WE wanted to do another Hut to hut hike in Italy after the very successful Tour of Mt Blanc in
2006. Looking through various sources I came up with the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites.
The hike extends from Lago de Braises near Austria to Belluno two hours by train to Venice. It is almost directly north to south.Unlike the Tour Of Mt. Blanc the trail stays up in the mountains and does not pass through any towns.
(It is possible to travel by ski lifts down to civilization and near roads to civilization)
The attractions of a multiday hike like this are many. Beautiful scenery, excellent huts with beds,showers and food. No camping! Also after hiking for 4-8 hours it is possible to eat everything and not gain weight. In fact I last a few pounds.
Logistics- The closest place to fly is Venice,well you can fly to Milan, or a few other northern European cities but we hadn't been to Venice in quite some time, so we spent 3 nights on the way in and 4 on the way out there.
The easiest way to reach northern end is by bus from Venice to Cortina and then from cortina to the Dobbiaco the town near the lago de Braises start.
We like to go on our own,self navigate and we carry our own pack. There are several disadvantages to going on a group trip
1. Cost 2-3 times as much as do it yourself
2. On their timetable and schedule- we were told by one group on the tour Of Mt Blanc that they were skipping the "Ugly sections". News- there are no ugly sections there or on this hike.
There may be section where it would be difficult to support a group or porter their luggage.Their solution, skip that section
3.As far as I could tell there is no group trip that covers the entire trail.
4. Group dynamics- don't like someone in the group, well you will be staying and eating with them for the next 9 days plus!
Below Lago de Braises and the begining of the AV1
Comments (2)
We are hoping to do Alta Via One this year. Do you have information on names and distances between the Refugios along the route? Thanks!! and Happy Trails!!
Posted by chris scott | July 25, 2009 3:43 PM
Posted on July 25, 2009 15:43
We are doing the AV1 in a week, What is a good strategy for lunches
There are no towns on our hike, can we buy sandwich fixings at rifugia? 'if we stop and eat at rifugia along the way, how much should we budget per person/day.
thanks,\
russ
Posted by Russell Greenberg | August 8, 2009 1:36 PM
Posted on August 8, 2009 13:36