Escursioni nelle Dolomiti - Bolzano

BolzanoBozenMAGAZINE
Info:
Chairlift Obereggen-Oberholz
open daily
29 June - 13 October 2013
8.30am - 12.15pm and 2 - 6pm
Tel: 0471 618 200
Rifugio Torre di Pisa:
always open from late spring to autumn
Tel: 0462 501 564
A summer hike among the
pinnacles of the Dolomites
From afar the jagged peaks of the Dolomites may seem to be inaccessible
to all bar the most intrepid climber, but a closer inspection of hiking
maps reveals a network of waymarked paths that criss-cross these ranges,
enabling the sure-footed walker to experience the magic of the Dolomites
from close up.
GB
One such path is just a stone’s throw from Bolzano,
starting from Obereggen and traverses the incredible
crags of the Latemar range which, together with the
Rosengarten and the Schlern, surround Bolzano in a
semicircle. These limestone mountains, the result of the
fossilization of coral deposits in an ancient warm sea
millions of years ago, subsequently uplifted by tectonic
movements and then eroded, are surely unique. Their
lofty pinnacles and craggy peaks have inspired many
of the legends of the Ladin people who live in these
valleys and they continue to fascinate countless visitors,
be they climbers, skiers, hikers, botanists or just
day-trippers.
Our walk starts in the Eggental, easily reached by
public bus or car from Bolzano. From Obereggen we
cheat a little and take the chairlift that whisks us up in
minutes through pine forests right up to the tree-line at
2170 metres. Already here the view is simply breathtaking:
the verdant meadows down below, dotted with
miniature farmsteads and villages against the backdrop
of a huge swathe of the Eastern Alps, stretching
from Switzerland to Austria. Behind us the seemingly
impenetrable pinnacles of the Latemar.
We now turn and follow path number 18 which soon
takes us up above the last stands of Cembran pine,
opening up new vistas of the Dolomites around us.
The well laid-out and waymarked path wends its way
in among the rock-faces of the Eggentaler Horn to our
left and Cima Valsorda to our right. After about 2 hours
we reach the first col, where we look down into stony
basins, occasionally filled with deep-blue mountain
lakes. Opposite, we can see the path zig-zagging up
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bm Nr. 2•2013