There was no hurry, the forecast was for the weather to improve during the day. We woke to drizzle, which stopped when we set off from Haus Wiesenblick. The cable-car delivered us into a cloud, which kindly dispersed upon our arrival. We had soon rejoined the E5 belvedere path to Rettenbachalm, where we enjoyed timely elevenses. The cloud that had followed us down from there on Thursday now parted before us as we ascended back up the E5 route.
The road up to the Rettenbachferner glacier was free of traffic - closed from 9am until 2pm to allow cyclists complete freedom on the road. Not many cyclists seemed to be taking advantage, but those who were seemed to be enjoying themselves.
After strolling on up to the end of the road, which finished near the chapel pictured (top), at a huge car park occupied by a single vehicle, an alfresco lunch in the sunshine was taken whilst watching a couple of walkers struggle to find the route down from Pitztaler Jöchl. Our final few hundred metres of ascent had succumbed to overnight snow.
Anyway, it didn't produce any difficulties in ascent, and by 2pm we had reached the crux of the E5 route - 2995 metre Pitztaler Jöchl.
We had fine views back into the Ötztal (pictured) despite some distant cloud.
The way ahead, also pictured, was less certain. A slithery path led along an alpine ridge walk at around 3000 metres in fresh snow. We were grateful for a few wires. After reaching a junction on the ridge the difficulties subsided and a lovely mountain path led down to this large alpine hut.
It was only 3pm - a short day.
The place is pretty full, but the cloud is slowly clearing, so our hopes for tomorrow are high.
Comments:
Gayle and JJ - where we are now seems so far from the hissing of summer lawns that we could be on another planet. We hope you both get some good walks in the sunshine, and sorry JJ, we can't join you tomorrow.
Data:
22 July 2012
9km in 5 hours with 1000m ascent
Flower of the Day - Dwarf Eyebright
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
[The phone. Has developed an. Annoying keyboard problem involving the space bar, so typing is. Proving to. Be very time consuming. Future. Entries. May be rather shorter!]
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Instead - after so much fuel from Erica's breakfast - we felt obliged to take some exercise, but at a lower level. It was drizzling and the cloud base was below 2000 metres. So we jumped onto a bus so crowded that the driver had to 'phone for back up, and headed about 20km down the valley to Umhausen.
English voices were heard as we disembarked. "Hello's" were
exchanged. We had bumped into 008. "My name's Bond" joked Bernie, who apparently quite often gets pulled to one side when travelling. This Master Plumber from Ingleton kept us entertained all day with his stories from life as a 'domestique' cyclist to Alan Ramsbottom, to days spent with Fred Dibnah photographing the mine shaft he dug in his Bolton garden. "Who the *** was Alan Ramsbottom?" we asked. Well, "he was Tommy Simpson's 'domestique'" came the reply.
We'd planned to start the day by visiting a waterfall, the Stuibenfall. It finished up taking all day. It's quite a high waterfall that comprises a series of cascades beside which five viewing platforms have been erected, and for the adventurous there's a Via Ferrata route with thick cables and very solid looking stemples.
We took one look at the height we'd have to climb - part of it anyway - the top was in the cloud, and adjourned for coffees.
Then Sue insisted on having her photo taken with 008 and his lovely wife Janet (top picture), before we set off up the path. It turned out to be a 450 metre ascent (rather pleasant without a rucksack) with frequent pauses to view the various sections of the waterfall, which in a number of places has worn away the rock to create bridges that not even 008 would deign to cross.
One viewing platform in particular was designed to give the viewer a good shower, even if it wasn't raining. Bernie insisted on capturing the moment! We got soaked...
Anyway, when we got to the top it was lunch time. So we nipped into a nearby mountain restaurant and enjoyed a slap-up lunch (we are on holiday after all) before ambling back down to Umhausen for the 3.55pm bus back to Sölden.
[I should mention that when registering in accommodation in these parts you get a receipt that works as a 'Guest Card' and gives certain concessions, like half price bus fares. That would have saved us €10 today if we hadn't lost the card.]
That left plenty of time to shop for provisions for a hearty meal at Haus Wiesenblick, and replace my map number 43 (Ötztaler Alpen) which had decided to become a map of many parts. The new map, whilst still being only 1:50,000, is so different that it looks as if it has twice the detail. On closer inspection, it does have twice the detail! Such as 40 metre instead of 100 metre contour lines.
So my 30+ year old map number 24 - Lechtaler Alpen - will also be replaced on Monday if I get the chance. Unfortunately these new maps come with weighty booklets that I'm loathe to discard, so the heavy map bag will get even heavier. It seems weird that we are still on the same map that we used when setting off from Verona over three weeks ago - trusty old 121, but today's purchase has effectively seen that off.
We've enjoyed our break in Sölden, but will be happy to move on tomorrow. It's a pleasant place with vast opportunities for days out of all sorts, but it does have the air of a winter resort that just ticks over in the summer. Apparently, of the 90,000 or so bed nights sold to tourists each year here, some 80% are in the winter season, when this quiet, relaxed guest house no doubt vibrates with energetic skiers eager for the pistes.
And we never did get around to using the sauna!
Comments:
Gibson - welcome home, if you have had as much rain as Manchester appears to have had, your hedge cutting could take a while! We dread to think what our lawn looks like.
Data:
21 July 2012
2km yesterday, 6km today in 4 hours with 450m ascent
Hours to date spent walking in rain on E5: 3
Other English encountered to date: 3
Flowers of the Day
- Small White Orchid (yesterday)
- Twin Flower (today)
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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The phone wasn't working last night. I drafted a sentence denigrating the service in Austria, then turned it off. This morning I turned it back on to find out the time and was bombarded by all manner of bleeps, mainly from Orange, about the wonderful Austrian phone service. I must remember to turn the thing off and on in future when changing countries...
Tea and chocolate wasn't the ideal preparation for a hot 500 metre ascent, but at the end of the steep climb up to Gaislach Alm we had no issue with lashing out for 'Warmer apfelstrudel mit vanillesauce' to accompany our customary Latte Macchiatos.
Before we left Talhütte we had scoured the hut book for English visitors. They just don't come here. An Australian came a couple of years ago, but even he had an East European name.
Today's start caught us out. We should have followed our instinct, but we followed the only E5 sign we could find. That resulted in an unnecessary 20 minute walk along the Obergurgl road, from where the top image was taken. Judging by the traffic, not much happens in Obergurgl! But the river was much lower than last night, presumably because the glacial supply of water freezes overnight.
