An Unforgettable Alpine Adventure

Buckle up for this one, folks. We had an extremely unexpected but ultimately unforgettable experience last week, and it’s a bit of a journey.

When we were planning our various excursions through Italy, we found out about a region of mountains in the Southern Alps (which are in Northern Italy) called the Dolomites. There’s a main trail that goes through this area called the Alta Via 1. Many hikers make their way along the trail over the course of several days, stopping to eat and sleep in huts called Rifugios. I saw content online of people doing this and showed it to Matthew, and we were immediately hooked. We love camping, backpacking, and hiking, so it seemed like the perfect way to get a taste of the beautiful Alps and stay in some cute mountain huts along the way. We booked 3 nights in Rifugios covering 26 miles of hiking along the way.

Leading up to the trip, we kept a close eye on the weather as things can change quickly when you’re that high up in altitude. As you can guess, things can get a bit colder (sometimes even snowy) up there even when it’s still summertime. We saw rain and possible snow forecasted for our first day. Doubt started creeping in, but we ultimately decided to go through with it as we had already invested a lot of money in trip planning and equipment. We also figured it would be a quick rain/snow storm that would most likely clear up in the course of the 4 days we planned to be hiking through.

We arrived in the beautiful town of Cortina d’Ampezzo to begin our journey in pouring rain. We quickly ran into a store to grab some ponchos so our packs and clothes wouldn’t get soaked, then caught a taxi to climb up to where our hike would begin: Passo Falzarego. As the taxi ascended, the snow started. And it wasn’t just a little dusting. The wind was whipping and snow was beginning to accumulate on the ground. Our taxi driver nervously laughed and asked us if we were sure we wanted to do this. We looked at each other and said, “Maybe?”. Still, we continued on.

Our first hike of the trip was only 2 miles long, so we figured we could manage despite the weather. As we began hiking, we were in awe of the towering mountain scenery that surrounded us on all sides. The snow slowed and created a beautiful snow-globe affect that we couldn’t stop admiring. We continued following the route, then reached our first difficult passage which involved scrambling up some very steep, loose rocks. Slightly confused why the route was marked “moderate”, we continued on only to be met with more steep, scrambling passages. As we awkwardly made our way through with our ponchos over our packs, the wind started picking up and it became clear that this snow globe was about to turn into a blizzard. Luckily, we were close to our first Rifugio stay since the hike was so short and made it just as the storm really started to pick up.

We arrived at Rifugio Averau, slightly shaken and covered in snow. We settled in and got some food, a bit spooked by how treacherous our first short, “moderate” hike was and looking ahead at the miles we still had to cover apprehensively. As we hung at the Rifugio and tried to plan the rest of our trip, the snow continued to accumulate. At the end of our stay in Averau, there were over 2 feet of snow on the ground!

One of the coolest things about staying in the Rifugio was meeting other hikers from all over the world. We met a few other Americans, a couple from Denmark, and a guy named Sergio from Australia (he will become a key player in this story!). The staff at the Rifugio played Christmas music cheekily as snow continued to fall and built a snowman on the deck. Everyone was shocked by the unseasonable weather. As we talked to the other hikers, it became clear that our original plan to continue hiking through was no longer possible with the snow. The temperature wasn’t supposed to go above freezing for the next several days, so the snow wouldn’t melt. Hiking up to 12 miles a day on even more difficult terrain in this weather didn’t sound safe or fun.

We were disheartened, but our main man Sergio came through with an idea. He has family in Italy, including a cousin who owns an Airbnb in a small town called Belluno. We were actually supposed to end our trip through the Dolomites in Belluno, so it seemed like fate when he confirmed she had a room available for us. Sergio has a very positive, adventurous, spirit and assured us that we could still make the best of what seemed like a totally ruined trip. In a somewhat uncharacteristic move, we followed this random Australian guy out of the mountains and on a bus to a remote town in northern Italy and hoped for the best.

We were greeted by the most picturesque, fairy-tale like town we had every seen. Belluno is absolutely gorgeous, nestled at the valley of the “grand finale” of the Dolomites. Sergio’s uncle picked us up from the bus station and drove us to “Gioz 87”, the property owned by his cousin, Elisa. The house was a veritable treasure trove of art and books set in the foreground of the beautiful Dolomites. Elisa also happened to have lived in Bologna for 10 years and works in theater, so we had many good conversations about our shared interests. Her family has lived in the area for generations and she had so many wonderful stories and history to share with us about this special town.

The first day we spent wandering around the beautiful town, visiting a pastry shop, getting ice cream from a gelato truck (!!), and hanging out with Elisa’s kitties. The next day, Sergio and Elisa set us up to have one final hurrah at hiking in the Dolomites. A 5-minute drive from the Airbnb, there was a trail that lead up the mountain to the final Rifugio on the AV-1, Settimo Alpini. We planned to hike up to the Rifugio, eat lunch, then hike back down before leaving Belluno that evening. This had to have been one of the most challenging hikes I’ve ever done. Matthew became my personal life coach, giving me motivational speeches for the entire climb 3.5 miles directly upward. We gained over 3000 feet of elevation in 3 hours! If you know me, please be impressed. As we finally emerged above the treeline and the Rifugio came into view, we heard angelic voices singing. Turns out we had arrived just as a mass service at the Rifugio was ending and a military group was singing the benediction. You cannot make this stuff up. We made it, victorious and ravenous, ate delicious pasta with ragu for lunch, and then headed back down the mountain (which was also no easy feat) to finally catch our train “home” to Bologna.

The whole experience felt a bit like a dream. Nightmarish at times but with a fairy-tale happy ending. We certainly felt like the Big Man Upstairs was guiding us through a set of circumstances that we hadn’t planned for, but couldn’t have planned better ourselves. Arriving in the snow-covered Alps in September, meeting Sergio and Elisa and getting to experience the magic of Belluno, still completing an arduous hike only to be met with a choir of angels and unexplainably beautiful Alpine views, and arriving safe and sound back to our little Bologna apartment all have left us with gratitude and amazement. This is why we travel! The most unexpected but fulfilling circumstances happen when you least expect it. We will remember this experience forever. And Sergio, if you’re reading this, hooroo!

(PS if you ever find yourself in Northern Italy, PLEASE stay with Elisa. You won’t regret it! Her Airbnb can be found here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/665801569532458634?check_in=2025-02-01&check_out=2025-02-06&guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=02f3aba9-6f04-4df4-9e5e-00ce897aa4aa )