Ponte di Legno (4-5/12/2015)

My brother and I decided to join Davide, our aunt's boyfriend, on a ski trip to Ponte di Legno. Even though it had been sunny and dry all month we were hoping the artificial snow would be also good. After arriving Friday night we had a quick dinner and the hotel we were staying at in the small village of Temú and went straight to bed. The next day we woke up early at 7am to start skiing right away. After a quick but filling breakfast we headed to the nearby slopes and started skiing. Most of Temú's slopes were in the shade so the snow wasn't bad, however we decided to use the well connected lifts that took us through Ponte di Legno and eastwards in Passo del Tonale which was really bad since it was completely under the sun and the snow was already mushy in just two hours after the opening of the slopes. We then decided to head all the way up to the Presena Glacier, which reaching a height of 3000m was the only spot with real snow. The slope there was amazing, but it was just one and not too long, so after 4 times we descended it we then went back to Temú's slopes. We had a nice lunch outside while sunbathing and then decided to head back to the hotel since we were getting tired and the slopes weren't skiable anymore by how much mushy the snow had become. So after waiting a few minutes for Davide, we got in the car and headed for Ponte di Legno to walk a bit, around its town center. The town looked really nice with some old buildings remaining and some really nice wooden bridges spanning a small river, probably those from which the town took its name from. Being it dark already it was really nice to see the many lights and decorations all around town which had been set up and ready for the incoming Christmas holidays. After a relaxing stroll around we headed back to our hotel and had a plentiful dinner with the delicious local food. The next day we woke up early again but this time decided to hike rather than ski due to the mushy snow we did not enjoy the day before. The owner of our hotel suggested to us a nice hike which would take us to some WWI trenches nearby. So we set off and passed the small village of Villa Dalegno, and after heading up a steep path which led us through forest first, the open fields and finally up the rocky side of the mountain to our destination: the Bocchette di Val Massa. Where two mountains made of different types of rock met, there was a narrow pass that seemed of strategical importance during world war I when the italian army decided to build what seemed to be a small Great Wall similar to that in China but obviously much smaller in size. It was nonetheless breathtaking to look at since it wiggled its way up the side of the snow capped mountain and making us wonder how much it must have taken the soldiers to construct it. It was also particular in that it was entirely made in schist which was taken form the nearby mountain and surely contrasted with the rock from the other mountain it sat on. We walked the full length of it, looking through the machine gun positions and the tunnels and huts built by the soldiers who took shelter in such a cold and unpredictable environment. After a quick and unsatisfying sandwich we decided to start heading back down, after a couple of hours we reached Villa Dalegno again we luckily found a restaurant which was still open and decided to eat there being still very hungry. We were then back in Temú where Davided had just come back, ready to leave and go back home in Vicenza, after a pleasant yet quite tiring 5 hour hike. 

The Presena Glacier

Ponte di Legno

View from Villa Dalegno

The hiking path

View of the Adamello mountains

View from the top of the trenches

View of the complex of the trenches

Serra da Estrela (06/12/2014)

I found a guy on Blablacar, Antonio, that was going up to the Serra da Estrela for a ski trip so I contacted him and got 2 seats for Jurgis and I. Antonio was also a student in Coimbra and told me he would more trips in the future. Waking up early on the 6th we waited for Antonio to pick us up and were introduced to two other passengers, two Brazilian girls. We left Coimbra at 8 and reached the mountain at around 10. The first stop was at the ski slopes, the only ones in Portugal, where they were just starting to shoot artificial snow because even though it had snowed the week before the snow had already melted and there was only some still remaining in shaded areas. We then got back in the car and headed up to the highest point of the mountain range, at 1993m, that tanks to a tower of 7m made it to 2000m. At the spot there were a few mini markets which sold various things such as cheese and ham of the area, clothes that kept warm and other touristy objects. I had to buy a woolen hat because despite the hot sun the air was very cold and windy and my ears had started to freeze. We then headed east and down the mountain on the other side stopping at Lago do Viriato, an artificial but really pretty lake with views across the plateau and towards Torre (due to the tower) the highest point. We then got back in the car and traveled further heading down the glacial valley of Zezere, the only part of the Serra range that has trees and really ancient ones too. Then further down we stopped at the camping site of Covao d'Ametade with a small creek running through and birch trees all around with beautifully coloured autumn yellow leaves. After that we moved on to our next stop passing by the town of Manteigas where we took a right and followed the road to reach the Poço do Inferno or Hell's Well, a small but nice waterfall. After that we headed all the way back up to Torre where Jurgis and I walked around the plateau while the two girls with Antonio went to try skiing for their first time. We took a few pics and had fun, then around 3:30 we got back in the car and headed back to Coimbra marking the end of our trip.

The Lake Viriato

Going down the Zezere Valley

View from the camping site

The Covao d'Ametade camping site

The Zezere Valley

The plateau

The ski slopes