I had been staring at photos of the Val Gardena area for the past year, so to be there felt absolutely surreal. My first two trips to the Dolomites centered around exploring Cortina, Alta Badia, and Tre Cime de Laverado, but HOLY WOW, who knew the real jewel was Val Gardena?!? Day 1 Val Gardena…
Dolomites
2017 Euro-Adventure Stop 1 – San Cassiano, Italy
Our 2017 Dolomiti adventure got off to a grand start. We arrived in Venice and beelined it straight to Dolomiti only slightly heartbroken that we didn’t end up with a Fiat 500 at the car rental counter. Starving, we stopped at an Autogrill off the Autostrada where I bit into a focaccia and immediately broke a…
My Cortina Trail 2016 Race Report
As I made the final turn onto the cobblestone path that led to the Cortina Town Center, Juan from Espagna ran up from behind me, grabbed my hand and started sprinting at 400 meter pace dragging me screaming, laughing, and flailing all the way to the finish line. Thirty miles, 9,000 feet of climbing, about…
Hiking Italy’s Lagazuoi Tunnels
I hate being underground. Technically the Lagazuoi Tunnels are not underground, but under mountain. Regardless I was not stoked to explore trails not under the light of day. But I had to do it for history’s sake! Lagzuoi is a peak in the Dolomites with an altitude of 9,201 feet (2,835 meters) well known for…
Holy Dolomiti! A Crash Course in Hiking the Dolomites
I wasted no time getting to the Dolomites! I arrived in Venice at 5pm, jumped in the rental car and headed north on the Autostrada in a tiny Fiat (first time driving in a foreign country – eek!) arriving in Cortina just in time to watch the full moon rise over the mountains. Then up…