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Alta Via 1 of the Dolomites, the same trekking after twenty years.

In 1998, with two friends we embarked on the adventure of crossing the southern Alps along the Alta Via 1 of the Dolomites; after twenty years I returned to walk on the same paths, but as an Mountain Leader.

Some sections I did not even remember to have walked, so much was the rush with which we had faced the path, not even twenty years old. This summer I was able to see the Alta Via 1 of the Dolomites again “for the first time” through the eyes of the people with whom I walked, for them was for the first time in the Dolomites. People who came from other continents to get excited in the presence of the Dolomites, to admire the countless and changing shapes of the rocks, to smell different woods and taste the cuisine in the mountain huts. It was also a pleasant re-discovery for me!

 

Uh, the mountain huts! Safe landing points when something unexpected happens, but it is these structures that make the days perfect, in fact they are managed by delicious people, the dishes are excellent and abundant, the rooms comfortable and the view … you have the best you can have.

But, we were saying, what has changed in the last 20 years? The Dolomites began to form more than 200 million years ago, so in 20 years they have not gained new wrinkles. Humanity has changed a lot, for example, I have more than double the years I had in 1998 (and we do not talk about the number of white hair …).

Twenty years ago, rare moments were frozen on film, now hundreds of electronic photographs are taken; the weather forecast was learned from payphones, now we use the ever-present smartphone: where there is no 4G network there is WiFi of the mountain huts.

The trails are the same, some sections have been improved and the signage is more homogeneous, but after a day of walking it is always a relief to take off your boots.

What has remained the same? The blue skies, the pleasure of walking, the satisfaction of arriving and the smiles bigger than the backpacks.