Italy

Italy ’98

SFO -> EWR

EWR -> MXP

MXP -> VCE

VCE -> Cortina

Cortina d'Ampezzo

Hotel Royal

breakfast

stadia

around town

Carnival

Mangia!

Tavernetta

Faloria

Refugio d' Faloria

Freccia Nel Cielo

Lagazuoi

Monte Cristallo

Socrepes

Socrepes skiing

Venezia

Having enjoyed the Faloria cable car three days ago, we decided to take our chances on Mont Cristallo, which starts at Rio Gere, continues up to Son Forca, and then, after a big downhill resumes upward on a covered chair lift up to Staundes. One has to don crampons to ascend the remaining bit to Monte Cristallo.

Behind our hotel is a parking lot, behind which is the Faloria cable car and the bus stop. We jump on a bus to take the trip to Monte Cristallo via some winding alpine roads. Luckliy today is a clear day, no snow impedes our way.

There are at least a dozen hotels in the center of Cortina, and a good number of skiers join us on our morning trek. A few have paper coffee cups, almost all are too sleepy to do more than grunt, toss their skis into the bus's baggage area, and then stumble into their seats. The ride is gentle, but from time to time I realize on what small roads we're driving, and on how large a bus this is. We arrive.

But not just any covered chair lift, a futuristic-looking aerodynamic chair lift, something to keep the whole kit and kaboodle from going airborne in a high wind. We want everything to remain on the pulleys! It was another beautiful warm winter day; they weren't handing out the wool blankets as they're reputed to do when the temperature plummets.

Looking down from the chairlift - while trying not to drop the camera while I'm thinking about what it would be like dropping my camera - I notice quite a variety of protection for climbers, skiiers, and hikers. Some places have simple fencing, should anyone fall on a particularly tricky part. Other places have platforms built up, I guess where the foot traffic would damage fragile areas.

Next: the summit of Monte Cristallo.

1998/02/26.