Lagazuoi (2835m) and Dolomites Wrap-Up

Two great weeks in the Dolomites came to an end. We spent the first days in the Val di Fassa, staying at a hotel close to Luigi's parents' vacation home. Then Mark and Kai came by from Zürich to climb with us for a few days. For the last week we moved our base to a campground near Cortina. It worked out beautifully. Great company. Great climbing. Great Italian food. Thank you!

Leonie exploring the caves and canyons in the Città dei Sassi "the City of Stones" at the Sella pass where we took the kids climbing. Both Leonie and Marzia had a great time scrambling around on top rope.

Small hike to the restaurant.

Anita and Lukas. Who checked out ;-)

What a great playground for kids and grownups alike.

This is the restaurant Anita and Silvia spent a lot of time with the kids while Luigi and I were climbing some face on the surrounding mountains. Lots of gelato and cake were had.

Playhouse at the same place, the Malga Sella alm.

Our favorite food place in the area: the Vecchio Mulino in Pozza di Fassa. Fantastic food and kids friendly garden.

Leonie exploring the playground in the Conca del Ciampac high mountain park.

Feeding the locals.

Swing with a view.

Training never stops...

...until it does.

A bunch of riders stopped at the playground to have food at the local restaurant. Leonie petted the horses. And to my great pride critized the dilettantish knots used to tie them up.

Lukas' first week in a tent. We can't put him in a proper sleeping bag yet, because he'll just slide in all the way. But this compromise worked very well.

Going down after climbing the Cinque Torri. Chairlifts with little wiggly kids are a special experience.

As our farewell trip we took the families up the Lagazuoi mountain. This is a historic site that preserved some of the trenches and tunnels from WWI. The Austrians and Italians battled it out high up in the mountains in impossible circumstances. Shooting artillery and sniper rifles at one another. But also intentionally triggering avalanches on the enemy and blowing up entire mountain tops. Over the years they dug in and built some crazy infrastructure to sustain and protect themselves high up in the mountains. We hiked down one such tunnel: a circular staircase climbing some 600 meters of altitude. Dark and wet with low ceilings and high steps from rough cut stone. Leonie made a great effort to climb this on her own. The steps often reached as high as her hips. She had to give up eventually and I ended up carrying both kids: Lukas on my back, Leonie in my arms, while ducking the low ceiling and trying not to slip on the mud. This way daddy got some exercise even on a non-climbing day ;-)

On the Lagazuoi.

Leonie scaling the lookout.

Starting the WWI trail down the mountain.

Old trenches.

I guess they weren't really built for three year olds.

Into the darkness they went.

One of the many windows to take pot shots at the enemy and ventilate the tunnels. Some of these were entirely without any protections and open directly into the vertical mountain face. Luckily Leonie was very responsible about not leaning out too far.

Exposed trails.

"Tschüss Schafe!"