12.
Dolomites: Vigo di Fasa Ciampedie Vael 2017:06:29
Cloudy morning. Bus down the valley to Vigo di Fasa.
Up gondola to Ciampedie.
A a lot of cloud but occasional view. Followed path up ridge and then right to follow a path along the top of screes below the mountain wall. Recent rains have brought down numerous lahars and washed out the path. Almost at the end came to a new gulley that was impossible to cross, with shear 3m sides steeply down mountain.
Forced to return the way we had come back to the ridge, then continued off to the left and contoured round to a hut, then steeply down to a meadow and a track, then path back up to the gondola.
Bus back up the valley.
We got the gondola from Vigo up to Ciampedie. A lot of low cloud about.
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Heading up the ridge away from Ciampedie
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Gnarled old trees in the forest
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Lots of these orchids
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Alpine Asters
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Trees in the mist
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Several large gulleys washed out by the recent thunderstorms
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Gulley 30 foot accross and 20 foot deep sloping steeply down mountain - forcing us to return
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Back to the last junction and head up the other side of the ridge
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The clouds start to lift and we can look down into Malga Vael and our return route
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Our path has brought us along the shoulder of that ridge
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Now approaching the hut on the pass at Vael
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The path down from here into Malga Vael is quite steep
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Marmots in the grass
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The weather improves as we cross this grassy plateau