, toward a very special rifugio.

Piz Boè was our highest elevation for this trip. As we left the summit visibility was good, and we could see some of the future towns we would visit.

Going down isn’t always easier than going up.

Marmolada

Our first glimpse of our favorite stop: Rifugio Franz Kostner

Weird hiking fact: It’s actually harder to motivate yourself to keep walking when you see your destination and it’s still out of reach.

Rifugio Franz Kostner.

Finally! a rifugio where they speak our language: a bowl of coffee.

Making our way on Via Ferrata Piz da Lech. This was not as long as Via Ferrata Tridentina but had 2 very steep sections with iron ladders bolted to the mountain.

We both reached for our cameras at the same time. 

Vie ferrata are scattered throughout the Dolomites. This one is close enough to the Rifugio Franz Kostner to allow for a fun morning diversion. You can see how far we’ve come! The rifugio is just out of the shot to the right.

It’s vertical!

Two iron ladders help climbers scale the steepest sections of Via Ferrata Piz da Lech.

The panoramic view at the top of Via Ferrata Piz da Lech. From here, you are rewarded with views of the Sella group, as well as Mount Pelmo, Civetta and the Marmolada.

From the top of the Ferrata Piz da Lech we could see Rifugio Cavazza al Pisciadù, our lodgings from two days prior. 

This is a view back towards Piz Boè from the top of Ferrata Piz da Lech.

Piz da Lech summit for the adventure duo. 9,550 feet.

A view of the Marmolada in the distance and of the Rifugio Franz Kostner below. The trail we took to the ferrata and the rock face we climbed…from the top of the Ferrata Piz da Lech.

Top Set Trekkers Dolomites group

As we approached Col di Lana, our rest stop for the night, we paused to visit the Sacrario Germanico del Passo Pordoi, a WWI memorial.

Marika! She is the perfect guide: knowledgeable, confident, friendly, and proud of her home and region.

Rifugio Val de Pan: a beautiful building nestled in the mountains of Italy, accessible mainly by foot, where you can enjoy some of the best espresso drinks on the planet.

Our lunch destination: Col de Cuk at the edge of the reservoir ahead in Canazei. They’re known for their amazing pizza!

The spongy terrain was a welcome change from rocks and scree.

Closer to town we encountered a few other groups; one French, one British.

Col de Cuk is a popular stop for hikers and cyclists. A very welcoming restaurant with excellent pizza, an amazing terrace with deckchairs and views of the Marmolada.

We took full advantage of the loungers on the Col de Cuk deck while we waited for our pizza in Canazei.

Either I wasn’t tired enough or the pull of a new challenge was too strong…I had to try the slack line.

The next two sections we hiked are connected by popular towns, so we encountered more day hikers.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the Dolomites. We had been passing a flu bug back and forth and no one was feeling particularly well, but we were just so happy to be there and with one another we didn’t really notice.

Patty kept telling us about the “sexy cows” and here they were. This breed has especially long eyelashes!

Soaking in everything we have done and seen thus far…and there are still surprises ahead!

Ah yes…the scree field! This time we are headed down, so we will skate our way to the bottom.

Jenny and Marika scree-skating together.