In that 20 minutes we learnt two things:
1. The E5 in Austria doesn't necessarily follow the most scenic or off-road route, and
2. Whilst the Italian signposting was equally easy to follow in both directions, the Austrian waymarking sometimes assumes that the route is only walked in a north to south direction. So map, compass and educated guesswork are now close to hand at all times, though it would be pretty difficult to veer far off course.
Slow progress on the thrutchy ascent gave us plenty of chance to admire the colourful array of flowers beside the path, including lots of Grass of Parnassus, Nottingham Catchfly, Eyebrights and Cow Wheat, Willowherbs and Wintergreens, and in places whole banks of bright purple orchids.
Having refuelled at Gaislach Alm (a similar 'alm' which we passed a few minutes later is pictured), we found the rest of this short day very easy and amenable. A lovely belvedere path rose gently over some distance, passing through open woodland and hillside meadows, all with fine views, before running a few metres near the road to the Rettenbach glacier and reaching Rettenbachalm in good time for a luxurious lunch of toasted cheese sandwiches and salad. I am pictured just below Rettenbachalm on the path that leads to the glacier.
The easily accessible path was being well used, with day walkers, many with children, in the ascendancy compared with E5ers. There were excellent views back to yesterday's route, where the 2509 metre Timmelsjoch pass appeared for a while to be in cloud. Sölden (spelt in various ways, but I'll now try to be consistent with the Kompass maps and the tourist office) appeared far below us - a rather spread out sort of place in the Ötztal valley.
The belvedere route hosted a number of information boards, some of which may have been quite interesting, but sadly only in German, so we can't read them, whereas their Italian counterparts were very helpfully mainly in Italian, German and English.
With another holiday beckoning, and with a few clouds rolling gently in, we foresook the E5 and headed on along the fine belvedere path to Gampealm, before heading down to Sölden on a mixture of gently descending roads and steep paths (the roads were easier on the knees) to our welcoming host at Haus Wiesenblick, situated near a free 'shuttle' cable-car about 150 metres above the main town.
Arriving soon after 3pm gave us plenty of 'chilling out' time (catching up on the Tour de France - Bradley Wiggins looks very happy) before washing everything, putting some of it back on again, and heading off for a barbecue and salad supper at nearby Pfandl restaurant.
Comments:
Gayle - good to hear from you. You are to blame for this late transmission. With WiFi for the first time since leaving home, I clicked on 'M & G' and got hooked. What a contrast there is between our respective trips, though in some ways they could be considered similar. Ours is much, much easier, and very much a holiday. A holiday from what, though? Is it more a way of life? The pension still rolls in. And, of little comfort, I can still kid myself that I'm carrying nearly as much weight as you, and at times the temperatures are in the 30's...
As for the photos (snapshots) - even if we take 3000, it'll be a struggle to find more than 72 of any real quality. Brace yourselves for a few flowers!
Stay at Home Hazel (aka Anonymous) - it must be really bad if even you are complaining about the weather in Manchester! We hope you find somewhere sunnier for your holidays. If it's any comfort, our friends from western Austria (where we are heading) say their weather has been terrible as well. We hope that we will bring them a change in fortune. We'll enlighten you as to the ice man and the tropical fish when we get home - we think you'd like Bolzano.
Data:
19 July 2012
13km in 6.5 hours with 850m ascent
Cumulative on E5; 316km with 17,250m ascent
Other walkers - lots, it's holiday time
Flower of the Day - Nodding Wintergreen
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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Christian provided the last of the breakfasts we have got used to in Italy - fruit juice, lots of coffee, and a copious plate of cooked meats and cheese, to go with the bread rolls and jams and butter, etc. He speaks German, Italian and English, often in the same sentence, so had no problem in chatting Sue into the above picture outside Pension Maria before the sun hit it this morning.
We were on our way soon after 8.30, heading through shady woods on a lovely path after starting on an ugly quarry road, up to the village of Rabenstein, with its small but dominating church. On the way we passed more legend stories and much evidence of the landslides that frequently alter the shape of this valley. A huge lake was created by one of these landslides in 1401, and it wasn't until 1774 that the waters were dramatically released, leaving the valley roughly as it looks today.
There are also mines up here, claimed to be the highest in Europe, where over 60 different minerals were extracted during the workings that were active from the 13th century until 1967. They also featured a 27km conveyor-belt system - the longest of its type in the world.
After our last Italian coffees for a while, on the warm balcony of Gasthof Trausberg, we headed up above the tree line on the long ascent to Timmelsjoch, on the Austrian border. It was a magnificent walk up to that 2509 metre vantage point with what may have been our last view of the Dolomites for a while. We made just one error - we followed the cycle track by mistake for one km - we didn't meet any cyclists as they had reciprocated the error and were pushing their bikes awkwardly down the steep, rocky path that we should have been on.
On the way up we encountered the two German lads who are walking part of E5 in the same direction as us, and we met the thirty or so folk who were going in the 'correct' direction - mostly couples, plus a group of 17.
A large herd of goats (hundreds) approached seemingly menacingly as we tucked into our herrings in tomato sauce luncheon - in a lovely spot beside a babbling stream, next to a sign (pictured) that purported to claim that we were at the Austrian border (we weren't, unless Austria has recently recovered some ground). The residents didn't seem to care - they just crossed into Italy, hardly pausing to read the sign between munches.
An information tunnel at the summit told all about the building of the Timmelsjoch road, opened in 1968. But the pass is believed to have been used as a trade route for many centuries, long before there is any record of the better known Brenner Pass being so used.
We spent some time at the Timmelsjoch café, but finally gave up on any chance of being served, so relied on some fine Austrian spring water as rehydration fluid.
The scar of the road somewhat marred the fine Ostalalp backdrop as we descended towards Zwieselstein on a fine alpine path.
Once there, past some frantic hay making (the weather must be due to change), the DAV Talhütte was easily located, but we hadn't noticed Gillian's description as 'self-catering' until the guardian pointed to the kitchen and charged us just €30 for our room. So we finally used one of our box of carefully preserved tea bags, and found a nearby restaurant. It looks like being tea and chocolate for breakfast.
