Some Evening Walks

Just in case any of the local (to Timperley) bloggers may be interested, a list of our evening strolls for the rest of the year is here.  There’s one on Thursday.  Apologies if you have already received an e-mail or Facebook message about these.  But if you haven’t received an e-mail, and would like to in future, please drop me a note using the ‘Contact us’ button on the above link.

There’s no prize, but can you spot where these people were on 29 April 2006?  Before they retired from their active lifestyles!

Three Weeks of Sunshine

It’s nearly a week since we returned from our sojourn in the sun to the world of anaemic coffee and disintegrating sun tans, though nobody has complained about the gap in transmissions!

The image is of our evening view from the campsite at Trafoi.  The glacier was visibly melting during our time there.

This posting is really just by way of a dummy entry to which I’ll add an index and links to any slide shows of our trip, should I ever get around to that.  In the meantime, there are various other jobs higher on the list, and the continuing exercise of helping Mike to decorate his house.

Ah, I forgot, some images from the Piz da Lech Via Ferrata trip on 15 July, principally for Pete and Nicola, are here.

But I do enjoy blogging (hadn’t you guessed?) so am bound to find time to add something to these pages.

When in Treviso last Monday, Gillian and Nick told us the swifts had gone from Venice.  We were therefore pleased to find that ours had not left; indeed I can hear them outside the window as I write this.

I must learn the ins and outs of my new ‘phone – I upgraded (on impulse as I passed a Carphone Warehouse shop) a couple of days before leaving for the Alps.  It’s a Bold 9700, and seems to transmit more quickly than the old Curve. 

But I’ve noticed that not all the images I send from the ‘phone appear using the Firefox browser (it doesn’t seem to pick up all the images from Alan’s HTC phone either).  Perhaps a problem with our desktop computer?  Internet Explorer seems to work fine though.

I’ve also noticed little ‘suns’ on many of our file icons.  Here’s an example:

Does anyone know what these mean?

Piazzo dei Signori - Treviso

We enjoyed a short, sunny, sedate journey, then booked into the Continental Hotel (where we have a comfortable air-conditioned room, albeit with a worrying footprint on the ceiling!), took precautions against the battered Clio being towed away, and strolled around Treviso with ice creams in hand.

The main piazza is too big for this gadget's flimsy little lens, hence the two images.

We are told that it's much cooler than of late around here - a mere 29C or so. We are glad that Chalet Angelo was up at 1700 metres - it was hot enough up there!

Treviso has an ancient centre, surrounded by walls, gates and a moat. The moat is a mixture of clear watered rivers and canals, with a profusion of different birds on weed control fatigues.

The Duomo (Cathedral) is large and almost completely lacking in ceiling decoration, unlike many other churches we've visited. But it was nice and cool and had a reverent atmosphere.

The evening was spent in the excellent company of Gillian and Nick, with Toni del Spin providing superb Trevisan cuisine, thus bringing this trip to a most pleasurable conclusion.

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Our Last Day in the Dolomites

Whilst Sue enjoyed a flower bagging foray from Chalet Angelo onto the Pralongia plateau, I enjoyed my final day here with Dan from Collett's and eight other guests, on the standard traverse of Sassongher.

Our numbers had been boosted by the cancellation of today's Via Ferrata plans due to early rain. Setting off in waterproofs cured that problem. They were soon discarded in favour of t-shirts, though later fleeces were deployed for the first time since we arrived in Italy three weeks ago.

Edelweiss and Ruby, a red deer, accompanied us to Col Pradat, from where we took the pleasant route through low shrubs to the junction where #7 heads across the face of the mountain. It's actually quite a wide terrace compared to #7 up Monte Cavallo; nobody encountered any difficulty, other than Alfred, the Alpine Salamander, whose black body was badly camouflaged by the white rock, requiring him to hide in a crevice.

We reached the 2665 metre summit in around three hours after our 1100 metre ascent, losing only Mark (to a bout of vertigo) on the way. A cold breeze scoured the top, where a coach load of day trippers had bagged most of the sheltered spots. I tried to capture the moment (see previous posting), with limited success. My subjects obviously didn't realise that the photo would immediately be disclosed to Eddie and the world.

Some of us lunched on the summit, with excellent views despite a cloud base of around 3000 metres. The air was much clearer than of late.

