Passo Giau - The Dolomites
As part of our prep for Kilimanjaro, we wanted to get in some hiking and altitude. This compelled us to explore the Dolomites, as they are only a 2-hour drive from Venice. In doing further research with the time window we had, we realized that we would be arriving in the shoulder season when many places have closed between the winter and summer seasons - winter for skiing and summer for hiking. Some open the first week of June, while others open in late June or July 1. Lucky for us, we were able to find an open hotel and we decided to take the chance on the weather. Which is known to be quite rainy before summer.
The Stay
Our first stay was at Berghotel Passo Giau a hotel sitting on top of a ridge line over 7,000 feet in elevation. The country places signs counting the switchbacks to get up that high. We drove 30 consecutive switchbacks to get up to that elevation - it was quite the turning rollercoaster. You can see the turns below you once you get above the tree line, and hear cars and motorcycles speeding on the short straight and breaking to take the turn. It was quite an experience.
Passo Giau is owned and operated by Claudia (who generally hosts guests), her husband (who does the cooking) and their son Igor (who both runs the place and helps with cooking). The hotel feels like a modern version of an old-time inn providing refuge for weary travelers. It has a tavern in the front serving strudel, food, and drinks to the hikers, climbers, cyclists, and motorists passing by. To get to the hotel we walk up to the bar and ask (nervously) about the hotel - unsure whether we are in the right place. Igor, being Italian with German influence, keeps a stoic face and then brightens up once we give him our names. We enter the hotel through a door behind the bar, with others looking on in curiosity. Then head downstairs to the garage to trade in our muddy boots for a pair of slippers. After we head to the second floor to our room. On the way, we pass a wood shop, wine cellar, countless biker and climber memorabilia, photos, and flowering orchids.
Our room has a balcony with a beautiful view of the peak La Gusela, a classic gigantic rock emerging from green hillsides sitting at the top of the pass. We would spend afternoons after hikes just laying in bed staring out the window at the massive rock. In our short time calling this room “home”, we have watched clouds come and go across the pass, a lightning storm at night, beautiful sunrises and beautiful sunsets. The room and hotel quickly became home, with its warm staff, beautiful location, and smartly laid-out room.
The many faces of La Gusela
The hotel had a complimentary breakfast each morning that consisted of:
- yogurt with granola
- An assortment of fresh fruit
- A charcuterie plate with olives, cheese and sliced meats
- apricot jelly filled croissants
- coffee with biscuits
- bread with jam, Nutella, and butter
For dinner there was a menu to order from, not included in the price of the room. Since we were there during shoulder season, many of the places nearby were still closed and the nearest dinner restaurant was a bit of a drive away. To make our lives easier, we decided to eat at the hotel each night. And we were happy we did. The food was Amazing! [picture of beet raviolis]
Since most folks were only there for a night passing through, Claudia started recommending things we should eat on the menu and then started making us items off the menu based on what they had in the kitchen. On the second or third night, she just plopped down on a chair at our table and said “well, you already know the menu. So what about spaghetti?” (which was not on the menu). Each night, we would get a new meal recommendation from Claudia, and we learned to just say “yes”, as the dishes were always amazing.
On the final night, we arrived at our dinner table and Claudia said “here is what you are having…” and served us homemade beef tartar and a gnocchi dish. Both were amazing. Claudia stuck around for our dinner and with her little bit of English and the help of google translate we end up talking about life, our travel, future plans, etc. At one point she pulled out a book and explained the history of the hotel. This included a photo of the building that first stood in its place, the story of her and her husband starting the business, shoveling out huge amounts of snow, and more. She gifted us a small pine-scented pillow with the hotel’s name on it, which just made our hearts warm. Overall it was a lovely experience leaving both our souls and stomachs satisfied.
The hikes
Our original plan was to drive 30-60 minutes to several famous hikes throughout the Dolomites. However, due to the predicted rain in the afternoon and the beauty of where we were, we decide to hike closer to our stay. At first, it was a plan of “spend one day hiking directly from the hotel”, then each day we found another interesting hike from the hotel. All in all, we did 3 hikes from the hotel, and one a 15-minute drive. We are so happy we stayed closer to the hotel. Not having to travel by car saved so much time (and logistics) in the day, as well as allowed for lazy mornings/evenings while still letting us enjoy a full day of hiking. Beyond that, each hike had a completely different feel and allowed us to appreciate and get to know the area intimately. It was incredible.
Day 0 - Exploring Beyond The Hotel
We were exhausted when we got to the hotel and had planned to take a “weekend” at Passo Giau. Then we looked outside and just couldn’t sit still. In being so excited, we knew we had to go for a quick walk. We also had driven through some rain, so we knew that was nearby also. We trotted up the trail heading to La Gusela and within 30 minutes we were in a boulder field with lighting and thunder overhead. So we turned around for dinner instead and promised ourselves to return to the bewitching place.