Comments:
Alan R - no, it wasn't you, just a generic two stone overweight person dreamt up by Sue. Some of our friends would be pleased to be two stone overweight on your analysis. I can however think of one person who fits the description perfectly. He'll never realise, as these pages fall outside his literary criteria.
Alan, you do seem to attract some weather, but if it's any comfort we lose the daylight by 9.30 in these parts, and sunset in Zwieselstein was at 5.30 today!
Gillian - Christian, at Pension Maria, was a very friendly chap as mentioned above.
Jules - I may do a kit list when I get back. We do need to do one for those joining us on GR54 in September. Our spare clothes are minimal, we just wash things out most nights and let it dry overnight.
Data:
18 July 2012
19km in 8.5 hours with 1600m ascent
Other E5 walkers - 2 going our way, 30 coming from Zwieselstein
Flower of the Day - Sticky Primrose (on the Timmelsjoch summit)
Photos taken to date: Sue - 505; Martin - 985 (approximately the equivalent of 35 slide films!)
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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Our room mates at Pfandleralm got a bit of a surprise after breakfast to find that we had dismantled our bed. This had proved necessary to recover Sue's Kindle from behind some seemingly impenetrable panelling. Ikea would have been proud of us. The Germans eventually understood.
Whilst everyone else, including a couple with two young children, set off purposefully up the hill that we had found quite lengthy and steep in descent last night, we meandered on down the same hill towards the vibrant metropolis of San Leonardo in Passiria (aka St Leonhard in Passeier). The full story behind the last days of Andreas Hofer were revealed bit by bit as we descended past information points that related the story, from his untimely execution to the day when he was forced at gunpoint to continue his resistance to Napoleon's forces.
It was another lovely day, fairly cool in the shady woods after our 8.30 start, with lots of gaps in the woodland offering wide-ranging panoramic mountain views.
With frequent stops to read about Hofer (and when he was finished with a nature trail started), and to photograph flowers, gawp at the plunging waters and irrigation channels of the Cascata delle valle Pfeifer, and generally admire a third dead mole and the views, we managed to take rather longer than expected to reach elevenses at St Leonhard. A pleasant little town with an upstanding church sporting normal tiles (as opposed to the multicoloured ones we've been admiring recently) and a finely honed spire.
From there we spent another couple of hours, bizarrely going faster up than we had down, as now there were horse flies vying to rip chunks off our finely honed muscles, tootling through more mixed woodland above farmland with plenty of open sections with fine views.
Stuls was reached at 1.30pm, precisely the time at which the Stullerhof restaurant stops serving lunch. But unlike some of his UK counterparts, the chef didn't refuse to cook for us, instead offering 'toast or soup'. I'm sure his 'toast' would have been different from our normal fare at home, but the alphabet noodle soup was certainly a bit different, and very filling.
After the excitement of trying to make words out of our soup, we made the obvious errer of failing to follow the E5 signs out of Stuls. Our mistake was soon remedied by a bout of eye engagement, and before we knew it we were on our way towards the final destination of the day.
Once down at Moos, having dodged a few places where landslides had taken out the path, we had to decide which part of the rambling village held our accommodation, Pension Maria. The tourist information office seemed a good point from which to start. There was no map outside the door, probably because most of the village can be seen from that point.
We made our way down to this fine establishment, where we were soon installed in a room next to a group of 17 teachers and children. "Just as well you booked in advance" commented Christian, before turning away a couple of mountain bikers.
It remains a puzzle to Christian as to how 'Café' (Pension) Maria happens to be mentioned in Gillian's guide book, to the exclusion of all the other places there are to stay in the village, and that he only found out about it when Bob the All Black passed through last year!
'Comfortable and inexpensive' - Gillian's description is accurate.
Today's pictures were taken coming down from Pfandleralm, with St Leonhard at the bottom right (top) and from near Stuls, with St Leonhard in the valley bottom and some of the morning's route in view.
You'll notice Sue's pictures with men are becoming a rarity. This is because she doesn't have any German chat up lines. In fact she doesn't have many German lines at all. So you'll have to wait for us to enter Austria for the next in that series of images - Sue reckons it should be a doddle to pick up an English speaking Austrian. I wonder if he'll have a felt hat - apparently that's a sign of virility, I had to drag her away from one such person yesterday.
Comments:
Alan R - haha, luckily we had no tent nor any dehydrated food to offer the Haflinger horses, who made do with a furtive and unproductive nibble at Sue's camera case. You're right though, it's a hard life!
Jules - welcome back. We hope you enjoyed your break - I'll probably be commenting on your postings in a few weeks' time. In answer to your question, 15kg is probably my maximum 'carry', whilst Sue's is approaching 4kg. That includes water and lunches, though we don't carry much food as there are usually hostelries en route for lunch. My bag includes a number of maps for the second half of the trip, a file with a page for each day re accommodation bookings and other info (probably 40 sheets of A4 at the start, being discarded as we go), first aid kit, camera, a bag of electrical items such as phone/camera chargers (2) and spare batteries (lots), razor, Kindle, torch, etc. Then there are the down jackets that Gillian was quite sceptical about - mine hasn't been worn (yet?) but Sue's new holofill jacket (bought as a present for this trip) was brought into use for a concert at Levico Terme - quite over the top, but nice to see it used. Sue's trail shoes are on board as her boots may not last the trip. We have a weighty Alpine flower book, and a diary and Gillian's guide book, loads of sun tan lotion, and various other kit, including heavy wallets. I didn't do a list for this trip, I just threw it all in. Shame I forgot to empty the bag first, as I found various items from my last backpacking trip when we arrived in Verona. The windshield has been discarded as we have no stove, but the chopping board came in useful during an al fresco meal in Bolzano. So we are probably carrying about 19kg absolute max between us, usually quite a bit less, and my 15kg or so share of that seems to get lighter as the weather gets less humid. We are still in shorts and t-shirts, so all our other clothes are being carried. My rucksack is a similar size to that of many E5 walkers, but we don't get recognised as such because Sue just ponces around with her bum bag. As on the TGO Challenge, this is regarded as being a little unusual!
So, since I don't actually have much of a problem carrying the rucksack (except in extreme heat, etc, when carrying anything would be a bind) I don't really care how much it weighs. I suppose I'm a bit like someone who is two stone overweight but can't be bothered to get in trim because he seems to get around ok anyway! Having said that, it does sometimes feel a bit on the heavier than desirable side...