The rest lunched near the col, below a short wired section that caused no significant difficulty. The most photogenic diner was the gentleman pictured above, Charlie Chough, taken from our lunch spot with our ongoing route down appearing just below the crags in the distance.

'Just around the corner' beyond those crags lies the shyly positioned Rifugio Gherdenacia, which looked closed when it eventually came into view.

Dan narrowly avoided a mutiny. The Rifugio was open. Drinks all round.

Path 11A then zigzagged the merry band down a steep gully before depositing them on lovely woodland and meadowy paths past Melancholy Thistle and Clove-scented Broomrape.

Further down, on the road to Verda, a resident had clearly made a poor calculation when exercising his road crossing skills. Adolph, the ex-adder, made such an impression on Dan that he produced his lunch box, muttering something like "I think Alice would like this".
[Alice is the host/chef at Chalet Angelo.]

The riverside path led us gently on to Chalet Bracun, where the others collapsed into heaps resembling the piles of washing in Angelo's laundry, whilst Stuart and I strolled back up the 150 metre slope to Angelo's waiting sauna.

Another lovely day out (16km, 1300 metres ascent, 8 hours) was followed by a sociable evening with only a short diversion for our self-catered dinner, comprising scraps.

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Collett's (Corvara Section) 'A' Team summits Sassongher!

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Monte Cavallo

This morning the chairlifts from Pedraces took Sue and me painlessly up 700 metres to Rifugio San Croce, from where path number 7 led us for nearly two hours across the face of the Fanes cliffs. The top image shows Sue, about half way up, with Marmolada in the distance behind. This section was along a narrow ledge with a horrific drop. A bit later on, some wires appeared, thus qualifying the route as a Via Ferrata (Grade 1B), though no equipment is required.

Once on the Fanes plateau, we enjoyed the rock scenery and looked ahead to Monte Cavallo's 2907 metre summit. See lower image.

After another hour we were up there. Lunch was taken in front of our panoramic map that disclosed the nature of the far ranging views. From Austrian summits to the peaks of the southern Dolomites.

Friendly German and Italian voices surrounded us. As did Pink Cinquefoil, Moss Campion, Spring Gentians, Mountain Sainfoin, Rockroses and Mountain Thrift - to name just a few.

After resisting the temptation to continue on to climb Cima Dieci, we returned to Passo di San Croce, before picking up a variant of Path 12 which led us by the shortest walkable route (our grippy trail shoes were helpful on the 'sloping' limestone) to the Forcella de Mesdesc, at around 2500 metres.

It was clear that a trail bike had managed to ascend the path from La Villa. It was also clear that somebody had managed to run down the scree. The descent to La Villa, all 1200 metres of it, was steep, especially the first scree section. Walking poles were needed. They were in the boot of the car. Not much use there! Bum was deployed.

We made it down 500 metres of scree, from the Rhaetian Poppy zone into the Harebell zone, fairly quickly, even if odd stances were employed to avoid big slides. The path looked as if it had been recently renewed from here on, with trail bikers having taken advantage of a ready made race track. But it was a pleasant enough route down #12 to La Villa and on beside the river to Pedraces.

All in all, it had been a fine mountain day, especially along path 7, in superb weather yet again. Looking up to the summit, 1600 metres above us, made us realise that apart from the 16km walk with 1000 metres of ascent, in a little under 7 hours, we'd done quite a bit of descent as well.

As a result of having decided not to climb the second, 3026 metre peak of Cima Dieci, we were back at base in plenty of time for a sauna and a beer before indulging in Alice's home cooking at Chalet Angelo, and a most sociable evening.

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The Esoteric World of Alpine Flora Identification

Today we joined Graham and Jackie and an assortment of Collett's guests (Maggie and Ada) for a rummage in the sunny meadows and rock fields above Arabba on the Porta Vescovo Ridge.

For their two week slot at Collett's, Graham and Jackie are the 'flower people', two of a series of enthusiasts who turn up every year to accompany guests on 'flower walks'. We'd not been on one before, but this seemed an ideal opportunity to confront some of the gaping holes in our knowledge of the flora that surrounds us whilst walking in these parts.

The picture shows some of these hardened characters in action under the backdrop of Marmolada, the 'Queen of the Dolomites'.

