We finished our hike in Val Contrin and rode a bus from Penia di Canazei to Lago Fedaia. Weather was a big improvement over a few days ago; this time it was sun and blue skies as we walked across the dam. We were following part of the Alta Via 2 route and hiked along Lago Fedaia to Passo Fedaia, then a long, unremarkable descent to Malga Ciapela. We stayed overnight at Hotel Tyrolia and in the morning were on the first cable car up Marmolada. Marmolada is 3342m hight, 5km long, and nicknamed "Queen of the Dolomites". The cable car ride was a series of three cable cars with a total elevation gain of 1815m/5955 feet, ending at Punta Rocca (3265m) and a viewing platform with 360 degree views. We also visited the Museum of the First World War in Marmolada at the second station at Serauta (2950m).
We spent about two hours at Marmolada, and could’ve spent longer, but we had a big hike ahead of us and wanted to be on our way. It took us about 3.5 hours to climb the 1106m/3629 feet to Forca Rossa. Although the views were fantastic, we didn’t linger too long as the skies were threatening rain. On our way out to Passo San Pellegrino we passed by Rifugio Fuchiade, which looked very appealing so we decided to stop and check on availability. Luckily we got the last room and had a wonderful stay. It was definitely our best meal of the trip!
We had one more day before we had to start making our way back to Milano and decided to take the cable car to Col Margherita. Despite poor light we had some nice views, but overall this day wasn’t too exciting. We were planning to hike to Falcade, but were tempted by the chairlift to save our knees with a ride down to town. It took awhile for us to decipher the bus schedule and we were relieved when our bus showed up when we thought it should. We ended up in Vigo di Fassi for the night and had a nice stay at Garni Ladin. It was our last night in the mountains because the next day we took a bus to Bolzano and the train back to Milano. It was such a wonderful trip! Book times and elevation gain/loss for our hiking:
Lago Fedaia (2050m) to Malga Ciapela (1384m, via Passo Fedaia): 666m/2185 ft elevation loss, 1 hr, 45 min
Malga Ciapela to Forca Rossa (2490m): 1106m/3629 ft elevation gain, 3 hr, 15 min
Forca Rossa to Rifugio Fuchiade (1982m): 508m/1667 ft elevation loss, 1 hour
Rifugio Fuchiade to Passo San Pellegrino (1919m): 63m/207 ft elevation loss, 1 hour
Col Margherita (2513) to Lago di Cavia (2102m): 411m/1348 ft elevation loss, 1 hour
Lago di Cavia to Falcade chairlift (1887m): 215m/705 ft elevation loss, 30 minutes
Total: 6 hr 45 min, 1106m/3629 ft elevation gain, 1197m/3927 ft elevation loss
Walking across the Lago Fedaia dam
Vivid wildflowers
Hiking down to Malga Ciapela
Cable car to Marmolada
Mountains to the west and north
Hikers on Punta Penia
Punta Penia panorama
Mountains to the north and east
Lago Fedaia and Viel del Pan
Mountains to the west
Skier on Marmolada
Norah entering Grotto della Madonna
Grotto della Madonna
Marmolada cable car
Top of the world!
Kathy and Norah on Marmolada
Returning to Malga Ciapela
Hotel Tyrolia
Columbine
Norah amidst the trees
The back side of Marmolada
Black veined white butterfly on alpenrose
Kathy and Norah on the trail
Norah hikes across the mountain pasture
Abundant alpenrose
Norah and the alpenrose
Steve continues to Forca Rossa
Norah did it!
View back down to Malga Ciapela
Descending from Forca Rossa
Steve and Norah heading down
Horses in Pian della Schita
Trail horses
Rifugio Fuchiade
Enjoying some drinks at Fuchiade
Nicely presented meat plate
Terrific ravioli
Norah's crepes
Breakfast spread
Dining area
A look back at Fuchiade
Norah and some hay barns
Daisy in the crowd
Wildflowers
An old hay barn with the Pale di San Martin mountains
Wildflowers
Rough hawkbit
Heading down to Passo San Pellegrino
Martagon lily
Hoary plantain
Steve and Norah on Col Margherita
Norah on the trail
Norah at Lago di Cavia
Norah strikes a pose
Hiking down to Falcade
Alpine thyme (purple) and mountain everlasting (cat's foot)