Is walking in the Dolomites (Val Gardena) up to the standard of grandeur set by Patagonia? Perhaps it is! While Patagonia offers rugged beauty... that always seemed to require 5 hours of slogging up a mountain trail to glimpse the wonder... Val Gardena provides the chairlift... the grass fields have been mowed... the horses and cows are so used to people, they practically walk up to you asking to be photographed... the mountains are neatly arranged in a circle... so that spectacular shots are provided for every photographer even those too tired to turn around.
Both offer dramatic landscapes. We need the help of geologists and climatologists to help compare Patagonia and Dolomites.
Clearly, Patagonia has experienced a couple of recent glacial periods... the valleys have dramatic vertical walls sheared off by lazy glaciers. There are lots of lakes... and the southern mountain ranges have formed large ice fields that offer the tourist added interest.
The Dolomites look to be roughly of the same age (give or take a few million years)... but have been eroded by water... not glaciers. There are no dramatic cliffs at the base of the valleys... the ragged peaks show characteristics of ice erosion... but no glacial characteristics... no lakes... no moraines blocking the valley.
Today, we had technology doing the hard yards for us... we used three chairlifts to get us to our destination (Sassoplatto... in Val Gardena... 2,969 metres of altitude)... in aggregate, saving us over 3 klms of climbing (lots of ups and downs)... not that we minded... we still had 1 klm of climbing to do without assistance. Without the chairlifts, ordinary hikers (like us) could not have made the destination.
The plateau area over which we walked was vivid green... a result of late summer pastures... frequent moving... and raking the cut grass off the pasture. Now Patagonia did not offer such manicured landscape. The Val Gardena hillsides were dotted with weekender huts... most of which were in use. The consequence of technology breaking the hard work... picturesque landscapes and dramatic mountain peaks.... is that you are going to share the track with many other people... no solitary moments that gave extra 'soul' to the Patagonia experience. On the way back, we buddied up with 5 Japanese ladies (middle aged) who surprised us with their fitness and tenacity. The temperature was over 30° and the ladies were determined to avoid any rays of sunshine striking their skin... long sleeve cardigans... some had face masks (to avoid breathing influenza viruses floating in the mountain air)... and a couple had hoods covering their heads. At the start of a 500 metres climb, Joye and I skipped ahead of their group... not expecting them to keep up. But each time we stopped to have a 'breather' they would wave and bow as they walked past us to take the lead. We were in no mood to race their group... we slowed down... they sped up... and arrived in Ortisei 10 minutes before us... never underestimate the athletic stamina of small middle-aged ladies.
This has been a great start to walking the Dolomites... I hope our joints and energy can last the distance.
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