Sandworts, Hawksbeards, Wormwoods, Rock Jasmines, Cresses, Saxifraga depressa and many more. It all became a tiny bit clearer, but readers of these pages will be pleased to hear that our new found knowledge will be imparted in piecemeal portions, if at all.

Whilst the others returned to Arabba by cablecar, Sue and I extended the 2 km that had taken us all morning to cover, by walking back down to Arabba. We managed a total of around 6 km, with less than 100 metres ascent, taking, well... all day.

On the way down we spotted, amongst much more, a gem - Bear's-ear Primrose (Primula auricula). Graham and Jackie were very jealous when we showed them the pictures (to follow) later at Haus Valentin in Pedraces, where they presented an excellent slideshow on the final evening of their trip.

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Piz da Lech and an Italian Sandwich

This was my first Via Ferrata route for some time. Sue went for a walk to the Nuvolau with Chris, Helen and Simon, and various others from Collett's Dolomitic empire. One of our reasons for staying with Collett's is that we can split up like this and still have company. Whilst Sue would dearly love a Via Ferrata day, her injury prevents it, and I'm reluctant to do them alone.

My day started with a stroll down to the Boe Gondola, where over twenty folk from various Collett's locations slowly assembled for today's Via Ferrata experience. Eventually we actually caught the gondola, and then the Vallon chairlift, from where it was a short stroll to the start of the VF.

I could tell it would be a slow ascent by the time it took a large group ahead of us to 'kit up' (install newly hired climbing harnesses and VF kit, etc). But our own group (pictured) wasn't much quicker.

"Let's go" I suggested to Pete at about 11am, as the way ahead cleared. So we set off. After about 5 metres of easy wire the three Old Faffing Italians ahead of us engaged in a hugely slow faff on a vertical section, during which one of them paused for some time, hanging precariously off the wire, to deal with a telephone call.

Italians love to talk!

'No matter', I thought - the rest of the 'coachload of Italians' up ahead looked even slower!

Eventually Pete and I were afforded the space to tackle the wall of rock. 'Huff puff' - we soon realised why the Italians had been so faffy. The Pic da Lech route, graded 3B - a mid grade VF - had plenty of good resting places in between thrutchy ascents and airy traverses. We spent a lot of time at such resting places due to the slowness of the group ahead.

After making sedate (I'm being polite here) progress for over an hour, Pete and I found ourselves sitting next to the three Elderly Italians, looking up at the rest of their party making very heavy weather of ascending a couple of ladders. We watched, bemused that anyone could make anything so simple look so hard. English voices floated down.

So it was not an Italian coach load, just three old boys irretrievably sandwiched between two parties of English incompetents.

Mutterings under the breath..."Shoot ze Inglese fools".
With an echo..."Shoot ze incompetent Inglese fools" - I blame Pete for that!

Anyway, the English Incompetents huffed and puffed their was up the ladders whilst we gazed up, directly into the sun, in bafflement. The colour of my face tonight is testament to the aeons it spent in that position.

With the ladders clear, the Aged Italians strolled on up them (if indeed it's possible to stroll up a ladder). Then it was our turn.

I knew it was easy. I'd been here before. I'd waited at the foot of the second ladder for many minutes whilst Sue had tried to coax a small Italian boy upwards, finally resorting to impaling said child on a stemple and hurling the whole lot at the little blighter's idiot father.

I had explained all this to Pete. "So that's the reason for all the loose stemples" he observed.

Pete was next up. "I can't reach" he pleaded. "Stand on the top rung" I suggested. He made some rather rude gurgling noises before emerging triumphant at the top of the VF with knees oozing copious bodily fluids by way of proof of passage.

Next up was Nicola. She's shorter than Pete and her "I can't reach" plea was a little more justified than his. By some psychological miracle I overcame my usual state of terrified vertigo and helped her up, leaving Kev (next up) to look after himself and the following person.

Pete and I strolled up to the summit, said hello to the three Italian Elders and confronted the Incompetent English. It turned out that Collett's had dispatched them as an advance party from Chalet Barbara in Arabba, clearly for the purpose of laying siege to the mountain. There must have been over 30 Collett's guests on this route today.

And we complain about coachloads of Italians!?

The views from the 2910 metre summit of Piz da Lech, to numerous Dolomitic peaks and valleys, are stunning. We savoured them together with our lunch for an hour (1pm to 2pm), during which about half our party, in various states of bruisedness arrived on the broad summit.