Nightbird - we did see a glacier today, but the risk of being caught in an avalanche was rather less than the risk of seeing a naked German fraulein playing table football in an aquarium. We did hear about the Chamonix avalanche and we do hope that none of our friends were involved.
Data:
17 July 2012
16km in 7 hours with 850m ascent
Other English - none
Flower of the Day - Cobweb Houseleek (on the way up to Moos)
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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Today had everything you could wish for as a walker high in the Alps.
Overnight rain finally cleared the atmosphere, leaving perfect visibility all day apart from a vague puff of cloud drifting around the summit of Ingleborough.
Belvedere paths (Sue is pictured on one) past swirling swifts, mountain lakes and squealing marmots led to an easy scramble up a high peak - Hirzer (2781m) with an even higher cross (pictured) and 360 degree views.
The steep descent led to a sumptuous lunch of pasta and mushrooms outside a popular farmhouse (Roseggeralm) that appeared to be hosting a yodeling contest.
After that we said goodbye to the crowds in this popular area (imagine you are in the Langdale valley on a summery Monday) and enjoyed remote paths that led eventually to the home of Louis and Steffi, our hosts at Pfandleralm. The beer is cool and the food excellent, enjoyed outside the hütte in the warmth of a perfect alpine evening.
It's full tonight so we are in our first shared dormitory, but I'm sure we'll sleep well.
Sue's knees are tired, but the weight on my back seems less noticeable every day, perhaps because we are making serious inroads into the large box of washing powder.
The meadow in which Pfandleralmhütte is so pleasantly situated is rich with history, as this is where Andreas Hofer, a local hero who led the South Tyrol's resistance against Napoleon in 1809, was captured by French troops in 1810. A memorial tablet was vandalised during the fascist period, but in 1983 a new granite memorial was built by the Passeier company of marksmen. I can see it from where I'm enjoying my beer outside the hütte.
English speaking visitors: so far, Josh is the only English speaking person we have encountered. A perusal of Meranerhütte's visitor's book revealed Adam and Jane's passage towards Bregenz, still a week ahead of us, so they must also have had some rest days. Before that, the only English speakers we could identify were Bob Cyffers and Janet McMenamin, two All Blacks who passed through on 22 July 2011. Curiously, all these English speakers were travelling from south to north, and no doubt, like us, working backwards through Gillian's guide book!
Comments:
Gillian - Trafoi brings back great memories of al fresco dining at the shady camp site during the heatwave of 2010, with nightly walks into the village where we admired the acrobatics of the swifts around the church. We suspect your conditions were somewhat different, but hope you got some good walks in. Did you notice we visited Fabrizio and even got him some business!
Nightbird - my head is too confused with messages from 'The Path of Legends' to devise jokes about naked Germans and football machines, but we find it quite funny that mention of "we are from Manchester, home of Signor Ballotelli" makes them go very quiet. Sue is envious of your shopping trips. She's trying to lose as much as she can in order to be able to go shopping with a purpose, but losing her debit card was a bit of a faux pas in that respect. Btw the apricot croissant is mine - don't give it to Sue, she eats everything else!
Data:
16 July 2012
18km in 9 hours with 1400m ascent
Other E5 walkers - lots - unless we report otherwise, assume we are on the main Oberstdorf to Bolzano route that enjoys the patronage of the German speaking nations of the world
Flower of the Day - Mossy Saxifrage (beside the high mountain paths)
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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We noticed that most other people at breakfast were rather fat. I wonder why?
I enjoyed my caffe latte and an apricot croissant.
That set us up for the short walk to the cable-car up to the village of Jenesien. We rejoined the E5 route at the foot of the cable-car, as the route very sensibly uses this means of descent/ascent to/from the heat of Bolzano. The cable-car runs every half hour, but luckily we arrived a few seconds before the 9am car was due to depart, and ten minutes later we found ourselves in the cool air of Jenesien, after gaining 800 metres with very little effort.
Gillian suggests staying in Jenesien rather than in Bolzano - cooler and cheaper, with easy access to Bolzano, and ideal for a visit to Runkelstein. We commend her suggestion.
It was only 15C! We could walk comfortably uphill without boiling over! Overnight rain had cooled things down, and thick cloud still cloaked many of the mountains that surround Bolzano, with just the jagged summits of some of the Dolomite massifs visible.
Gasthof Edelweiss was reached after less than an hour - it was only 10am but we couldn't walk past its enticing refreshments. An early elevenses.
Outside, it was now even cooler, with a little light rain in the air, so we donned our anoraks despite the bluish sky and the generally clearing weather. Progress was slow. The 'Path of Legends' had reappeared. Many photos were taken. I have vowed not to re-tell these legends just now, but readers (victims) may be subjected to them on those wintry days when I have nothing else to write about.
A posse of Haflinger horses cantered past. These horses roam wild hereabouts, but those passing us were well tamed. Apart from the seemingly never ending stream of legends, we passed a Noah's collection of animals - goats, sheep, donkeys, cows, chickens, etc, as we moved through green meadows full of well-spaced fir trees.
Langfenn farm at St Jacob (pictured) was reached at 11.50. Too early for lunch, but not too late for a second elevenses. We sat outside in the sun, the air now being free of moisture - probably the least humid since we started. Jagged Dolomitic peaks struggled to display their profiles above distant clouds.
We drew ourselves away for the easy hike past a three-pronged cross dated 2006, next to a shrine, and up to Möltener Kase, another farm cum restaurant where the cheeky goats taunted a large dog at the next table. Massive bowls of soup filled with frankfurters would guarantee we wouldn't starve this afternoon. I was glad that we'd been unable to take on extra supplies!
After our late lunch we detoured away from E5 to follow Gillian's recommendation of a visit to the three-pronged cross dated 1980 at the summit where there's a proliferation of 'Stoanerne Mandlen' (Stone Men). There are huge numbers of small stone cairns, some of which apparently date back to prehistoric times. They reminded me of some similar (memorial) cairns that litter one of the minor summits near the Berlinerweg trail, high above Mayrhofen.
It was cool. We donned fleeces for an hour or so after lunch, for the first time since leaving Verona. They still smell freshly washed!
Now well and truly above the tree line - quite a novelty after the last few days from Cembra - we romped along the last few undulating miles to Meranerhütte, arriving at 4.30, just before an afternoon shower.
The shower soon moved away, but in the deep valley to our west a storm appeared to be raging all afternoon and evening.
