There are the Dolomites and then there are the Brenta Dolomites. This group is located in the southwest of the central part of the Dolomites. They are called so because of the Dolomite rock, which is fossilized coral reef. It’s similar to limestone, but has also magnesium beside Calcite(calcium, cabnon and oxygen). In contrast the Alps are mainly granite. They are located in the province of Trentino. They are also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites. We stayed in main town of that are – Madonna di Campiglio. The Brenta mountain group is not isolated; rather, it is surrounded by other mountains, the main one being the Adamello ”Presanella Alps in the west. Together they make up the Adamello” Brenta Nature Park. We stayed at the Hotel Hermitage, located right in the middle of those 2 mountain chains. So here we were, a group of 19 people and 9 guides – ready for the first adventure of BAM along with the wives. From Be A Man to Bad Ass Moms! We flew to Munich, and had a very comfortable bus that drove us to Madonna. The hotel, built in a Tyrolean Swiss alpine style is located just outside the town. All the rooms had great open views of the Dolomites. The first day we did a river trek – in the Limaro Gorge. It involved scrambling on the sides of the canyon, and it required traversing of the river back and forth, through a very strong current. It took around 4-5 hours. The next day was “bad” weather, with rain storms. So we traveled to the town of Bolzano, and climbed in the futuristic looking Salewa climbing gym. It’s located inside the headquarters of Salewa, which is a large company that makes climbing shoes. The climbing gym is indoor/outdoor with sweeping views of the surrounding mountains. The storm continued in the Dolomites for the third day, but luckily it was nice weather south of us. So we drove to Arco, in North of Lake Garda. Some of us did Ferratas, some of us climbed multi pitch routes. Finally the fourth day the weather cleared, so we were able to take the cable car and went up the mountains (Dolomites the massif that we looked at from our hotel). We spent the night at the Tuckett Rifugio, where we slept in big dorms with bunk beds. It was a great night. For 2 days we climbed different routes, and as before some did Ferrata routes while other did multipitch routes. Ferratas are climbing routes secured by iron chains, to where one attaches. It makes climbing accessible for people who have no rock climbing experience. But the exposure and steepness is still there. The hotel had a Michelin star restaurant, and after we came down from the Rifugio we enjoyed a gourmet meal. Surprisingly the chef is 27 years old. Last day some of us rock climbed the granite faces of the Adamello Alps, while others went bike riding. No trip to the Dolomites is complete without great food and great pizzas. The food did not disappoint! And the trip came to end for our group, but not for Lori and me. The remarkable part about this trip (besides the amazing views, great hotel and great food) was how everyone pushed and ventured outside their comfort zones. Some people came along thinking “I’ll just hike” yet all tried rock climbing and did experience more advanced and more exposed terrain, so all did “stuff” that did not think they could do before the trip. And for us, the guys who usually go on this type of adventures, was beyond great to share it with our wives. For me beeing on a long 9 pitch climb with Lori was priceless. I’m sure for the others too. The group got along amazingly well. No complaints, and everyone was on time when we had to be ready early in the morning. No complaints about sleeping in dorms. Of course, being tired at the end of each day left no room and no energy for arguing… The group: Alon/Lori, Ed/Stacy, Jay, Jeff/Nicole, Jeff/Reg, Joe/Elle, Marc/Tammy, Marc/Susie, Rob/Abby, Shel/Julie The guides were amazing. Albi assembled an “A Team“. We had a guide that just graduated(31) we had a very experienced one(71). And all ages in between. Alesandro/Andrea/Beppe/Carlo/Cedric/Checco/Federico/Lucca/
A few hours after the group left, Devin and Caroleane arrived. We rock climbed with them for one day, guided by Albi and Lucca. Quite a challenging climb, on granite slab. We continued the plateau above Bolzano, called Renon. However first we visited the town of Trento, which existed since Roman times. Stayed at the “Ansitz Kematen” Hotel. Incredible views, located in a renovated 1,000 year old farm. We visited Bolzano, and went to the “Otzi“ museum. Otzi is the name given to the mummified body of a man that died more than 5,000 years ago, found in a glacier in the nearby Otztal valley. We actually got the see the “mummy” kept in a refrigerated room. Well, we saw it through a window.. We also saw the “earth pyramids“, thin spires of rock similar to the ones seen in Bryce Canyon. Last day we visited the Messner museum in Bolzano, located in a castle/fortress that rises above the town. Messner is a very famous alpinist who climbed all the 8,000 m mountains in the Himalayas. He bought six or seven castles throughout the Italian Dolomites and Alps and turned them in museums, showcasing memorabilia and art and artifacts from the places that he has climbed. It was very interesting By the way, the province of Bolzano is located in the German speaking part of “Alto Adige” which is know as South Tyrol. Bolzano and the surrounding areas appear to be very much Austrian, despite being officially part of Italy. Finally we drove back to Munich, and stopped on the way and visited the town of Vipiteno/sterzing.