I have yet to discover what happened to the rest of them, as Pete and I, being the only members of the group mean enough to buy one-way lift tickets, decided to commence our 1350 metre descent to Corvara. It was a most pleasurable two and a half hours, punctuated by a welcome coke at the Boe gondola station and culminating in a long, slow beer near Chalet Bracun.

An excellent day out - 8km with 400 metres ascent, in about 6 hours. Thanks for your company, Pete, I really enjoyed our day together.

Back at Chalet Angelo, Sue was luxuriating in the sauna after her own sociable day out, and the atmosphere was delightfully convivial, everyone having enjoyed another fine day under the bright yellow orb that just now remains a constant feature of the Dolomitic skyscape.

[Hello Paul, hello Helen. Wish you were here? Surely not, it's a bit hot!]

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A Short Walk up Sas Ciampac

Wednesday is a day off for Collett's staff. There were no organised activities for us to be sociable on, and others felt our own plans would be too easy/hard for them.

So Sue and I set off on our own from the chalet at 9am down the steep path/road to Corvara village.

Sassongher (pictured from near our chalet) looms high above Corvara, but it wasn't our objective today. We were heading for the highest of the summits to the north east of Passo Gardena, Sas Ciampac, which at 2672 metres towers over neighbouring Sassongher by all of 7 metres. It's pictured in the posting from two days ago, just after our arrival here.

Having previously approached Col Pradat by a brutally steep path from Colfosco, #4A from Pescosta was pleasurable in comparison. It wound gently up through shady woods, past Fragrant Orchids and vibrant Moon Daisies (pictured).

At 1820 metres, about the height of the nearby Edelweiss Hut, we spotted our first flowers of that name on this trip.

After joining #4 at Col Pradat, we contoured amiably towards Forcella Ciampei on what proved to be a very busy section of path. The crossroads at the Forcella seemed like Piccadilly Circus, so it was with relief that we turned off Alta Via 2 onto path 2A shortly afterwards.

The ascent of Sas Ciampac from the sparsely vegetated limestone plateau then became a pleasure. We summited around 1pm and enjoyed lunch in our own company, having narrowly missed a coach load of Japanese!

It became busier after we rejoined AV2 at Passo Crespeina, but the route to Passo Cir and on to Jimmy's Hut was nevertheless a pure delight, firstly above a narrow valley of lush meadows bordered by steep cliffs, then winding between rocky pinnacles that remind me of the Trotternish area of Skye.

We were thirsty, so two schiewassers went down well. But the cost! Nearly €8 for two glasses of cordial! Ouch.

Flower (identification) stops punctuated our stroll down the easy #650 then #28 to Corvara. Lovely woods with open views, then a call into the supermarket before the final 150 metre climb up to Chalet Angelo to conclude an excellent day. We had walked about 16km, with 1300 metres ascent, in about 9 hours.

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The Azalea Walk

The 30 minute chairlift ride from Pedraces got 15 of us up from 1350 to 2045 metres, a satisfactory way to start the gently descending path 15 that links Ospizio La Crusc Hospiz with the village of San Cassiano.

We were a sociable lot, as is the norm with clients of Collett's, with Anna, who's based at their Haus Valentin chalet in Pedraces, 'carrying the umbrella'.

The path wound gently through woods, with frequent vistas across to the Sella and Puez massifs, and the Fanes behind us. The pace was gentle. Lunch was taken (pictured) at a fine spot by the edge of the woods, with a view to the distinctive peak of Sassongher (2665 metres) above the conglomeration of settlements that calls itself La Villa.

Early rain ('for the heat') had been expected, but it failed to materialise as we continued on down to San Cassiano, returning to Pedraces by the riverside path via La Villa.

Anna was so engrossed with the views (the second picture shows the Fanes escarpment from this scenic path) that she failed to notice two of her charges slip away on their own agenda.

The rest of us continued merrily on to Pedraces for a welcome beer after this easy 12km stroll with around 100 metres ascent, in a very leisurely four hours or so.

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A New Home in Corvara

The previous posting may be deceptive - it's just a small sliver of a wide panoramic view of hazy rock peaks for as far as the eye can see.