The E5 brigade are here - several groups going north to south. All German speaking, Josh remains the only native English speaker we have seen since leaving Verona. They say that unlike us they have had some rain every day.
It's a smart Rifugio, and we have a spacious room for four to ourselves. The showers are token operated from outside the cubicles, and on entering the washroom for the first time I thought I'd walked into a scene from a third rate sex film, but it was just a confused, stark naked German lady looking for somewhere to put her token. Gillian records the showers as being 'unreliable'. Sue and I found them to be great, but others agree with Gillian. However, the table football machine on the verandah seems to work fine...
Too full for beer, we've made do with red wine tonight, to wash down our salad, pasta bolognese, veal in breadcrumbs with sautéed potatoes, and apfelstrudel with cream. We'll need to walk a long way tomorrow to shed the calories from that lot!
Comments:
Gayle - sorry to hear of your return to a 'mudfest' - it's another three weeks before we get back with the sun, so perhaps you should nip over to Italy for a while...
Dot - we don't think we've ever been to Fondo, so you are one up on us there! It's true that we are eating well, but we are burning it off quite energetically. We actually only have one more full rest day planned. Strangely, the black squirrels are just like the ones that live in Ken and Helen's garden in Ottawa. We've now seen red ones as well.
Data:
15 July 2012
27km in 8 hours with 1350m ascent, plus a 10 minute cable-car from Bolzano to Jenesien (1087m), including a 2km walk to the cable-car from Hotel Post Gries
Other E5 walkers - quite a few coming the other way and lots at Meranerhütte
Flower of the Day - Globe-headed Rampion (rampant around Meranerhütte)
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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Today's plan was to take the cable-car up to the Renon plateau, which is cooler than the Bolzano valley and offers great views towards the Dolomites. But with lots of cloud, and rain forecast, we decided instead to visit the nearby fortress of Runkelstein. Path 9 from near the hotel took us high above Gries to the belvedere Passeggiata del Guncina, with fine views down to the Murie-Gries monastery, virtually next to our hotel, and the Adige valley as a whole.
After a while, path 5 took over and we descended to cross a road via a precarious diagonal pedestrian crossing. Care was taken not to hamper the progress of the vintage cars taking part in the South Tyrol Rally, which I'm sure we've encountered in the past.
The Cascata e gola del rio fago (pictured) was passed, before we crossed the E5 route and took a riverside path up to the old fortress (also pictured) on the outskirts of Bolzano. But it feels well out of town and was a relaxing place to spend a few hours.
The fortress was started in the 13th century by Baron Wangan, and is built of and on an outcrop of porphyry rock that retains its heat better than most rock but is subject to degradation. So there have been many repairs and additions over the years, most notable after bourgeois brothers Franz and Niklaus Vintler bought it in 1385 and commissioned unique frescos for the whole structure. Many of the frescos survive, and they reveal aspects of courtly life in the fourteenth century that can't be found elsewhere.
The fortress, which became a castle fairly early in its life when it ceased to be an armed fortification and assumed a life as the home of noblemen, also has an exhibition about the Jews in the Bolzano area. It seems that they were allowed to play a greater part in the life of the town than were Jews in other parts of the South Tyrol area.
So, a fairly leisurely day, culminating in a pizzeria around the corner. We thought about trying the Hopfen & Co slow food restaurant in town, but the gathering clouds and rumbling thunder put us off.
Back to 'work' tomorrow!
Comments:
Markus - I may have misled you, next Friday is less than a 'short' day, it's a 'zero' day, perhaps the last of our trip!
Data:
14 July 2012
10km and 250 metres ascent around Bolzano
Flower of the Day - Orange Mullein, on the path to the fortress
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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After the excitement of the photo shoot with T and M we had a look around the sanctuary, which apart from the church, with its huge collection of ex votos (offerings made in fulfilment of vows), has the hotel, with views east to major Dolomitic peaks and west to even higher snow-clad Alpine summits, a youth hostel, a cultural centre and a congress hall.
By 9.30 we were on our way again, on the short last lap of this stage of our walk. A pleasant stroll through fairly open woodland took us down the Forstweg Alte Säge, a pilgrims' route past the Twelve Stations of the Cross, unassuming shrines that lead up to the sanctuary.
Today we started for the first time on the second side of our now well worn Kompass 121 strip map. This second side will take us to beyond Solden, so whatever reservations we may have about the dated nature of the paths marked on the map, we certainly can't complain about the weight - and we have no maps to send home at this stage of the trip.
Easy paths through woodland steaming on the clear day with Dolomitic views then led past fifteen mountain bikers having a morning chat and around the head of a valley, to the sprawling village named after its seventh century Bavarian tribal settlers - Nova Ponente, or Deutschnofen (we are now in dual language territory). It was a lovely sunny day with temperatures in the low 20sC. Ideal for walking, and also for sitting outside a café with caffe macchiato and Mohnstrudel, a local delicacy - poppy seed pastry (pictured).
It's on these occasions that Gillian's guide book is at its most useful. Anyone can walk the E5 armed with the 1:50,000 scale strip maps and a compass, simply by following the waymarks, but the research into local history and culture carried out by Gillian and conveyed in her writing couldn't all be picked up by casual walkers of the route like us. Thanks again, Gillian, and we hope you don't mind a selection of the fruits of your labour being reiterated on these pages. So, thanks to our guide book we had been able today to plan an 11.00am elevenses at a place where we could sample a local delicacy.
Luckily, route finding for the rest of the day was simple in our south to north direction thanks to the copious waymarking, as I'd somehow contrived to lose the compass we use when waymarks are sparse or uncertain. [I think Josh said he got a little misplaced coming north to south, so it may not be quite so easy in that direction, but it may be that having started from Bolzano he just took a little while to get into his rhythm. It was good to hear from him today.]
After Nova Ponente we continued amiably past a children's camp ground, following The Path of the Legends, one of which we may recount later. The terrain was to a large extent more of the same, as pictured in the previous posting, but with frequent fine mountain views to treat us in between the welcome shade of the woodland sections.
All too soon, at 2.30pm, we reached the Colle/Kohlern cable-car station at 1135 metres. The brainchild of a local hotelier, this cable-car dates back to 1908 and was the first such system in the whole of the Alps, though nowadays the original double-tiered bench system has been superseded by a conventional cabin. As such, we felt bound to use this ancient form of transport to perform our 'landing' in Bolzano, especially as the E5 route takes this 'path'!
