Day 22 Untere Valentinalm

Christine doesn't like staying in huttes but accepts them as a necessary evil if you want to enjoy this style of walking. I had argued that the amazing locations, the sense of sharing the experience with other walkers, meant that the huttes added to the enjoyment of the holiday. Last night the balance of the argument shifted in Christine's favour.

Hochweissteinhaus

Day 21 Hochweissteinhaus

Definite improvement on the weather today, so much so that by early afternoon I was wearing shorts. I didn't see anyone else wearing shorts, and even I had gloves on, but the weather was less bad as the day went on.

Just past Bärenbadegg

Day 20 Neue Porze Hutte

Weird weather, cloudy on one side of a hill and clear on the other, misty but windy as well. Occasional dramatic views when the light improves but the weather is spoiling what would otherwise be an amazing walk.

Most of the people in the hutte this morning were walking the Carnic Way and on a similar schedule. So today everyone left between 8 and 9 and everyone was heading for Neue Porze Hutte.

Pfannspitz

Day 19 Obstansersee Hutte

I lay awake early this morning listening to water running outside, trying to convince myself it wasn't raining. Of course it was and the weather forecast for the next four days is bad. Depressing, but neither of us formulated the obvious conclusion and suggested heading for home. Somehow we assumed there was no choice but to go on.

Only a six hour walk today and we decided to hang around as long as possible just in case the weather improved. The notes on the Via Alpina website suggested catching the lift up the side of the valley, advice we were more than happy to accept although Paul preferred the challenge of a the steep walk up.

Drei Zinnen

Day 18 Sexton

Looking down from the Bödenalpe

Today promised to be one of the best days of the whole trip but the dreadful weather turned it into more of an endurance test.

Day 17 Durrensteinhutte

From today there are three of us - we have been joined by Paul Agius from Spain who is going to walk with us for the rest of the trip.

Not an auspicious start for the new enlarged group, poured with rain all day and we decided we would have to modify our route. Real shame because Christine and I were looking to visiting the Lago do Braies, the northern starting point for the Alta Via 1, a trip, one of our first, which we did about 10 years ago, (an amazing walk by the way). The forecast was snow above 2,000 metres and nobody seemed to think it was safe to make the trip, much of which is exposed and over 2,200 metres.

Day 16 Antholz Mitteral

Had originally planned to stay in Ahornach but we are now a day behind schedule and the hotel we had booked could no longer find us a room. So yesterday we came down to Sand in Taufers where there were plenty of hotels to choose from.

Gelltalam Meadow