Yesterday's walk was based on walk 15 in Gillian's previously mentioned book. The detailed route description is somewhat superfluous - as Gillian points out. There are any number of permutations of paths that anyone equipped with map number 72 or its larger scale equivalent can devise without difficulty....

Today we enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast, compared with our camp fayre of the previous week, before settling our modest account and heading for Bolzano.

Good advice from two welcome sources had encouraged us to take the cablecar and narrow gauge railway to the Renon plateau, with its stunning views towards the Dolomites.

Then, onwards through intermittent afternoon rain to our self-catered apartment at Chalet Angelo, one of Collett's (www.colletts.co.uk) bases in Corvara, in the heart of the Dolomites.

We have the only self-catered accommodation in the building - a penthouse apartment with great views to the Puez summits and Val Gardena.

The morning view with the sun on the mountains will be stunning, but since we only arrived at 4pm the above images are from the afternoon and evening, looking west from the window of our new home.

[It's good to hear from you Shirley, no doubt you had a brilliant time in the Pyrenees. We are here for another week.]

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The Dolomites, from Collalbo

It has been said, by one much more familiar with this area than ourselves, that:

"I'm close to saying this place is the best for amazing Dolomite views!"

That could be right, though today's heat haze has produced a rather 'atmospheric' view.

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Val Martello this morning - from our balcony

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Val Martello

A leisurely striking of camp and a good hour's drive found us enjoying elevenses in the sunshine (I've mentioned the weather - just for you, Louise) outside Albergo Gioveretto in Val Martello, another new destination for us.

So it was midday by the time we set off from 1880 metres past another fine information board (the Stelvio Park is awash with them, I won't mention them again). Along #20A/38 towards Albergo Genziana (Enzianhütte) past Early Purple and Common Spotted Orchids, taking #38 through beautiful woods to a short road section before turning along #8 just before reaching the hut and its many facilities.

#8 was signposted to Malga-Lyfi-Alm at 2165 metres. Shortly after crossing a torrent we turned left up #39, by a picnic bench well suited to a lunch stop for anyone equipped with a gallon of sun tan cream (1.5 hrs to here).

Then right at a junction at 2220 metres, along #35, happy in the knowledge that the bulk of ascent had now been done. We kept left where #20A branches to the right, taking #35 to Lyfi-alm, which was very much open for business on this sunny holiday afternoon.

It was like Piccadilly Circus, with lots of paths from here - we chose to continue along the unnumbered one continuing ENE from below the alm.

Then after a few metres, #8 to Stallwies was our choice.

At 3.30, almost two weeks to the hour after embarking on this trip, the unthinkable happened.

Waterproofs were deployed.

Continuing on through the light rain, we reached a low point on #8 at 1920 metres, where a right turn took us down path 0 (?!) to a junction with #9 - here we turned right to Thial - 1850m.

It was like being in a greenhouse, so waterproofs were discarded before a short but unpleasant section up tarmac zigzags to the vertiginous dam wall at Lago di Gioveretto.

#36 beside the lake after the phobic dam wall was suitable for wheelchairs, we joked.

It proved an easy stroll by the lakeside to finish our circuit at 5.45 pm.

We had passed only one wheelchair.

We'd enjoyed a most scenic 11 km outing, with 500 metres ascent, taking us over 5.5 hours (but the flower ID stops are becoming more difficult and time consuming).

It's a valley to which we hope to return.

We had decided to stay at the hotel outside which we'd parked the car. After all, it did say 'Only For Guests'. Horror of horrors! The hotel was full!

Up the road - 3 nights minimum, and expensive (very posh).

Down the road to 1200 metres - a 15 minute drive during which we struggled to keep ahead of a pair of mountain bikers, the Ortlerhof establishment wasn't so fussy. Half board we are, in one of only three occupied rooms.

It's very comfy, and the house cabernet has successfully washed down the menu:

Insalata del buffet
Mezzalune tirolese con burro lesso
Entrecoté con burro al erbe con crochette di patate e verdura
Gelato di vaniglia con lampone calde

Delicious!

Then I wrote this whilst watching the first half of the World Cup Final. I apologise for not affording you my full attention.

Must go now. The second half has started.