But not before cold drinks at the café and a visit to the nearby huge wooden watchtower, which sadly was locked, preventing access to its expansive views over the Bozen basin and its surrounding attractions and peaks.
At 30C, the 3km walk across Bolzano to our comfortable hotel was a slow affair. I'll be pleased to give the 15kg load a little rest in a wardrobe and enjoy the pleasures of Bolzano without the encumbrance of its company for a couple of days. Not that I mind carrying it. After this short break I'll be raring to go again on Sunday morning, when the initial straight line of the E5 route looks very appealing!
After enjoying a rare visit to the Tour de France on TV, we popped round the corner for an excellent pizza.
Then we 'crashed out'.
Comments:
Patrick - thanks for the path advice, but we decided to avoid the heat of path 4 and take the cable-car, which after all is the route taken by E5!
Josh - it was great to hear from you. We were delighted to see that you made better use of Fabrizio's hospitality than we were able to...
Nick - thanks for the Constance info, and good luck with the move (keep cool, Daniella!).
Ethan - good to hear from you. Good luck with any exams you may have, and I hope you have an interesting summer planned.
Data:
12 July 2012
17km in 5 hours with 400m ascent, plus 10 minute cable-car to Bolzano from Colle (1100m), and then 3km+ walking around in Bolzano
Cumulative on E5: 223km with 11,200m ascent
Other E5 walkers - none in evidence
Flower of the Day - Grass of Parnassus
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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Breakfast was comprehensive, following on as it did in the same vein as last night's offering, which comprised a starter of spaghetti with pesto, melon risotto and a violet coloured flower, followed by a pork escalope rolled up with prosciutto and herbs, with sautéed potatoes (hooray - no polenta!), with a raspberry and cream roulade to finish.
After scoffing as much as we could in polite company, Sue sat down with Mirko the motorcyclist (pictured), who had spent over five years in the UK, redesigning her German phrase book. I probably have Mirko to thank for the first entry:
"Zwei kalte bier bitter."
It was to be a short day, so we didn't feel a need to rush off, eventually leaving at 9.30am. A sunken pathway led steeply up to forestry tracks with occasional views of hazy mountainsides through the trees. Up on the plateau we passed areas of bog and other tempting diversionary attractions that tried to lure us away from the E5 path.
Sue remained loyal to E5, claiming that someone important had organised an overnight shower specifically for the purpose of lining the E5 path with fresh strawberries.
After an hour and a half, and quite a bit of climbing, the well positioned Malga Corno was reached. Coffees were welcome although it had been a hot ascent to this fine viewpoint.
Our next target was the pretty village of Truden, mainly downhill on the forest tracks and paths that have been a feature of the last couple of days. A pleasant village with a church roof that glowed with multi-coloured tiles. We plonked ourselves outside Albergo Zum Löuer and tucked into some ice cold drinks and a copious and tasty plate of spaghetti carbonara.
It was 1.30 by the time we had finished our leisurely lunch, and it only took another 30 minutes to reach Fontanefredde, just over the hill, where we'd booked our night's accommodation at the Albergo.
The staff at Fichtenhof had told us to stay in Truden rather than here, and we could understand why. The faded Albergo was next to a busy road in a viewless position. It was only 2pm, so we decided to 'wing it' by continuing along the trail.
First, courtesy dictated that we tell the Albergo we would not be staying. Sue explained to the owner that we were very early and wanted to continue walking. Would he confuse us by telling us about his fine hotel and pointing to the sky to warn us of a storm, I wondered? No, all he said was "ok", before turning to continue pruning his plants.
No sooner had we left the security of Fontanefredde, a distant rumble of thunder asked 'was that really a wise decision?'
Gillian's book suggests spending the night at Wastlhof, near the village of Redagno, a 500 metre hike up pleasant sunken lanes from Fontanefredde, but we'd already established that they no longer provide beds for E5 walkers, having converted their accommodation to apartments rented on a weekly basis. Up the hill from there, the Zirmahof establishment, a country house hotel, would have been happy to put us up for €140 each. They were friendly there, and Sue got a brief guided tour of the posh surroundings as she was taken from reception to the kitchen to re-charge our water bottles.
There may be more accommodation available in Redagno village, but we had a target in mind and an excursion to research possibilities would have taken up valuable time, so after initially heading off in the wrong direction, we pressed on along E5 across meadows. It was nearly 4pm.
A gentle ascent of 200 metres finally freed us from encounters with sundry 'gentry' types who were obviously rambling around within close range of their Zirmahof luxuries, and we descended gently down to the head of the Butterloch canyon (pictured), a site of geological interest where over the past 15,000 years a stream has excavated the ground to a depth of 400 metres, exposing geological strata from millions of years ago. I explored the top of the canyon whilst Sue encountered an 'orchid delay'. Then we stumbled around in the canyon for a while before finding each other. Some of the path has been re-routed due to further erosion, and we didn't find the 'airy ladders' mentioned by Gillian. Perhaps they have now also gone.
It was an interesting place.
Another 200 metre ascent through open woodland took us to a lovely belvedere with stunning views east across to major Dolomitic massifs such as the dominant Latemar group. Fantastic!
From there it was an easy track down to the religious sanctuary of Weißenstein, which we reached at 6pm after what had been an unexpected and unplanned, but very enjoyable, long day. One of Weißenstein's main features is a hotel, and yes, they had a room available at a reasonable price. The efficient chap on reception also took our order for food, which would be provided at 7.30, giving us plenty of time to chill out before dinner.
The storm duly arrived at 6.15 - it was impressive. Was someone looking after us today?
I'll write a bit more about our time at Weißenstein tomorrow, as I'm running out of steam just now - the retreat doesn't get many E5 walkers, and English people only pop up here every few years, so everyone wants to shake our hands!
Anyway, tomorrow's hard 9 hour day (plus stops) to Bolzano has now officially been regraded as an easy 5 hour day - perhaps more if we don't use the cablecar.
Comments:
Nick and Alan R - Sue is still smarting from the incisive accuracy of Alan's comment, but I did manage to catch her unawares this morning when she commandeered Mirko to reconstruct her German phrase book.
Data:
11 July 2012
29km in 8.5 hours with 1500m ascent
Other E5 walkers - none in evidence, we saw very few people out today
Flower of the Day - Common Twayblade
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
You'll notice that the itineraries for today and tomorrow need editing.
