Tom`s travels: Snowshoeing in the Dolomites (01-03/03/2024)

At the beginning of March, Kyle, my brother, and I, decided to do a snowshoeing trip in the Dolomites. We left Vicenza early in the morning heading north towards the mountains. After a brief stop in San Vito di Cadore for a second breakfast we then reached Cortina d'Ampezzo and drove further up to reach the Sant'Uberto parking. We left our car there and then put our snowshoes on. We left the parking heading down along the trail to reach the Boite River. Originally when planning the itinerary we had seen that there wasn't much snow and the temperatures were above the season's average. However, as we had gotten closer to the dates the temperatures had dropped and it had snowed quite a bit. That meant though that the trail was much harder as we made double the effort to advance through the nearly knee-deep snow. We took turns to be the forerunner but still, it took a lot of time and effort to advance. Strangely, as we had started the walk, despite the altitude at around 1400m, it was raining and we had rain until at least 1600m. After that, the rain eventually turned into snow. Once we reached the Boite River, we crossed over its snow-covered wooden bridge and passed the now-frozen Fanes waterfall. This marked the beginning of the Fanes Gorge which we started following heading uphill. We had two mountain massifs towering above us, on the right the Spalti di Col Bechei with the Taé and Col Bechei peaks, while to the left the Croda del Vallon Bianco. Unfortunately, due to the weather, the peaks were barely visible covered by a blanket of clouds and snow. After a push uphill we then reached a relatively flat plateau set at about 1840m where we took a short break. The place, known as Pantane, was the border between Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige. We continued on, further heading uphill until we reached the Lago Limo, a small lake now obviously frozen over and covered in snow. A snowstorm had also caught up with us and we could barely see a few meters in front of us. Up until that point we had been the only ones walking along the valley on that day as there was no trail on the snow to see and we had only been able to follow the partially covered signposts and the trail on our phones. From the lake, a short downhill trail finally led us to the Rifugio Fanes, set at 2060m and the place where we would spend the night. The way there had taken more than we expected, due to the snow, more than six hours, and right before sunset. Once inside the hut, we were shown to our room and we treated ourselves to a nice warm shower. For dinner, we had a full-course meal which also included refills. We had a tasty bean and pasta soup as a first course, salmon with potatoes and zucchini as a second course, and a cake for dessert.

After a good night's sleep the next morning we woke up early for breakfast and to our surprise, looking outside the window, found it was nice and sunny. We ate quickly and then headed out to take advantage of the weather for a few photos before beginning our second day of snowshoeing. Clearly visible were all the peaks surrounding us, part of the Fanes-Sennes-Braies Natural Park. Leaving the Rifugio Fanes behind we headed downhill not needing the snowshoes as we were using the snowy path used by the snowmobile used to deliver goods and people to the hut. We enjoyed the amazing view of the snow-covered landscape around us and the pink rocky dolomite peaks. Together with the sun in the face warming us up, it made it seem like we were in a completely different world compared to the day before. We continued downhill, eventually encountering a few hikers, snowshoes, or skies along the way, not something we had experienced the day before when it had just been us three. In under two hours, we had reached the Pederü hut, located at 1548m. Here we decided to wait another half hour and have lunch before continuing on the rest of the hike. I had cheese canederli, Will had beetroot casunziei, and Kyle had goulash. Once we were done with lunch a very long and steep ascent awaited us right next to the hut. The sky was now mostly covered in clouds again but with the sun still peering through here and there. That made the ascent a little easier as it meant it wasn't as warm. After the steep climb, we came upon a plateau where the small hamlet of Fodara Vedla is set at 1980m. This consists of a mountain hut and other small buildings used in the summer which now looked abandoned with no one around and everything closed and covered in snow. We had a break here and ate some of the food we had brought with us in the backpacks. Continuing onwards uphill we left the trodden snowmobile path and followed a trail covered in snow through some forest. Eventually, we reached the Rifugio Sennes, set at 2126m, and surrounded by an immense plateau all covered in snow which gave the impression of being in an otherworldly environment. We were going to spend the night there, however, we had to wait a bit downstairs before being shown to our rooms as we had arrived earlier than the previous day. After checking in and a hot shower we then relaxed a little before heading down to eat dinner. In this case, the dinner was not included in the price but we still ordered quite a lot as we were hungry. I had again canederli with cheese and for dessert a tasty kaiserschmarrn.

In the morning, our last day on the three-day snowshoeing, we woke up early but as there was a snowstorm outside decided to wait it out a little and headed back to sleep. Then finally awake we had breakfast and got ready to head out. Our aim was then to try and head up the plateau towards the Rifugio Biella and from there head back down the valley. However after half an hour in knee-deep snow, with super strong wind, a white landscape, and no way to find the trail under that snow blanket, we decided to head back to the hut and follow the easy direct way down the valley. We left the Rifugio Sennes behind and followed the trodden path downhill, soon after entering Veneto once more. We descended the valley, and on the way down, to our left, up the plateau, we also managed to spot a couple of chamois. As we headed down we met a few hikers heading up to the hut asking for directions or generally just saying hello. The landscape was similar to the first, day, albeit slightly better, with snow all around and low clouds covering the peaks. At one point we reached an opening, known as Campo di Croce, where we met up with the Boite River. We tried leaving the trodden path to take a trail on the other side of the river but the knee-deep snow made it impossible to see if we were following it or losing ourselves in the forest so instead turned around and took the easy way onwards. After a short while, we eventually came in sight of the Rifugio Ra Stua, set at 1690m. Here we stopped for lunch and had probably the best meal so far. I got canederli with deer meat sauce and then again kaiserschmarrn as dessert. Leaving the hut behind we continued downhill and at one point left the trodden path as we were finally able to follow the trail through the woods. It led us along the Boite River and we also managed to see it's nice waterfalls at one point. Then a little further, we also came upon the ruins of a fort used during WWI by the advancing Austro-Hungarian army to control the area and potentially fire upon Cortina, which we could already make out in the distance. In fact, a bit more walking eventually led us back to the parking lot and our car. Driving back, we made a brief stop in Cortina to walk the main street and buy some casunziei before eventually driving home to Vicenza.