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A Stroll from Furkelhütte

Trafoi, this morning, was humming with activity as the throaty purring engines of vintage cars participating in the Sud-Tirol Rally brought various admirers to the roadside as the old vehicles embarked on the classic ascent of the Stelvio Pass. Strange to see so many British sports cars with left hand drive and German plates.

For us, after admiring the machinery on display, a long 650 metre ascent on a chairlift (on which Sue blagged a ride as an OAP!) to sunny Furkelhütte for lattemacchiato (pictured). It was a temperate 25C in the shade at 2159 metres. What it was like lower down I hate to think (forecast 38C).

The sky was a hazy blue, with thin streaks of cloud and a stunning view of Ortler, and its crumbling glaciers.

We left the hut at 11.30 to ascend through a forest of black vanilla orchids in a luxuriant meadow, past a wartime 'pill box', before eschewing a broad path (#24) to a minor peak, in favour of the little used #25 to Passo di Vallazza, at 2742 metres.

At 2500 metres, an exciting moment. Our first sighting of Dark Stonecrop this trip!

We continued in silence, apart from the distant tinkle of cowbells and the caw of a raven, and our own voices, past innumerable marmot holes.

On reaching the pass just after 1pm we were greeted by a big view, with high cloud over Austria, whilst a thin sun beamed down on us.

It was a fine spot for an extended lunch, during which we spent a happy hour trying to identify lots of miniature alpine plants. With limited success.

A few drops of rain signaled the need to descend, past whistling marmots (at last we have seen some), bundles of caterpillars in the grass, and through verdant Alpine meadows on the anti-clockwise continuation of #25.

Back at the hut at 15.30 after a 7 km, 4 hour walk with 600 metres ascent, beers were most welcome.

Then it was back down the chairlift, a visit to the Stelvio National Park Visitor Centre, with its fine exhibition of owls, before returning to camp to battle with increasing dampness of the air and two recalcitrant gas stoves from which we are trying to drain the last dregs of fuel, for our final alfresco camping meal of the trip.

Not that we are coming home just yet...

Since we've been at Trafoi (1550 metres), six days now, the barometer has risen steadily from 849 to 854Mb. Stable weather, or what?! (Despite tonight's rain, which we are actually quite enjoying.)

[Shame on you, Alan! Blogging is never a 'pain', but sometimes Old Man Time sets up a bit of a 'challenge'. And we quite like those! Don't we? Even if it does finish up a bit garbled...?]

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The Upper Zaytal Lakes

I won't mention the weather, except that it's proving therapeutic for Sue, but it doesn't really facilitate a rest day. Some cloud suddenly appeared just now - it looked like a storm was coming.

The cloud has gone - just like that...

This morning we drove to Solda and enjoyed Walk 10 in Gillian's (previously described) book. Her description remains sound apart from - for your benefit, Gillian:

• At the start, after crossing the torrent in Solda, turn R down the tarmac road, then immediately L up a path; when you reach the main road, cross straight over, pass the Car Park for the hut, and join #5. (All the way to the Upper Zaytal Lakes.)

• The wooden bench at the first of the upper lakes was not evident to us, but there was an improvised stone bench. And, sadly, an empty bottle of wine which, to my eternal shame, I failed to remove.

• Paths 12 and 12A are permanently closed due to rock fall, so to reach Kanzel it's necessary to descend down #5 to its junction with #14, which is clearly signed to Kanzel along a broad path with fairly minimal ascent.

• Note that the Kanzel chairlift stops running at 16.50 hrs and costs €8 per person, one way. (It was worth it!)

Gillian reckons 6.5 hours for the whole walk, plus stops. We took just over that to reach Kanzel, our route being about 10km with around 1100 metres ascent. So Gillian's timings are fairly generous as we stopped a lot - flower IDs are getting harder and more time consuming - we seem to have 'bagged' the easy ones.

The views back to the Ortler summits were superb all day. The excursion to the Upper Zaytal Lakes (so eloquently described in the guide book that we couldn't miss it) was stunning. The above picture shows Sue here, at 2885 metres, about to dive in, with (I think) Vertainspitze behind.

Redstarts, Choughs and Sticky Primroses featured today, and Sue very much enjoyed her encounter with a German speaking artist at
Rifugio Serristori (aka Düsseldorfer Hütte) on the way down. Their Italian was of about the same standard; his watercolour was coming along nicely; the Schiewasser was downed in one.

