July 2009
Day five: The flying telephone booths
Intrigued by a report on Fodors, we changed our plans at the last moment. Instead of
heading for the Alpe di Siusi, we hopped a bus in the other direction. After about a 20
minute ride, we neared the Sellajoch Hutte and caught our first sight of the Passo Sella
lift—what appears to be a bunch of old fashioned telephone booths strung on a cable
and ascending the face of a cliff into the narrow pass between the Sasso Lungo and
Sasso Piatto.
You have to take a bit of a running start and then jump into the “booth” just after it goes
by; in some cases, the attendants have to shove passengers in before closing the door.
The cars only hold two people. In our case, Chris rode by himself in the first car, and
Allie and Marisa followed. At one point, we heard voices and then realized there are
small holes in the floor of the car; we were hearing people on the trail below. Chris
called this one of the most thrilling things he’s done (but not quite as exciting as bungy
jumping).
It was surprisingly warm at the top, despite the 2,600 meter elevation. Even so, there
was a fair amount of snow left from the storms a few days ago. We even had a bit of a
snowball fight—for show—before we began our descent into the eerie rock valley on the
other side of the pass.
Rapid descent down a rock-strewn path comes easily to some folks, and Chris and
Allie were in their element. Marisa...not so much (she actually hikes up more easily than
down)—especially with $1200 in camera equipment dangling from her neck. She
actually went to a seated position a few times to manage a few steep parts of the path,
as Chris and Allie (and most others) bounded down the switchback trail. We’d thought
about bringing hiking poles and decided not to. For the most part, we wouldn't have
needed them, but on this particular section of hike, perhaps it would have been a good
idea for Marisa to have one. Even with all of this, it was a thrilling experience for all of us.
The scenery is out of this world; the best on the trip so far and among the best we've
ever seen.
We’d packed a picnic lunch for this trip and stopped to eat some of it at the Rifugio
Vicenza, a hut seemingly in the middle of the desolate valley. It’s a popular place; more
than we would have thought. There were plenty of people doing this hike. Most, like us,
were going down. A few hearty souls were actually braving an ascent. A few crazy
people brought their toddlers along; we passed one three-year-old girl who was
sobbing less than half way down the mountain.
From the hut, we worked our way around the western slope of the Sasso Lungo but
were halted in our path by a trio of bovine sentries. Not wishing to come too close to the
business end of an ill-tempered dairy cow, we ended up climbing the steep, grassy hill
to get around them and proceeded toward the Monte Pana chairlift towards Santa
Cristina. Once secured in the solitude of the chairlift, we were treated to an absolute,
peaceful silence. We wondered how many people fall asleep on the lift—what, after the
long, somewhat challenging (and, today, quite warm) hike to get there.
After rehydrating at the Sporthotel Monte Pana and enjoying the hotel’s back patio view
(really impressive), we took the second lift down to the valley and then caught a bus to
Ortisei. We ascended yet another lift, this time a gondola to the Alpe di Siusi. At this
point, we'd more than recouped the cost of our Valgardena Card. After our lengthy and
vigorous hike, we were really just here for the views—a very nice panorama, although a
little hazy this afternoon. As the clouds gathered a bit, we decided to head back.
Dinner tonight was at Pizzeria L Ciamin in Selva, where we enjoyed a relatively tasty
dinner of pizza capricciosa, tagliatelle with game, and veal.
Today's photos
Next: Day 6-I love a parade!
All of our trip photos
Home
Intrigued by a report on Fodors, we changed our plans at the last moment. Instead of
heading for the Alpe di Siusi, we hopped a bus in the other direction. After about a 20
minute ride, we neared the Sellajoch Hutte and caught our first sight of the Passo Sella
lift—what appears to be a bunch of old fashioned telephone booths strung on a cable
and ascending the face of a cliff into the narrow pass between the Sasso Lungo and
Sasso Piatto.
You have to take a bit of a running start and then jump into the “booth” just after it goes
by; in some cases, the attendants have to shove passengers in before closing the door.
