We wake up after an eleven hour kip & head down to
breakfast. I am like a child in a sweetshop. I want to eat everything, as it
all looks so delicious. Everything you could possibly desire is present. I opt
for fresh fruit, yoghurt & a wild berry compote, followed by some locally
made bread. The bread is really fresh & delicious, but I don't recommend
strawberry jam with caraway bread!
Although we could happily go back to the room &
snooze again, we kit ourselves in our walking gear for a stab at the Weisshorn,
which is the most southerly Dolomite peak. The name means "white
horn" but we cannot see it. To be honest, when we set out we think we
won't be able to climb up it as there is a thick mist obscuring everything, but
one thing we learnt from looking out of the window last night, is that the
weather is extremely changeable. So we set off to see how far we can get.
The walk starts through larch & pine forests. We hear
the constant tinkle of cow bells, so there are either lots of cows lurking in
the mist or some skiing fanatics are warming up for the coming season. As we
climb ever upwards, there are tantalising glimpses of what we could have seen
if the weather was better. Finally we reach 2000 meters where there is a
viewpoint over the Bletterbach Canyon. It's the only canyon in the Sudtirol and
a UNESCO heritage site. Unfortunately today as we sit on the bench and gaze
out, all we can see is a wall of white. The sun is shining brightly through the
mist though & we worry we might get snow blindness.
Alistair & I sit there debating what to do next.
Alistair thinks we should ascend the peak anyway. I don't, as I read in the
notes about holding onto rocks to steady yourself and scrambles. On a sunny
day, yes, no problem, but in mist, even with a GPS & compass I'm not so
keen. Alistair says it's OK, we'll not go up, but his face says otherwise. Then,
just at that moment, the mist clears away a bit and we start to see steep
boulder strewn slopes. Then the canyon itself appears. It is awesome. As we
wait a bit longer, more & more appears out of the mist. Suddenly we see the
Weisshorn itself with its cross on top.
OK then we think, let's give this a go.
The path up is really good and it's not really that
steep. Our legs are not complaining in the slightest. The main problem we have
is with breathing. We find that we get out of breath very quickly. We decide it
must be the altitude, as the way up is less difficult than some Monroes we've
tackled in Scotland. By slowing down & taking lots of rests we finally get
to the summit at 2313 meters, en route we have seen an eagle above us taking
the easy way up. We feel a great sense of achievement and are both glad we made
the effort. Whilst the peak itself is free of mist, all around clouds scud by
opening up vistas for a few minutes. We don't get the full picture at any one
time, but the snippets we see are wonderful.
I would say that the journey down to Gurndinalm (a
mountain inn) is more treacherous than the climb up to the Weisshorn. It's very
wet underfoot, which has left slippery stones, tree roots and muddy earth. We
jar our bodies a couple of times, but luckily manage to stay upright. At the
inn we treat ourselves to strudel & drinks, then continue the slither down.
We reach our hotel and each take a shower & chill out
in the room before the evening's five course meal. We've thoroughly enjoyed our
day's walking and staying at the hotel is like arriving at Rivendell - a
mountain retreat that's quiet & soothing to the mind, body, &
soul.
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