Alan - Italians like to talk! There is rarely any problem with a phone signal! The problem is with finding the time to blog, especially with friendly Dutch and German neighbours on the campsite. (Hence tonight's rather garbled effort.)

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The Swifts of Trafoi

In many places on this trip we have noticed squealing swifts, especially around dusk, just as in our suburban street in Timperley.

The Swifts of Trafoi live in the eaves of the church, pictured here on this evening's 'constitutional'. (The sky is blue, BTW.)

Why would any swift in its right mind want to come to Timperley?

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A Sunny Day in the Alps

We have a fine view from a flowery meadow across to Ortler - 3905 metres.

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Peter and Vanessa's Day Out?

Ho hum, John, we have had to dodge the spraying hose pipes as we stroll into Trafoi for our evening constitutional! As you say, rain in Timperley will do no harm; you'll appreciate we did our best to encourage good weather by failing to arrange for our grass to be mown and employing Andrea and Thomas (bless them!) to keep our plants watered.

Today's postcard, Louise, places Sue above a 1000 metre precipice at Gaflaunboden, restrained by just a thin piece of Photoshop, looking up Val Venosta towards Passo di Resia and Austria, with the high summits of the Ötztal Alps in view. It was a breathtaking view. As usual, I was clutching a branch of the nearest tree, breathing deeply.

Peter and Vanessa (P+V) had described a five hour walk organised by their hotel in Solda. It sounded just the job for today, designated by Sue to be 'easier'.

We'd considered moving round to B&B accommodation in Solda, but this campsite is one of the best we've found, high and cool in the heatwave; Sue's neck is coping with the camping; and it's only a 15 minute drive to Solda.

So we tootled round to Rumwaldhof, where we thought P+V had said they started their walk, parking by an ex refreshment stall next to the burnt out ruin of said Rumwaldhof. We just needed to find a link to get us 100 metres up the hill and on to #6. After bumbling around for 30 minutes or so we gave up and headed off towards Solda.

After a few metres 'Waldruhe' was signposted up a road that we thought our map indicated wasn't open to cars. It was. We went up, rounded a few hairpins, and parked in a layby near the left turn down a lane to Gasthof Waldruhe, which must be where P+V started from. It was 11.15. Time for coffee. Luckily Gasthof Waldruhe was open, and the Grumpiness of its owner (Very) was matched by the excellence of his coffee (Very)!

And the lupins.

We were off to a good start on yet another warm, cloudless day.

#6 was a delight - through shady woods with occasional open views. 'Riposa nel Bosco' said the sign. We did just that - 'relax in the woods' - admiring the hundreds of One-flowered Wintergreen that flanked the path.

#6 led all the way to Vellnairalm, by way of woodland paths lined with Twin Flower and May Lilies, with larks flitting in the tree tops practicing their command performances. 1pm - time for lunch in the shade by this unmanned cabin with its cheeky black squirrel. Fine views across to the Ortler summits.

Just ten people had been seen thus far, and that would be about the tally for the day.

After a good break we headed up #3 (marked on our Kompass 1:50000 map no 72 as #3A), towards Gaflaunboden. I don't think we made it. We reached the fabulous viewpoint from where today's picture was taken, shortly after which the path doubled back uphill before descending into woods. I reckoned we were still about 150 metres below Gaflaunboden, so we retraced our steps and headed directly up from some cairns, towards a substantial avalanche fence. There was little sign of any path, but by contouring at the designated height (2330 metres) we reached an obvious but unmarked path leading in the right direction. So we followed it. Very successfully. No waymarks, just a mainly grassy path which occasionally dissolved into lawns of Forget-me-nots or other flowers before being regained at the end of the flower bed. Nor is the path numbered on our map - perhaps that means it's not waymarked.

A trough and spring in a remote spot at 2345 metres, reached at 3pm, made me think that the path was used by more shepherds than tourists.

The undulating belvedere took us all the way, with just a few metres of exposure that led me to conclude that this was not P+V's route, to the shepherd's cabin at Stieralm. On the way we'd seen two fine specimens of Red Deer (Cervo), a stag and a doe - careering down the mountainside.

Here at Stieralm we regained P+V's route, which I reckon probably took a lower traverse, possibly via the woodland path we had rejected.