The cars only hold two people. In our case, Chris rode by himself in the first car, and
Allie and Marisa followed. At one point, we heard voices and then realized there are
small holes in the floor of the car; we were hearing people on the trail below. Chris
called this one of the most thrilling things he’s done (but not quite as exciting as bungy
jumping).
It was surprisingly warm at the top, despite the 2,600 meter elevation. Even so, there
was a fair amount of snow left from the storms a few days ago. We even had a bit of a
snowball fight—for show—before we began our descent into the eerie rock valley on the
other side of the pass.
Rapid descent down a rock-strewn path comes easily to some folks, and Chris and
Allie were in their element. Marisa...not so much (she actually hikes up more easily than
down)—especially with $1200 in camera equipment dangling from her neck. She
actually went to a seated position a few times to manage a few steep parts of the path,
as Chris and Allie (and most others) bounded down the switchback trail. We’d thought
about bringing hiking poles and decided not to. For the most part, we wouldn't have
needed them, but on this particular section of hike, perhaps it would have been a good
idea for Marisa to have one. Even with all of this, it was a thrilling experience for all of us.
The scenery is out of this world; the best on the trip so far and among the best we've
ever seen.
We’d packed a picnic lunch for this trip and stopped to eat some of it at the Rifugio
Vicenza, a hut seemingly in the middle of the desolate valley. It’s a popular place; more
than we would have thought. There were plenty of people doing this hike. Most, like us,
were going down. A few hearty souls were actually braving an ascent. A few crazy
people brought their toddlers along; we passed one three-year-old girl who was
sobbing less than half way down the mountain.
From the hut, we worked our way around the western slope of the Sasso Lungo but
were halted in our path by a trio of bovine sentries. Not wishing to come too close to the
business end of an ill-tempered dairy cow, we ended up climbing the steep, grassy hill
to get around them and proceeded toward the Monte Pana chairlift towards Santa
Cristina. Once secured in the solitude of the chairlift, we were treated to an absolute,
peaceful silence. We wondered how many people fall asleep on the lift—what, after the
long, somewhat challenging (and, today, quite warm) hike to get there.
After rehydrating at the Sporthotel Monte Pana and enjoying the hotel’s back patio view
(really impressive), we took the second lift down to the valley and then caught a bus to
Ortisei. We ascended yet another lift, this time a gondola to the Alpe di Siusi. At this
point, we'd more than recouped the cost of our Valgardena Card. After our lengthy and
vigorous hike, we were really just here for the views—a very nice panorama, although a
little hazy this afternoon. As the clouds gathered a bit, we decided to head back.
Dinner tonight was at Pizzeria L Ciamin in Selva, where we enjoyed a relatively tasty
dinner of pizza capricciosa, tagliatelle with game, and veal.
Today's photos
Next: Day 6-I love a parade!
All of our trip photos
Home
Climb Every Mountain:
Our long-awaited trip to the
Dolomites...and Munich
Our long-awaited trip to the
Dolomites...and Munich
Overview: Plenty of options, but where to stay?
Overview: Hiking in the Val Gardena
Day 1: Stau!
Day 2: This is why we wanted to visit!
Day 3: Sprechen zie...speck?
Day 4: Bolzano, Merano and a date with Ötzi
Day 5: The flying telephone booths
Day 6: I love a parade
Day 7: One little victory
Days 8-9: Munich
Wrap up: Weather, packing; useful resources
Wrap up: Food, language and final thoughts
Home
Overview: Hiking in the Val Gardena
Day 1: Stau!
Day 2: This is why we wanted to visit!
Day 3: Sprechen zie...speck?
Day 4: Bolzano, Merano and a date with Ötzi
Day 5: The flying telephone booths
Day 6: I love a parade
Day 7: One little victory
Days 8-9: Munich
Wrap up: Weather, packing; useful resources
Wrap up: Food, language and final thoughts
Home