Day 1 - Trek to Lago Fedèra Among the Trees
On Friday, our first full day there, the forecast was on/off thunderstorms in the afternoon, dropping a half to a full inch of rain each day (which is a lot of rain to be hiking in). Although exhausted from our travels so far, we were too enthralled by the landscape to take a day off. We were finally in nature and just jazzed! We rallied to do a hike in the morning, hoping to avoid the afternoon rains. We drove a short 15-minute drive from Passo Giau down the mountain and back below the tree line into tall evergreens. We parked along the switchbacks and started hiking. It was a beautiful trek through the forest with a bit of elevation gain to get to the Lago Fedèra where we stopped to take photos, Katherine drew, and we ate our packed lunch (as the Refugio Croda da Lago G. Palmieri was still closed for the season for another two weeks). There, we had to make a decision. Tim was excited to keep going, but Katherine was feeling a bit cold and exhausted. We decided to turn around and hike back down, keeping the hike to a 5.6-mile hike with a 1,500 elevation foot gain. Thankfully we turned around when we did, as we got to our car just as it started to rain and shortly after a large downpour.
We did a quick trip further down the mountain to pick up some supplies and grocery snacks. The town was cute and felt sophisticated, like a Jackson Hole or Aspen with fancy restaurants and shops, but also located in a relatively remote area. We finished there, then Tim did the drive back up the hill in our stick-shift rental. And we collapsed on the bed, staring out again at La Gusela.
Day 2 - Summiting to Rifugio Nuvolau
Our second day, Saturday was GORGEOUS. Truly incredible weather. When we woke up the sun was out and the visibility was good, we were feeling ready to tackle the world. And we opted to do a loop around La Gusela, which we had been staring at for 36 hours now. There’s a 6-mile loop with a 1,902-foot elevation gain we opted to do. We started up the same trail from Thursday night and went right the split - away from the boulder field.
Towards Cinque Torri (not to be confused with Cinque Terre) where we saw many opportunistic climbers taking advantage of the beautiful day. From the base of the Cinque Torri, we continued our ascent towards Rifugio Scoiattoli where we were greeted by a small crowd of people. As many people staying in the town decided to take the chair lift up the mountain over a long walk or windy drive. There were older couples having picnics, who otherwise would not have ascended the mountain. It made us reconsider how to make the mountains and outdoors accessible to all people.
We continued up to Rifugio Averau and ate our packed lunch a short distance from the trail up Averau, where we watched and cheered on climbers passing on their accent. After lunch, we continued our ascent to (Rifugio Nuvolau)[https://rifugionuvolau.it/?page_id=588&lang=en] preached on the top of mount Nuvolau. Here we enjoyed second lunch: a fresh-off-the-grill sausage sandwich with caramelized onions and zucchini while enjoying a 360° view of the area. We also watched a collection of birds dive in and out of the wind at the top, clearly showing off to all the humans. It made Tim want to be a bird to ride the air currents, remarking “birds know how good they have it.” It was incredible to see the air gymnastics they could do. Up and down, staying in one place then quickly banking to the ground. We were mesmerized while eating our sausage sandwich.
At this top vantage point, we could see almost our entire hike, as well as our hotel and many switchbacks from the drive up. For the following days, we would look around and try to locate Rifugio Nuvolau in the landscape - sitting perched atop everything, watching over the whole area. It was comforting.
Day 3 - Monte Pore
From our hike around La Gusela we had seen Monte Pore below us. It looked like a beautiful alpine meadow and we were excited to check it out, so we looked up trails leading up to it and set off. The hike did not disappoint. We started the day with a quick 5-minute drive to Rifugio Fedare and parked there. Then we set off winding through summer cottages alongside the mountain, nested within wildflower fields. It turned solely into wildflower fields as we ascended into the rolling hillside’s ridgeline. From there, we followed the ridge line up to an actual ridge line, which was just the trail as the ridge at times. There were some switchbacks among loose rock and dirt. Then we were at the summit.
While we were staying high at La Gusela, this peak looked into the next valley and new mountain tops were exposed. It was incredible that we could see even further still, and the mountains almost looked like exposed teeth. The grassy areas as the gums, with the sharp limestone rock sticking out like sharp incisors. It was incredible to see such a far distance, including after being up so high the day before.
We ate lunch up there and then meandered back down to the rifugio, where we had lunch. We kept lunch with a German theme, getting the “Old War Meal” from the menu with some classics. From there, we went home and crashed.
Day 4 Bailed hike
On our last day, we had the day for a lazy hike before checking out and driving 90 minutes to the next Dolomites town. We opted to do another from-the-hotel hike, which turned out to be the right decision. Across the street from the hotel is another small hill before a large stream gully. We took the trail alongside it for about an hour before coming to a cable that looked a bit too sketchy to go up without a harness and helmet. During the entire trail there, we were constantly just looking around, getting another intimate view of the same area we were staying in. It was truly amazing how different these four hikes were, all with the same start and end place.
When we decided to turn around, we found a place to stop and eat some food. Just to chill and take in the scenery. We sat for almost 45 minutes, just looking out at the incredible place and thanking our stars that we were there, together. Katherine shared that she thought it was her favorite moment of the trip so far.
On the way back, we spotted a family of groundhogs running between holes. They were cute as they popped up, and then waddled out, and stopped to watch us watch them. We also found some incredible blue beetles. Iridescent blue, like we’d never seen.
Finally, we got back to the hotel, grabbed a quick lunch and final strudel, and drove to our next spot.