Kälberhütte was our next target, via a 50 metre ascent and a pleasant grassy lane on #18 or #19 depending on where you look (fab views south and west to the Ortler summits), with a final 400 metre descent through woods on #24 to join a track just above Gasthof Waldruhe.

So much for our 5 hour stroll. It was 5.30, some 7.5 hours since we'd started walking at Rumwaldhof, and our walk from Waldruhe - 13km with 800 metres ascent - had taken a good 6 hours.

But we still had plenty of time to acquire, cook and consume another lovely alfresco meal (it's simply not the weather for eating indoors), whilst watching bits of glacier fall off the mountains that loom high above us, before the remainder turned pink under another lovely sunset.

Our Dutch neighbours are to attempt P+V's walk tomorrow, based on our description. I wonder how they'll get on?

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A Perfect Day in the Alps

After yesterday's chatty 13km excursion in good company, with only about 100 metres ascent, taking around 4.5 hours, today we woke to 12C coolness under a clear blue sky, in the knowledge that today's less frequented route would probably neither have been 'cleared' by the two men with rakes we had seen on #20, nor adorned with the sort of information boards that have sprung up at frequent intervals on that fine belvedere route.

Those brand new information boards are in fact the main change from Gillian's description of her walk number 9. They cover a range of topics, from the construction of the Stelvio Pass in 1820 to its wartime use, and the flora and flora of the area, even extending to an explanation about how the expulsion of the contents of rabbits' intestines serves to fertilise the land and benefits the flora. All very 'German'? though the information boards were in both German and Italian, with English only appearing at the Furkelhütte. Perhaps English speakers are expected just to get the chair lift up there and walk down #17?

Anyway, today we set off on a perfectly clear, warm morning, down a lane to the south, to Drei Brunnen. Path 15 took us past an ornate chapel then up through shady pine woods to Rifugio Borletti, at 2188 metres, some 600 odd metres above camp.

We took our time. A few old dears passed us. The distant roar of cars as they grunted their way up the Stelvio Pass slowly diminished. The flower book was out. Wintergreens, Garland Flower and Cowberry were highlights. Common Spotted Orchid was lush and abundant. We stopped frequently and relished new 'spots'.

Yes, we seem to be bagging flowers!

As we emerged from the woods and approached the hut, Spring Gentians dominated the path's verges.

Schiewasser, Fanta and an unpronounceable soup were most welcome after our leisurely two and a half hour ascent. Most people turn round here, but we continued on up #18 towards Tabaretta. Only two people followed us - by coincidence the Slovenian couple in the next tent. A second lunch occupied a delightful half hour with stunning views and Shrubby Milkwort and Rock Speedwell in attendance. Sue is pictured near here, with Rif Borletti in the background. You may also make out the zigzags of the Stelvio Pass behind. The route of the Meranoweg path can also be seen.

A final ascent brought us to the flat summit of Pic Tabaretta - at 2538 metres, our high point of the day. It was a lovely flat meadowy summit with stunning views; an idyllic camping spot in good weather like this.

We reluctantly moved on. Whilst the Slovenians headed up to Rifugio Payer, we contoured along #18A towards the derelict remains of the Alpenrosehütte. This was the trickiest path of the day, featuring a short traverse behind a steep bergschrund towards a flock of sheep seeking shade from the relentless sunshine.

The temperature in the open rose to a hot 27C as we descended, as if into a cauldron, to 2000 metres; but then #18 entered the tree line. It was cooler under the canopy, with a lovely aroma of fresh pine. The afternoon was beautiful, with a cloudless sky and no sign of haze despite the continuing hot weather.

On the approach to Trafoi a forest path (#3) led left to cross the river by a footbridge before rising to deliver us efficiently at the campsite.

Today's route is mentioned in Gillian Price's book as the descent to Trafoi in Route 11, with our ascent being mentioned by Gillian as an alternative descent. The paths were well maintained and are probably more heavily used than when Gillian wrote her guide.

The campsite shop saw to all our needs - brew, beer, alfresco supper - before we ambled down to the village, which seems to be a refuge for Opel vehicles on test, and admired the Alpenglow as the sun lingered late on the Ortler peaks. Those staying in high mountain huts will have had an evening to remember.

But we are also content. A fine walk (10km, 1100 metres ascent, 7.5 hours) with stunning views in perfect weather with the one you love. Who could ask for more?

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