Near Lago di Limo Day three was one of our favorite days on the Alta Via 1.  We hiked from Lavarella to Lagozuoi.  It was one of our longer days and most difficult days in terms of elevation gain and loss.  In total it about 12km with nearly 1200m of climbing and 670m of descent, and nearly all of it is along an exposed ridgeline.   Our notes made it very clear that it was very important that we arrive at Lagozuoi before any afternoon storms, so we got up early and were on the trail between 7 – 7:30am. Croda del Valun Bianco and Piz de Ciampeetrin

We had another picture perfect morning, with clear blue skies and lots of sunshine.   We enjoyed seeing the valley Lavarella sits in without storm clouds.  The hike out of Lavarella was easy and the 360 views at the first little summit with Lago di Limo were really quite pretty. Not far down the road was another cute little farm with amazing views of a lush green valley with a flowing stream and breath taking views of the Piz dles Conturines and Piz de Ciampestrin.  

Sas de Bac and Piza Nord

Our hike at that point was some of the nicest trail we encountered on the AV1 - it was our first flat terrain on soft ground that followed the stream through the meadow  We rounded another corner and walked into another lush meadow full of cows, horses, calves and ponies.   Every direction we looked was idyllic.    While we paused to take pictures and gear up for what was next, the Armstrongs caught up to us.  They ended up being our hiking buddies for the remainder of the day and we loved it.  They were such a neat family and the conversation definitely help distract us from the brutality of the heated climb.

From that last meadow, you could see the forcella (pass) that we were headed to; a dramatic V cut into the mountains.  About half way up to the forcella the surrounding views opened up and it was absolutely gorgeous.  

Piz dles Conturines; Scotoni, Piza del Lech

You could see the entire Sella Ronda group (it’s been one of my favorites since my dad and I rode our bikes around it in 2006) the Marmolada and more.   From there it was another steep and rocky climb to the pass.   When we arrived at the top, it was a sheer drop off down to the other side – over 400 m of straight down.  The switchbacks were among the craziest we have ever hiked.  From the switchbacks our views were of Lago Lagozuoi down at the very bottom, and across and UP we could see the outlines of our destination, Rifiguio Lagozuoi.   

Forcella Lagozuoi

The views continued to be stunning and as we leveled out, the Gran Lagozuoi was on our left and to our right the vast expanse of the Dolomites.   Nestled into the rock on our left, and fortuitously also in the shade, was a perfect natural bench where we stopped and ate lunch.  

The Lake side of Forcella Lago

The Armstrongs had gone on down to the lake, but we preferred the shade and views from where we were at.  We also didn’t want to add any more climbing to our day than necessary.    But, timing was such that by the time we ate lunch, rested up and continued on our way, the lake trail and the Armstrongs intersected with us at just the right moment.   We were able to do the most brutal part of the hike together.   We hiked in a lot of loose rock, it was steep and tough going.  We even lost the trail at one point and just kept aiming up at the Rifugio.   The views continued to be phenomenal.  The Tofane hung to the left as we got closer and the views back were stunning.  The biggest and most pleasant surprise of all was that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  The afternoon thunderstorms that are so common in the summer in those high mountains missed us that day.   And it was the first day that we didn’t feel like we were hiking in an oven, we enjoyed a gentle breeze all afternoon.  It was as good as it gets. 

Gran Lagozuoi

When we finally crested the ridge upon which Lagozuoi sits, the views on the other side knocked our socks off.  It was absolutely amazing.  There were clouds in the distance, but not enough to conceal the peaks of La Civetta, the Pelmo and everything else magnificent.   Lagozuoi, and much of the Dolomites were the front lines of WW1 battle and the Austrians and the Italians fought over Lagozuoi’s position.   The last stretch of our hike took you in and out of a small open air museum with tunnels and old battle locations.    

Pelmo and Civetta

We were too tired to soak much of it in, and went straight to Lagozuoi where we sat on the large deck, drinking a limonata and chatting with the Armstrongs before they had to take the chairlift down to their lodging for the night.   We were so sorry when our paths separated from them.    

Once the Armstrong’s left, Lee went nuts with the picture taking.  But we expected that.   The company that helped us with our route and booked our rooms for us doesn’t normally arrange for people to stay at Lagozuoi, but given Lee’s interest in photography they mixed things up for us.  And despite not loving the people who worked and owned the Rifugio (or the rooms and 60 second 2 EUR showers), we were glad we stayed there.  We would have hated to rush our time at the summit – we loved having all the time in the world to soak in those views.