Alta Via I in the Italian Dolomites

Thank you for your interest in the Adventure Travel outing Alta Via I in the Italian Dolomites. Please read the following trip description and itinerary carefully before you consider applying for this trip. I have also included a suggested pack list and additional information for your consideration.

To apply for a place on the outing, please complete the attached Trip Application, with the Personal Risk Statement and the Payment and Cancelation Policy, and the attached Questionnaire and return them to me.

The group will have a maximum of 11 persons including the leader. All nights will be spent at Italian Alpine Club (CAI) huts, private mountain refuges or small hotels, mainly in remote locations, and all with hot showers. All accommodations will be a shared double room (where available) or dormitory.

Once you apply, you will be notified if you are accepted for the outing. Once accepted, submit a $500 deposit to the CMC to reserve a place (see cancellation policy in the application). Please do not send money before it is requested. The remaining balance is payable by July 22, 2016.

The current in-country estimated trip costs are $2240 for members. The price includes:

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  All lodging for 14 nights
  
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  All breakfasts
  
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  All dinners except the last two nights in Venice
  
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  Airport transfers to/from Venice
  
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  All transfers en route
  
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  Luggage transfer on the trek (all but 2 nights which are unavailable)
  
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  Two one-way vaporetto tickets in Venice
  

Airfare to Venice is not included. Also, expect to spend a few hundred dollars for trip insurance, dinner the two last nights in Venice, all lunches and snacks, showers with fees, bar tabs, souvenirs, and any museum entrance fees/additional transport fees in Venice. Non-members will be required to pay an administrative fee equal to 3% of the trip costs. Consider becoming a member to avoid this fee.

Pre-requisites for the trip are very good physical conditioning, the ability to hike 63 miles in 9 days with 19, 475 ft of vertical gain and an ongoing, regular, conditioning program. A CMC-Denver Group hiker rating is not needed for this trip. We will carry day packs (a suggested list of items is provided) which include all clothing typically needed for changing alpine weather conditions. Two nights will be spent in CAI huts where no luggage transfer is possible. For these 3 days of hiking you will need to also carry a change of clothes, a sleep sack for hygienic purposes at the huts, personal toiletries, water and lunch. The huts provide bedding and meals. Because we will be hiking at alpine levels, the weather can be most unpredictable, necessitating well thought out element and clothing choices.

Before applying, you may want to check with your “significant other,” employer, etc. to make sure you have the available time to do a 2 week trip overseas. There is no guarantee of someone being on the wait list to take your place if you have to cancel. You will need a valid passport, but no visa is required to enter Italy.

Attendance at the pre-trip planning meeting is mandatory, as there will be much to discuss. Location will be the CMC office in Golden, and you will receive ample notice of the date and time. If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, we can set up a virtual meeting link for you. Topics will include suggested equipment, packing, training, cultural notes, and security precautions. A selection of handouts and guidebooks will be available for your review.

Please let me know what questions you may have—I am at your disposal!

Sincerely,
Denise Snow
denisedansnow@q.com

719-687-9576

The local culture in the Dolomites is more Germanic—Swiss-style chalets, Mercedes taxis, lederhosen, sauerkraut—than Italian. The Dolomites were part of Austria for centuries, but after World War I the

border was moved north to its present position. The Italian government at first tried to eradicate all vestiges of the German culture, but now Italian and German traditions and language exist side by side in a cordial apartheid (Many Dolomite villages, in fact, have dual names, one in German and one in Italian).

This trip will mainly consist of a ten day trek of the Alta Via I (abbreviated AV I) from mountain rifugio to mountain rifugio. Much of the hiking is above tree line with wonderful panoramic views and well marked trails. Rifugios are situated in remote and highly scenic places along the trails where you can buy drinks, meals or a night's lodging. There are an extraordinary variety of walks and hikes through every imaginable type of terrain, mountain formation and setting. There are gradual ascents through meadows and woods, which end at picturesque small lakes.