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After about an hour of climbing steeply through the woods above Cembra, the increasing darkness turned to rain, light at first but gradually increasing in solidity. Waterproofs were donned for just the second time in ten days. Five other E5 walkers were met, descending from Albergo Lago Santo. As has become customary, they don't recognise us as E5 walkers as we are going the 'wrong' way and Sue has no rucksack. There's just a "buongiorno" exchange - probably for one of the last times, as today we move into the more linguistically challenging German speaking area for the rest of the trip.
After the long 550 metre climb through the woods, we came upon the small but picturesque Lago Santo, and a delightful coffee stop at the Albergo at the far end of the lake.
Here our plans went a little awry when Sue discovered that she had left her engagement ring in Cembra. The ring was rapidly located and some other customers were requisitioned to reunite Sue with her valuables. She was driven back down to Cembra and then managed to hitch a lift back with Flora, who happens to work at the rifugio. She's an angel. Meanwhile I was recruited by Veronica (hello Veronica), a schoolgirl from Trento on holiday for a few days with her grandparents, to help her practice her English. She had been to Manchester and Liverpool and had an impressive command of English for her age.
Sue arrived back after an hour or so, and we enjoyed another coffee with the friendly staff at Albergo Lago Santa. I'd spent two hours there, but the time had passed very quickly and as we finished our second coffee the rain stopped and the sun came out.
Although it was still very hazy, the humidity had decreased and we enjoyed excellent walking weather for the rest of the day.
Our route took us through undulating mixed woodland with plenty of gaps to admire the views. Unusually there was no hostelry to provide lunch, so we had stocked up with tuna salad in Cembra, having eaten the last of the cans brought all the way from Verona on the summit of Monte Gronlait a couple of days ago.
Before that, shortly after leaving Lago Santo we came across a clearing full of newly sculpted tree trunks. "Where do you come from?" queried a voice from the other side of the clearing. It was Josh (hello Josh), from Sheffield, the first English person we had spoken to for ten days. I'm pictured with him and a stray nude. He was walking E5 from Bolzano to Verona.
Since Gillian wrote her guide book a new rifugio has been built - Rif Potzmauer, just below Passo del Potz Mauer. We stopped there for some expensive cokes. It's an ecologically sound establishment using solar and other such means of providing power - in a lovely glade - €40 for half board. Beyond that an easy path lined with orchids, lupins and cow wheat led through more beech woods with occasional views (pictured) across the Adige valley to the mountains beyond. A group of about eight German transalp cyclists passed the other way. An excellent choice of route, it seemed to me.
By and by we came upon the hamlet of Gfrill, or Cauria as it also seems to be known. Just behind the church our chosen accommodation for the night glimmered in the afternoon sun. A small party of walkers was enjoying a beer in the shade outside.
We went to check in. "V haf a problim" articulated Pension Fichtenhof's flustered owner. Despite our emailed confirmation, there appeared to be no space for us, so we would need to be shipped out to overflow accommodation. We frowned. Some negotiating took place with a lady in a walking group. We now have a double room, with the lady in a further room beyond ours. No problem.
So we adjourned to the terrace for beer and tea. Mirke, from Kressbronn by Lake Constance, joined us. He has biked over 400km over the Alps today and is visiting Pension Fichtenhof as a sort of ritual. People who come here always want to return, so it seems.
Pension Fichtenhof is renowned for its 'Slow Food' - home cooked fare from its own produce and other locally produced organic ingredients. We enjoyed a fine meal - the best of our trip to date - from a table overlooking the Adige valley far below, with alpine ranges stretching into the distance slowly being revealed as the cloud and haze cleared.
Comments:
Patrick - the café at Lago Santo was indeed an excellent place to enjoy our morning coffee after the long ascent. We do really miss the wild camping, but on the other hand we've enjoyed the B&B hospitality.
Alan R - I thought I'd escaped from the flooding in Tod. They must be quite fed up with it! After your comment, Sue refused to pose with Josh, so you'll have to put up with my ugly visage today!
Data:
10 July 2012
17km in 7.5 hours with 1000m ascent
Other E5 walkers - Josh, from Sheffield, and 5 walkers descending to Cembra from Lago Santo
Flower of the Day - Spreading Bellflower (one of many types of bellflower that lined today's tracks)
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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We spent a couple of hours socialising before dragging ourselves away at around 10am, as it was a fair walk down to Cembra.
Andrea encouraged us to follow path number 22, which would have brought us out at Passo del Redebus had we not failed to accept the ascent to Stiall. For anyone following in our footsteps - accept Andrea's offer of a free map showing the local footpaths, and follow path 22 until you reach the road at the pass. Nevertheless, despite our 2km road walk up to Passo del Redebus, we did enjoy our little adventure away from the main E5 path. Virtually none of the paths we used were on our E5 strip map.
By now we were in the Val di Fersina, where we came across signs in a peculiar Germanic language. Apparently around 1000 inhabitants continue to speak the language, which arises from a time in the Middle Ages (1300-1500s) when expert miners migrated here from Bohemia and Bavaria. I suppose it's a bit like coming across a corner of England where Cornish is spoken.
Just down the road from the pass, Acqua Fredda comprises a small archaeological site dating back to C13 to C11 BC (late Bronze Age) where ancient smelting furnaces were discovered when the road was widened in 1979. Fascinating stuff - but time does not allow more detail just now.
The road leading to Bedollo gradually improves for the walker, as it takes ancient byways (Sue is pictured on one of them) into Regnana, where the beautiful church was well worth a visit - simple but stunning - and then down to Centrale di Bedollo, where we enjoyed a lunch of coke and panini in the cool and shade of the Bar Centrale.
I forgot to mention - it was warm again today, 32C when we exited that bar. Luckily the lovely wooded path down to Quaras was gentle and well shaded, so we didn't work up too much of a sweat.
Beyond the well tended gardens of Quaras, where the lady gardeners gracefully accepted our compliments, the Pirimidi di Segonzano lurked. Knobbly spires that are relics from the erosion of glacial moraine deposited around 50 million years ago. We took a path that appeared to be to the ticket office, but after descending 200 metres, past various viewing platforms where the 'pyramids' were just visible through the trees, we found not a ticket office but a path heading up towards more pyramids. These '1st Group' pyramids were a little easier to photograph. We ascended a good 100 metres through these capped towers, before reaching a track that led gently into the village of Segonzano.
