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| Approaching Misurina |
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| Lake Misurina |
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| The rocky Dolomites - view from Rif. Auronzo early in the morning |
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| Malga Ra Stua |
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| Malga Ra Stua |
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| St Mark's Basilica |
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| Famous Venetian marks |
Showing posts with label Dolomites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dolomites. Show all posts
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Italy 2016
We travelled back to the Dolomites for the weekend to do some more sightseeing in Italy. It was good to be back and I was pleased to recognise so many landmarks from last year. We stayed in the Grand Hotel in Misurina, home to a large natural lake at 1754m above sea level.
On our way back down from the mountains, we did a whistle-stop tour of Venice. We had about an hour to kill before our flight and we spent it route marching through the windy streets and canals, past the Rialto Bridge to St Mark's Square. We visited Venice together in 2007 and it was fun to be back as adults instead of students!
Friday, July 3, 2015
World War I Mountain Warfare
During our stay in Cortina we caught the cable car up to Mount Lagazuoi, a 2,800m peak in the Dolomites from which there are 360° views of the breathtaking mountains. However, beneath this beautiful landscape lies a labyrinth of tunnels which tell a more tragic story.
The Dolomites have always formed a physical and political border between Italy, Austria and Germany. One of the most tragic stories in the history of the Dolomites was the war for this border during World War I on the Italian Front. This was a series of battles between Austria-Hungary and Italy fought between 1915 and 1918. The front soon bogged down into trench warfare, but at very high altitudes, and thousands of soldiers died in futile battles on what the Italians call Il Fronte Verticale. Soldiers on both sides excavated miles of tunnels and galleries in the mountains, built temporary emplacements and fired at one another, without really changing the front line.
Rifugio Lagazuoi is a starting point to visit the restored fortifications of the World War I Open Museum and it is possible to see reminders of the mountain warfare that raged for so long. We put on our hardhats and headlamps and descended on the via ferrata - a rocky descent which relies on chains for support - into the gallery of tunnels inside the mountain. Even at the end of June there were icy patches inside the tunnels; it's hard to imagine what it was like in the winter of 1916 when 10 000 men died in avalanches alone.
The tunnels we visited were made by Italian soldiers who tunnelled stubbornly through the mountain in order to surprise the Austrian troops stationed on the summit. With metal ropes, stairs and ladders still intact, these tunnels show an incredible feat of engineering.
Many of the surrounding mountains are also riddled with the network of tunnels, and visitors can see bunkers, barbed wire, trenches, sandbags and other remnants of the war in the mountains. It is one of the most fascinating places we've ever visited - a challenging contrast of horror and beauty.
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| The cable car up to Mount Lagazuoi |
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| Beautiful views in all directions |
The Dolomites have always formed a physical and political border between Italy, Austria and Germany. One of the most tragic stories in the history of the Dolomites was the war for this border during World War I on the Italian Front. This was a series of battles between Austria-Hungary and Italy fought between 1915 and 1918. The front soon bogged down into trench warfare, but at very high altitudes, and thousands of soldiers died in futile battles on what the Italians call Il Fronte Verticale. Soldiers on both sides excavated miles of tunnels and galleries in the mountains, built temporary emplacements and fired at one another, without really changing the front line.
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| Look closely at the exit in the sheer cliff (bottom left of the picture) |
Rifugio Lagazuoi is a starting point to visit the restored fortifications of the World War I Open Museum and it is possible to see reminders of the mountain warfare that raged for so long. We put on our hardhats and headlamps and descended on the via ferrata - a rocky descent which relies on chains for support - into the gallery of tunnels inside the mountain. Even at the end of June there were icy patches inside the tunnels; it's hard to imagine what it was like in the winter of 1916 when 10 000 men died in avalanches alone.
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| The first part of the via ferrata |
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| The military 'highway' on the surface of the mountain |
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| One of the staircases going deep inside the mountain (It is pitch black inside) |
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| The exit to a lookout post |
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| The view from the lookout post |
The tunnels we visited were made by Italian soldiers who tunnelled stubbornly through the mountain in order to surprise the Austrian troops stationed on the summit. With metal ropes, stairs and ladders still intact, these tunnels show an incredible feat of engineering.
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| A machine gun gallery |
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| Fortifications and sandbags at a lookout post |
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| An officer's room inside the mountain |
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| Scraps of barbed wire and wood lying on the mountain |
Many of the surrounding mountains are also riddled with the network of tunnels, and visitors can see bunkers, barbed wire, trenches, sandbags and other remnants of the war in the mountains. It is one of the most fascinating places we've ever visited - a challenging contrast of horror and beauty.
Cortina d'Ampezzo
The small town of Cortina lies in the heart of the Dolomites, or southern Alps, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. The Boite River flows through the alpine valley and the surrounding mountains have made Cortina a top destination for winter holidays. We went there in summer to enjoy the spectacular mountain scenery and for Daniel to do a race.
Daniel participated in the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, a 119km race with 5,850m of climbing in the mountains. It was Daniel's first mountain ultra marathon in Italy and he did an amazing job to complete it! The race started at 23:00 with the first 50km in the dark...
While Daniel was out running, I was crewing for him. My job was to get up the windy mountain passes and meet Daniel at the various checkpoints along the way to help him restock his backpack. It was a lot of pressure, but I got to see some beautiful places and it was fantastic to see Daniel during the race instead of just at the start and finish line!
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| Cortina, nestled in its Dolomitic valley |
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| A quaint mountain town |
Daniel participated in the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, a 119km race with 5,850m of climbing in the mountains. It was Daniel's first mountain ultra marathon in Italy and he did an amazing job to complete it! The race started at 23:00 with the first 50km in the dark...
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| Just before sunrise at Rif. Auronzo. The course goes along the contour path. |
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| Coming into the checkpoint at Cimabanche |
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| Beautiful rolling hills at Malga Ra Stua |
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| The landscape was similar to the Jura! |
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| Passo Giau: last stop before the finish |
While Daniel was out running, I was crewing for him. My job was to get up the windy mountain passes and meet Daniel at the various checkpoints along the way to help him restock his backpack. It was a lot of pressure, but I got to see some beautiful places and it was fantastic to see Daniel during the race instead of just at the start and finish line!
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| A scenic mountain pass |
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| The aid station all set up for Daniel |
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| Running down the finishing straight in the rain! |
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