Dolomites

I hiked here for a few days in June 2004. You go up into the mountains and can hike between “Refugios” (a place to stay in the mountains with great Italian food and the company of other hikers). Highly recommended.

The Dolomites are well worth visiting, as it says in the other posts. Even if you are not a mountaineer wanting to conquor the dizzy heights and would rather stay close to the valley bottom looking up at the massifs. I went with my wife (who has not got a head for heights) who wanted to walk at a moderate level and not putting herself in exposed positions. We spent days together and days apart but always doing something active. If I wanted to go and do a Via Ferrata she could entertain herself joining another group on a lower level walk. For those of you thinking about doing Via Ferrata it is a great way to get into the mountains without being a mountaineer! I am quite a low level climber and I found some of the higher level Via Ferrata tricky but will be going back next year to tackle a few more (if im allowed!!) we went with Collett’s Mountain Holidays – http://www.colletts.co.uk/ – and their staff were just amazing, they were always on hand to help and nothing was too dificult for them to organise. My photo is actually a picture of me a member of Collett’s staff took on the Via Ferrata Piz da Lec in the Central Dolomites. We stayed in their Auberge accommodation which was the cheapest (so being on a budget isn’t a problem) and it was very comfortable, part of the Chalet had been rebuilt, was very modern and comfortable…The food was filling, plentiful and very, very tasty!

Went in June before the busy summer season. Was incredibly peaceful and beautiful. Got a good tan too :)

If you love mountains but aren’t a mountaineer, if you love exposure but can’t do the technical safety side of rock climbing then the via ferrata of the Dolomites will probably come as a blinding revelation. They did to me. Wires attached to the mountains, tracing the most incredible rock-climb-style routes up cliffs, across chasms and even with the odd rickety rope bridge thrown in, yet accessible to anyone with a head for heights, a rock climbing harness and a special via ferrata kit (about £60)? Words can’t express how good news this is.

A place you must visit… we based ourselves in Santa Cristina in Val Gardena