Our navigationally challenging day continued with a dodge the horse fly session and a search for Hotel alle Piramidi. We mislaid the E5 waymarks for a while and had to retrace our steps in an area where following the guide book instructions in reverse proved more challenging than usual. Basically, the hotel was much further down the hill than expected. We arrived in a bit of a lather, so were pleased to be cooled by drinks supplied by Fabrizio's ladies whilst they recalled their boss from important business. Gillian had suggested that we pay Fabrizio a visit, as he had helped her greatly with information about this area when she was preparing her E5 guide book a few years ago.
By the time the great man arrived we had cooled down and were able to spend a most pleasurable half hour with him. He's a gem, and we commend E5 walkers to stay at his hotel (www.piramidihotel.it). He will enhance your enjoyment of a visit to the area.
Sadly, we were unaware of this when we booked our accommodation, in addition to which a stop at Segonzano didn't really fit with our logistics.
When we paid our farewells to Fabrizio, who refused to accept any payment for his therapeutic drinks, the sky had darkened and he offered to drive us to Cembra. I think he agreed with our declining his offer, for no other reason that we would miss walking the path taken by Albrecht Dürer on a journey to Venice, after flooding required him to detour through this area, during which passage he made a number of inspired watercolours depicting the castle that we passed on the way down to the Torrent Avisio. (I've deliberately missed out the dates given in your book, Gillian, for a reason which I'm sure will make you laugh!)
A new bridge across the torrent enabled us to ascend ancient sunken paths that we could imagine being in use centuries ago in the time of Dürer. Fine views led back over the day's route, much of which was now shadowed by storm clouds. Our final 200 metre ascent led us up past vines and apricot and apple orchards to a grape processing plant in the faded village of Faver, and on to the more affluent Cembra, where Hotel al Caminetto provided an excellent room but would only offer half board if we stayed three nights. This actually saved us a few euros as the half board bit of our bill would have been more than the cost of the huge pizzas we enjoyed, with a few beers, before writing up the day's exploits.
After our meal, taken in the company of Mr and Mrs Fat and their son, Waddle, we were joined for a while by Lorena (hello Lorena), a language student who is in a dilemma as to where to choose for a six month overseas college placement. Her family lives locally and her dad knows Fabrizio. Sue wishes her Italian was as good as Lorena's English, or Fabrizio's for that matter. Having said that, they do all compliment her on her Italian.
It was raining as we went to bed. We won't complain if it's a bit cooler tomorrow....
Comments:
Alan R - thanks again. Are you sure you weren't in Florida. Some good news for you is our planned sojourn in the UK in the autumn, which will actually include an Indian Summer.
Sue and Dave - thanks for the message. We hope the weather holds for your GR5 adventure.
Data:
9 July 2012
23km in 8 hours with 750m ascent
Other E5 walkers - perhaps two separate couples, coming the other way, but we failed to 'engage'
Flower of the Day - Three-veined Pink
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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The day was warm and sunny, with any sign of a storm on a distant horizon. Still quite hazy in the heat, but we weren't complaining.
The taxi duly arrived at 9.45 and took us fairly smoothly (it only broke down once) up to Chalet Panarotta at 1770 metres. So we completed this 1250 metre ascent part of the journey in a taxi for €35.
It was worth every cent, as it positioned us ideally for the day's high level walk over two alpine summits, Cima Fravort (2347m) and Monte Gronlait (2383m).
Being Sunday there were lots of people about today in this popular area where summits can be reached without difficulty. The terrain was quite like a version on a grander scale of that in the English Lake District, but the views down the valleys were another matter - they stretched to distant towns a good 2000 metres below us.
There's still a considerable haze, so distant views were just a little difficult to bring into focus, but fine views from both summits (the one from near Cima Fravort is pictured) drew our eyes back to the route we had travelled so far, and on towards the higher Dolomite massifs, with Bolzano hiding somewhere to the north.
We spent several hours traversing mountain ridges, culminating in an interesting section between Passo Portella and Passo del Lago where care was needed and a few wires and boards had been strategically placed to aid our passage.
After this* it was a simple descent to join the Sunday crowds at Lago Erdemolo (pictured from above), where the rifugio sadly remains closed. It would have done a roaring trade today; perhaps its former 'cantankerous' owners were better than none at all! The path was quite crowded, with people returning home from their sunny weekends, to the extent that one little boy grabbed Sue's hand, thinking she was his mum. "So you have an Inglese mother" his siblings later teased him.
Down at Frotten, the best part of an hour's walk from Erdemolo, the nice people at Agritur Scalzerhof were anything but cantankerous. But they did have a problem when we arrived at 4.30. A coach load of walkers had just descended on them, the 'boss' of which group - a short, officious gentleman wearing a t-shirt from Nepal - was very concerned as to their welfare. So we waited patiently for 30 minutes for our beer and tea. Andrea, whose family run this excellent place, was very apologetic, and we were very understanding.
We've enjoyed an excellent dinner, featuring a local speciality, cuccalar, a chapatti like bread made from special flours that is served as an antipasta together with a selection of meats and cheeses. It seemed more like a main course than a 'pre-starter'!
It's a lovely clear evening: the storms are currently elsewhere.
Comments:
Anonymous - as the bike was parked outside Gino's house, we assume it is his. We didn't see him again after receiving your comment. He is very sprightly for an 86 year old and uses a push bike for local trips. The 'Benetti Mystery' continues!
Alan R - transport here is much as in the UK actually, probably a bit easier. I should have checked the bus times in advance, but it was clear from the timetable at the bus stops that the bus to Vetriolo only runs on weekdays. Did you take a day trip to Florida?
Data:
8 July 2012
30 mins in taxi to Chalet Panarotta, then 17km in 6 hours with 1000m ascent
Other E5 walkers - none in evidence
Flower of the Day - Spotted Gentian (we are moving into 'Gentian country')
* There's an option here to carry on along an 'E5 Alp' route over various further summits to Rif Sette Selle, rejoining the main route the following day at Regnana. It's clearly marked on the Kompass 121 strip map. It looks excellent. I'm slightly annoyed at not spotting it at the planning stage, not that there's anything wrong with our standard route.
Itinerary - http://www.topwalks.com/E5%20Route.html
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