Seven Days Suspended Between Sky and Rocks: My High Route Adventure in the Belluno Dolomites

An unforgettable journey through rugged peaks, breathtaking landscapes, and challenging trails, exploring the wild heart of the Dolomites in a week-long trek

Saturday, August 24th - Forno di Zoldo to Rif Pramperet

We had been planning this for months; it all started with an idea from Michela, which was then developed and refined over the following weeks.

We met in Feltre on Friday evening and headed to Forno di Zoldo, in the Gelato Valley, to start our hike at 10:00.

It was the classic alpine ascent, with a lot of (relatively) elevation gain in a short distance.

We had lunch with a friendly local group that offered us Zoldo tomatoes and plums, and we even treated ourselves to a coffee at Malga Pramper.

After about another hour, we caught sight of the small paradise that is the Sommariva Refuge, and we settled in for the night.

The first day was filled with excitement; tomorrow, we’re in for what looks like a fairly challenging stage.

Sunday, August 25th - From Sommariva di Pramperet to Bianchet Refuge

We started immediately with an uphill climb. The day was fresh and clear, and the sky didn’t have a single cloud.

Just before the pass, we took a short break in the sun and enjoyed some aged cheese, grana padano (the famous Biraghini).

From the highest point, the view was breathtaking, and we took several photos of the incredible landscape. The day was simply perfect.

We stopped at Pian di Fontana Refuge for a couple of radlers before descending to Bianchet to complete the second stage.

Monday, August 26th - From Bianchet Refuge to Pian di Falcine - Lake Mis

We set off after a good breakfast, just enough time to say goodbye to the friends we had shared dinner and a glass of wine with the previous evening.

The descent was pleasant, and we gathered information along the way. In the end, we decided to cut short and descend to Pissa, exactly where the Alta Via 1 also ends, to catch the bus (instead of descending towards La Muda, as we had originally planned).

We saw a bus go by and had to wait about another hour, but this gave us the chance to say goodbye to our Belgian friends we met on the first day, who had since made a new Italian friend, Valentina from Udine :)

At Peron, we crossed the river and then began a long stretch of paved road with a few tunnels—probably (hopefully) the worst part of the entire trek.

Lake Mis was beautiful, and Nata, true to her German roots, even went for a swim.

We had a feast (since we had completely skipped lunch) and went to bed very happy.

Tuesday, August 27th - From Pian di Falcine to Malga Erera

The transfer bus picked us up early, around 7:15, in Pattine, saving us 9 long kilometers of paved road.

Then the climb began: steep, long, and never easing up, through the wild forest, until it opened up after the Pelse pass. We reached the malga, greeted by the sight of a newborn calf, just 10 days old.

We arrived early and treated ourselves to a craft radler, as per our Alta Via tradition.

Wednesday, August 28th - From Malga Erera to Boz Refuge

One of the worst nights of my life; maybe I wasn’t used to fresh ricotta made with raw milk, but I didn’t sleep a wink, struggling with waves of nausea all night.

We set off early without breakfast, already on the trail by 7:30, heading down towards Lake Stua at 660 meters, where we took a brief break and had half an energy bar.

Around 1 PM, we started another exhausting ascent towards Rif. Boz. We refilled our water at a mountain hut occupied by students (probably a summer camp) and slowly but steadily climbed, first to the abandoned Casera Alvis (at 1,500 meters), then over the Alvis Pass (1,880 meters).

Seeing Boz Refuge from afar, once over the pass, was like an oasis in the desert.

We ended the day exhausted, having covered 17 kilometers with 1,200 meters of elevation gain (and just as much descent), along with several "forced" breaks due to vomiting and diarrhea.

Thursday, August 29th - From Boz Refuge to Dal Piaz Refuge

Today was the most spectacular stage, the one that made all the effort up to this point worthwhile. It was the essence of the Dolomites in their purest form (not by chance, this stage overlaps with part of Alta Via 2).

A true cherry on top of our trek. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was one of the most beautiful hikes of my life.

A continuous up-and-down, challenging and exposed but not exhausting, staying more or less at 2,000 meters, with some equipped sections that were never trivial.

For Nata, it was a true trial by fire, with risky sections and fatigue, mostly mental. She truly became an Andean lioness, and now she’ll have even more confidence in her abilities to handle situations that demand raising the bar.

On the final climbs, we looked like the shadows of the Three Wise Men, and, as Nata said, we carried with us Thirst, Fear, and Diarrhea: my father’s thirst, as he ran out of water early on during the second half of the stage, Nata’s fear, as she led the way and took a wrong turn, feeling the terror of a vertical passage, and my diarrhea, which showed no real signs of improvement.

A fitting conclusion to an incredible journey.

Friday, August 30th - From Dal Piaz Refuge to Croce d'Aune

The last stage was relaxed, all downhill, until we caught the bus back to Feltre. Before that, we stopped at a local restaurant to chat with a group of Spaniards who had just finished Alta Via 2.