Tom`s travels: Canazei (28-30/12/2022)

After Christmas, we decided to spend a few days in the mountains with my brother, Ale, Giorgia, Giacomo, my aunt Miki, and Davide. We left Vicenza early on the morning of the 28th and reached the mountain town of Canazei about three hours later. Once there we checked into our hotel, the Garnì Aparthotel Princess, and quickly changed into our winter gear. Everyone else headed on to ski, while Ania and I decided to walk a bit in the snow around town as it was already past lunchtime and usually, the slopes are quite bad in terms of snow conditions. We left the hotel and walked up to the nearby group of old houses known as the village of Penia. We first stopped at the Bar de Penia to have a hot tea for Ania, and a hot chocolate for me, and then continued on. We passed by the church of Santi Sebastiano e Rocco, built in the 16th century, but mostly featuring a baroque form. A little further up we passed a little chapel, that of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, in the hamlet of Lorenz, made up of literally just a few houses, and then the chapel of Mater Amabilis, set in a scenic location at 1626m above sea level. Around it we could admire the beautiful view of the Dolomites; to the southeast the Marmolad, to the southwest the Colac. From that point, we stopped ascending and instead started to follow a path heading westwards along a path midway up the mount to the north. The way was finally in the sun so part of the snow, especially around the trees, had melted even at that high altitude, though the path was still covered in snow and partially iced as the melted snow would freeze over every night. We followed the path which led us through a pine forest which at one point led us to a vantage point from where we could finally observe the beautiful Sassolungo mountain far in the distance. After a bit more forest we then reached another panoramic spot this time over the town of Canazei, opening up below us across the valley. From there, a steep descent through the snow and rocks brought us to a road that eventually led us into town. At that point, we turned eastwards and walked back towards our hotel admiring the peaks of the surrounding Dolomites turning yellow and then pink as the sun was setting. Once back we had a shower and then went to the pool and to the sauna before changing into fresh clothes and heading out with everyone else to the restaurant. We ate at the Agriturismo Malga Piè in the town of Soraga about a 25-minute drive from our hotel. The place was really nice and we had some really tasty food including a cold cuts and cheese appetizer, canederli, and carpaccio with veggies.

The following morning after an early rise, Ania stayed at the hotel to rest, while I headed with my brother to ski. I bought my ticket which now costs a whopping 58 euros and then took the cable car to the slopes north of the town, known as Col dei Rossi. There, at 2382m, we had an incredible 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains. To the south the Marmolada, to the northeast the Piz Boè, to the north the Sella Group, and to the northwest the Sassolungo. Westwards in the distance, we could also make out the Cantinaccio Group and other minor mountains as far as the eyes could see. After a few slopes, we then headed back up with the lifts to reach the Rifugio Sass Becé, at 2423m, and from there admire the whole sections of mountains to the east including the Lagazuoi and Tofane right above Cortina. We skied then on the Passo Pordoi side as it was already in the sun which made it warmer and with an even more beautiful view. My brother then suggested we ski towards the Marmolada as it would still be in the sun and worth getting to the top to enjoy the view. We reached the Passo Fedaia and then skied down a lovely easy slope in the sun and sided by beautiful pine trees covered in snow until we reached the Malga Ciapela hamlet from where we then took the cablecar up to the top of Serauta at 2950m. After another short ride further we then reached the top of Punta Rocca at 3265m right in front of Punta Penìa, the peak of the Marmolada, and at 3343m the highest mountain of the Dolomites. From the top the view was insane. We could see literally every peak of the Dolomites and in the distance other alpine mountain groups, including those in Austria. It was fun to spot and name all the peaks of the dolomites due to their unique shape and form. After enjoying the beautiful view we then skied all the way down the tough but epic slope, which was mostly void of other skies due to its height and difficulty, and then reached Passo Fedaia again. From here a ski lift then took us up to Rifugio Padon. Here the slopes were nice, easy, and open with lots of fresh snow all around, and shortly after we reached the town of Arabba. At that point, we then took another lift back up to Passo Pordoi and then decided to look for a place to eat lunch. We first stopped at a couple of Rifugi but weren't sure, so we then ended up stopping at the Rifugio Fredarola where I had the typical skier dish, eggs, speck, and potatoes. After lunch, we hit another few slopes and then it was time for me to head back down into Canazei to pick up Ania and ski a little longer with her. We had a little miscommunication as I thought she would then meet me at the ski lift entrance while she understood I was going to pick her up at the hotel. So I then went down to Canazei, hid my skis behind a hut, then walked all the way to our hotel in my ski boots, and then picked Ania and her skis up. We then walked back into town and here reached the Alba-Ciampac ski gondola. I then randomly asked a few people on the way who were finishing their day of skiing and heading to their cars if they were willing to part with their ski pass. A friendly family said they were heading home and gave us then their ticket so that Ania could use it for a couple of slopes. I thanked them kindly and then we took the lift up to Ciampac. Here we found an easy slope mostly used by kids to train and ski. Ania and I had a few slopes and enjoyed the last hour before sunset. After the skiing session, we then took the lift back down to town because the slope was a black diamond and long so Ania preferred the lift. On the way down we enjoyed the beautiful sun ray glistening in the rock face of the dolomites turning them first gold and later pink. After getting back to the hotel we showered and changed and then got ready to leave for dinner. We drove again around 25 minutes to the town of Vigo di Fassa where we then stopped at the restaurant El Tobià. Here I had a really tasty dinner consisting of canederli as a first course, pork in blueberry sauce with mashed potatoes and veggies as a second course, and a delicious kaisersmarrn as dessert.

The next morning our last day in the mountains, we all just spent it just chilling in town and walking around. We left our hotel and drove into Canazei where we then found a parking spot. Then we had a little stroll around the town and then decided to follow a path in the snow along the Avisio stream. We walked a couple kilometers until we reached the hamlet of Campestrin and from there turned around and walked on the main road to reach the town of Campitello di Fasso, where we strolled around its town center with its nice little Christmas market and then from there walked back to Canazei. Before leaving we bought some local food delicacies including canederli and speck and then drove off in the direction of Vicenza.