WELCOME TO UNPAVED HAVEN

Distance: 11KM (shortened because we used the chairlift at Bai de Dones)

Total hours: 8hrs

Elevation: +1087m -916m

Steps taken: 31,061

Ciasa Ai Pini –> Rifugio Scotoni –> Rifugio Lagazuoi –> Passo Falzarego (via Galleria) –> Pian dei Menis –> Rifugio Cinque Torri

This was the day with the highest elevation gain. There were several cable car options to get to Rifugio Cinque Torri to shorten the day: 1 at Rifugio Lagazuoi and 1 at Bai de Dones.

Since we planned to have lunch at Rifugio Lagazuoi, we did not order a picnic lunch from Ciasa Ai Pini. We were dropped back off at Capanna Alpina and set off. We soon discovered that the road up to Rifugio Scotoni was quite steep. It took us an hour to get to the alpacas.

Just a bit past this rifugio, there was an elevation gain that definitely got my blood pumping. By the end of that push, I was happy to see the plateau where I could catch my breath and wring out my beard.

On the plateau, it was like we entered into another world – no more greenery and rocks everywhere. Along the way, there were remnants of World War 1 building structures. Once you see the sign in the gallery below, all that separated us from Rifugio Lagazuoi and the much needed lunch was a series of steep switchbacks and several ‘open air museums’.

There was a smaller galleria in the middle of the series of switchbacks, which led us to a bit of scramble that we turned back from, as we’re not sure if that scramble would’ve connected us back to the path to Rifugio Lagazuoi. It took us 3.5 hours to get to the rifugio.

3.5 hours after leaving the alpacas, we got to Rifugio Lagazuoi – it was chow time. We got there just in time – many people suddenly appeared at the restaurant entrance after we were seated. It also started hailing.

We ordered a chocolate cake after all the food pictured above – that was probably why they didn’t politely ask us to leave/make room for others. We decided to take Galleria Lagazuoi down to Passo Falzarego once the hail stopped. Since the galleria is a closed space, we would be shielded from the rain.

We were warned against going into the tunnels because we didn’t have a helmet and it was slippery inside. Headlamps and solid hiking boots are a must inside. There were definitely slippery sections that surprised our hiking boots.

To get to the galleria entrance, we followed the signs and made our way carefully down to some of the old WW1 structure that was still in place. There’s a portion on a knife’s edge, which we were extra careful with navigating, due to the wet rock.

We followed the path to Shoulder Galleria, but then found that a key door was locked, so we turned back around and followed the Spiral Galleria path. The signs were confusing so we relied on maps and direction arrows along the way. Some of the maps and signs were very faded. The map pictured below was the clearest one we could find.

The galleria was a combination of museum, displays, inside and outside the galleria.

After being lost for a bit, we found the Martini Ledge. World War 1 saw many brutal tactics and mine warfare was one of them. That, with the backdrop of harsh winter conditions, led to many deaths. More information about this region and World War 1 can be found here. After admiring the view, we continued down until we were out of the galleria. Going downhill for hours did make my knees uncomfortable. Parts of the trail were quite eroded.

While honestly it did get boring inside the galleria – parts of it felt endless – the team was glad that we went in, to experience a bit of how miserable it must have been for the people who lived and fought there. It took us 2 hours to get to Passo Falzarego.

Once we were at Falzarego, we made the decision to try to catch the Bai de Dones chairlift. Since the lift closed at 5PM, we had slightly under half an hour to make it.

Adrenaline was the reason we made it to the lift. I’m not sure where my assistant’s energy came from but we booked it the lift, running where it was safe to. Parts of the 424 trail to Bai de Dones was very slippery and muddy. Needless to say, the thought of a good sit, shower, and dinner provided the right amount of motivation for us to get to Bai de Dones with 5 minutes to spare! It was so nice to just sit.

At the top of Bai de Dones is Rifugio Scoiattoli. We walked around the top, watching climbers on the famous Cinque Torri as well as a film crew close by do their thing. After that, we headed towards our home for the night.

We stayed at Rifugio Cinque Torri which was rustic and and similar to Rifugio Laverella in style (not in size – this rifugio was much smaller). So happy to have arrived! While waiting for dinner time, we cleaned up. A ‘gettone’ was required for the shower. I’m actually surprised at how much time 4 minutes is to get cleaned! We still had time after we were done .

After changing into our ‘downtime’ clothes, we watched some sheep being herded. This was a beautiful and scenic area.

The decor was climbing-inspired and rustic. The toilets and showers were communal.

This was where I had the best night’s sleep, which was much needed for the next day.

One thing we did notice is that some places will charge a tourism tax on top of the regular fees. From this, we learned to ask if our agency already paid those taxes on our behalf and to let the staff at the rifugio know if they tried to charge us.

On to Day 5 to Rifugio Staulanza!