Hiking in Puez-Odle Nature Park

Brixen, end of the line, everybody off! Like every summer Sunday, a horde of strangers in loud clothing converges on the benches in front of the station. Eyes meet, shyly. At most, someone dares a “Are you here for the trek with Grand Angle too?” At 15 o’clock sharp, the guide turns up and greets everyone with a “Willkommen in Südtirol”. A big, smiling fellow, barely into his thirties, with the beard of someone who has already spent a few weeks up high. Introductions done, we climb aboard one of the buses that wind into the nooks of these mountains with legendary names. The vehicle drops us where the road ends. Noses in the air and eyes curious, the group sets off along the little track that heads up the Val di Funes. Here a squad of morels pokes out of the moss, there a spotted nutcracker caws like a devil. We emerge from the woods to discover a vast alpine pasture whose greenery runs headlong into the flanks of an immense limestone wall. Contrast.
The tone of the week is set.

The Odle massif (Geisler in German) © Johannes Braun

A misty morning. No sooner have they glanced out of the window than the pessimists declare the weather will be awful, opening the ball of lamentations. The guide says nothing. Hot coffee and homemade jams are enough to settle the troop during a gentle wake-up. Then, lost in our thoughts, we set off into the white blur. Helped by the cool air, the group climbs at a good pace, gaining a touch more light with every metre of elevation. We are already high up when we finally emerge from the sea of fog. Trapped between the mountains, the vapour spills out in waves through the Kreuzkofel pass, to the east. The limestone needles rising from it look all the more impressive.
Following the balcony of the Gunter Messner trail, we head towards a first encounter. The most courageous will even climb the so-called Peitlerkofel, enjoy a 360° panorama and put themselves for a moment in the shoes of another Messner, brother of the first and the region’s most famous mountaineer.

Hikers in front of the Sass de Putia (Peitlerkofel), in Puez-Odle Nature Park © Johannes Braun

Crossing the Puez group is one of those mountain moments that leave no one indifferent. A fortress of rock whose high walls show the attacker only a few rare weaknesses: narrow windows and dizzying chimneys where you haul yourself up using ladders and metal cables, inheritors of the Italian army’s via ferratas. The reward is worth the effort. A picnic on a balcony overlooking the floor of the Vallunga canyon by almost 700 metres. The “long valley”, the wild counterpart of the neighbouring resort of Val Gardena, famous for its wood carvings and its downhill course that hosts a FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race every year.

The Medalges hut (2293 m), near the Furćia pass © Johannes Braun

The Piz Duleda (2909 m) near the Roa pass © Johannes Braun

View of the Vallunga from the Forces de Siëles pass © Johannes Braun

Sometimes you have to take your time to set off again even stronger. La Fontaine would have appreciated the moral of our crossing. As a breather, a contemplative day is spent strolling the green balcony that separates the Sella and Rosengarten groups. Along the way, handsome dairy cows lazily swish their tails, indifferent to the steepness of the slope where they are ruminating. A stop at the Plattkofel cheese dairy to please the locavores, and we continue peacefully to Tierser Alpl. A pure product of South Tyrol’s tourism renewal, the hut takes mountain comfort to an unprecedented level. Too much for some. Still, with its large picture windows and generous spaces, the eco-building made of wood and concrete invites you to spend an afternoon indoors with a book in hand.

The hamlet of Colfosco and the summit of Sassongher on the right © Johannes Braun

Small lake below Le Ponte, near the Piz Boè © Johannes Braun

View of the Alpe di Siusi from the foot of the Sassopiatto © Johannes Braun

View of the Val Duron, with the Molignon rock formation on the right and the Croda del Lago on the left © Johannes Braun

The first time I crossed the Rosengarten, I wondered which Lord of the Rings film could be shot there. A story of dwarves digging into the mountain would suit the atmosphere of the place perfectly. The warm-up gives nothing away. A climb through a lunar landscape of the kind the Dolomites have made us used to. Then, without warning, the trail drops by nearly 400 metres into an improbable basin ringed by towering walls, only to climb straight back up the opposite slope to a second pass. With the sun reaching the bottom for only a few moments each day, anyone arriving at the Passo Principe hut feels as though they have passed through something Dantesque. All that remains is to let yourself slide down alongside the torrent to the lovely terraces of the Vajolet valley, an ideal viewpoint for watching the enthusiasts who come to climb this mythical rock.

View of the Rosengarten massif (Catinaccio in Italian) © Johannes Braun

The Alpes di Tires hut (Tierser Alpl in German) with the Piz Boè in the background © Johannes Braun