2023 Dolomites

Thursday 31st August:  Weather: 7°C to 11°C: Cool to cold but mostly sunny with no rain.  

San Pellegrino to Passo Valles: 9.0k walk: 4hrs: 10.00am to 2.00pm: 1x 30 min stop: Asc: 483m Desc: 360m

Accommodation: Rifugio Passo Valles

Highlight today was simply that it was a beautiful and cold but sunny day in the Dolomites first climbing to Corda deli Zingari at 2,297 metres up a stony damp track, then down to the Lago Cavia and up again to Forcella di Pradazzo at 2,220 metres.  Then down a vehicular track which services the dam at Lago Cavia to the Rifugio at Passo Valles at 2,032 m.  

We’re awake at 6.30am and have a jetboiled cup of tea.  There’s no rush to go to breakfast, or to start our walk as we know it will only be about 9k on a Grade 2 track - no via ferrata.  So time to talk to all the kids back home for an hour before showering and walking down to breakfast being served in a small dining room in the Annex.  It’s a beautiful spread of everything you could want - muesli, yoghurt, croissants, fruit, fresh bread, ham and cheese.  We take our time to enjoy the spread, even though the coffee was luke warm. 

The 6 German hikers are there and tell us that yesterday it snowed and rained at Passo San Pellegrino, which explains why we were so cold coming over the Forca Rossa and why there was so much mud on the lower part of the track.  Later we see the high Dolomites capped with powdery snow - like icing sprinkled on a bun. The climb up to Corda deli Zingari at 2,297 metres is steady but not difficult and soon we see a sign off to Lago Cavia.  There’s no hurry so we decide to take the diversion to have a coffee by the lake.  

The track down is quite steep but it’s only a 100 metre descent and the lake looks beautiful with a back drop of Dolomites all round.  A perfect place for a coffee.  The only problem was that when we got to the bottom, the pathway across the dam wall is blocked.  We had a suspicion it might be when we saw a dozen workers wearing yellow jackets doing various testings along the wall.  So we had to clamber over the railing and down a rocky path below the dam wall hoping the dam wouldn’t burst on us.  There were other hikers coming our way who had also been diverted, which made us feel a bit safer.  

Soon we’re up the other side and find a spot around the lake on a flat rock for our coffee.  It’s quite cold with a breeze off the lake and the sun is intermittent.  It’s about 10°C or 11°C, so we put on a jacket while enjoying our jetboiled coffee with a few spicy fruit rolls. My pack is getting lighter as I’m running low on powdered milk and biscuits.  We have a leisurely coffee and watch the comings and goings of people high above us going to Rifugio Laresei for lunch - it has beautiful views all round.  

It’s 12.30 when we leave the lake and walk up the service track from the dam wall to Forca di Pradazzo where there’s a myriad of tracks leading in all directions.  One track comes from the top of the Col Margherita cable car which many hikers have taken up from San Pellegrino to walk to Rifugio Laresei -  saves an uphill climb. The service road continues down through the meadows towards Passo Valles and after an hour and a half at 2pm, we’re at the pass traversed by a main road.  Rifugio Passo Valles at 2032 metres is right there at the pass and we wander in to be met by a member of the Cemin family who have operated the Rifugio for 90 years.  We choose from the dinner menu - not sure what we’ll get, but we avoid the soup and too much pasta.  Then we’re given the key to Room 11.

We’re surprised it has a lovely view out to the Pale di Martino Dolomites where we’ll walk tomorrow, and the large double bed is made up with sheets.  We thought we’d need to drag out our own refuge sleeping sheets.  We also have a private bathroom - all for 66 euro each including half board of dinner and breakfast.  It’s tempting to go for a short walk outside to have a cup of tea and biscuit for lunch.  But the room is nice and warm and it’s still cold outside, so we have cup of tea from the jetboil set up on the tiles of the bathroom floor.  

Then lots of time to sort photos, blog and check out where we’re going tomorrow to get to di Castrozza, when we’ll be leaving the AV2 because one of the key rifugios in the Pale di Martino Dolomites, Pradidali, was full. No matter, we’ll do some of that trail from di Castrozza.  

At 6.30pm we go down for a pre-dinner drink - a beer for Ian and I have a red?? - who knows what.  We have a second of the same with a bowl of cheesy rings before going to the dining room at 7pm.  There’s already people helping themselves to the salad buffet and after being given two seats at a table, we select a large bowl of salad each - lettuce, tomato, olives, coleslaw, tomatoes, eggs, grated carrot with an assortment of dressings.  Then order another round of drinks - Ian has muller (?) a kinda white Riesling, and I have the nicest Prosecco.  The first course is tagliatelle (Ian) and a cheesey omelette kinda dish (me), follwed by a burger with cheesy polenta (Ian) and I have a venison shank with onion/capsicum sauce. We both go halvsey with each others dish.  

 We’re full as a goog, but then dessert arrives - I have a pannacotta with chocolate sauce and Ian has pannacotta with fruit.  We can’t exactly wrap them up in a serviette to take for coffee tomorrow and we can’t let them go to waste, so we eat them - really, really nice, and we stagger back to our Room 11 chocka block.  It’s too cold outside to go for a walk, best to sit upright in bed under the doona for as long as possible.  

An hour later at 10pm, dinner has subsided and it’s lights out.  Rifugio Passo Valles comes highly recommended from books and reviews and I was keen to try it out.  It certainly exceeded all expectations.