Just another Italian weekend....Scaling a mountain!

A few weeks ago my friend and Vicenza colleague, Luisa posted on Instagram a beautiful image of Garda Lake from a hike she completed while I was off gallivanting at one of the other VGL offices. Upon my return I immediately ask how I can experience that beauty myself! Apparently it was a guided hike and she graciously invited me to the next one, once she finalized the date. Luisa did forewarn me that we would need a harness for a few sections of the trail for safety purposes as some parts the trail would most likely be narrow. About 10 years ago I discovered I am kinda afraid of heights.........If I have the security of a rope and harness I am invincible! Take that away and I am on my butt scooting my way at snails pace. It has been a long time since I have tested this theory and with old age.......haha I wondered if my fear had creeped its way in all aspects of heights. Only way to find out! I told Luisa to count me in on the next hike!

Two weeks later, a three car convoy to Longarone, and 12 hikers pulled on harnesses and strapped on our helmets. Our two guides had little English, so thank god for Luisa’s English, similarities between sailing and climbing harness, my experiences rappelling in the military, and the visuals to help me understand the instructions given to me. The visuals….the guides pretty much playing charades to show me instructions was my favorite because it is quite comical to watch them act out what not to do and what to do when climbing a mountain! When the tutorial was over and it was time tooooooooo GO! High ho high ho up the mountain we go! It started out in a dark tunnel with headlamps! Thank god for helmets as some parts were low and I bumped my helmet a lot! Afterwards a brisk walk into the forest then around the bend the trail narrowed and we were on the side of the mountain with a little narrow path we would take. There was steel rope bolted to the mountain side. Pffff! Have no fear my harness is here! So off I went clipping and unclipping from rope to rope around the mountainside! Yes I can do this! If anything it was more of a hassle securing myself to the mountain, the path wasn’t that narrow!

Clip unclip clip unclip! It took a lot of time to do this and I had a lot of energy! At one point it was optional to clip onto the rope and even I was not afraid, so opted continue my hike freely! Until we came to a halt. Just ahead was a ladder. The guides each pulled out a longer rope from their packs and were having a conversation that included pointing in my direction. Body language goes a long way! Whatever they said I knew it involve the long rope and myself! I figured out the longer roper was additional safety measures for novice hikers, which there were four of us. Each pair of novice hikers was attached to a guide with the long rope. Luisa and I were paired with Ettore Bona and we were to follow him the remainder of the hike. We would be the last in the group to go up the ladder. Impatiently waiting my turn I wondered why it was taking the hikers ahead a long time. It’s just a ladder! Finally it was our turn, peering up and beyond the ladder and Ettore I now knew what took them so long. This is when I started to question what Luisa got me into!!!!!! She never said we would literally be on the SIDE a mountain with NO trail beneath me!

Ignorance really is bliss. Not knowing what you are about to do makes it so much easier to begin the journey! Then when you face an obstacle and there is no turning back you don’t think you just start doing. I will never forget the many times Jason and I falsely assessed the wind and decided to go sailing. By the time you are on the water you are IN THE OBSTACLE!!!!! Only choice is to sail through it and become better sailors. On this day I had no clue I would be hanging on the side of a cliff and now I am just a wee bit better at rock climbing! And......I am still invincible!.........with a harness!

Ettore was a great guide. Anytime I would not use my legs or have tension in my elbows he would yell down at me, “Teresa! No” then demonstrated what I was doing wrong proceeded with the correct technique. He was patient and funny and constantly taking pictures. The climb is as much physical as it is mental figuring out where to place your fingers and toes. It was not 100% rock climbing as there were many steel hooks to place your feet or hands, but there was definitely moments I had to think of the placement of my fingers and tippy toes! But the best part was when you had to pause for numerous reasons, which allowed me to look up, down, and all around! It was beautiful! To look below your feet at the rushing river, left towards the town of Longarone and my beloved snow capped mountains, or right and focus on the dam in the distance. Then look up and see only rock and sky…..and butts of the hikers in front of me! All of it was something I have never seen from this angle. It was not a thrill or breathless, it was more quizzical just taking in the whole experience as one. I was learning, seeing, and viewing things all new to me, like a child’s sponge-like brain absorbing an insightful new experience.

Eventually we stopped climbing and were on a wooded trail where we could take our harnesses off. I am a dork and did a celebratory snatch! We made it!

The climb up was over and we made our way to our destination: Vajont Dam. Walking towards the dam the handrail had small colorful squares of cloth nailed to it. It was so pretty! I love bright colors! But then I was informed that each square represented a child who died in 1963 when a huge chunk of mountainside slid into the river flooding the dam and the town of Longarone, killing over 2000 residents. Each square had the child’s name and age, to include unborn babies. When we got to the dam itself there was no water, which I learned it is no longer in use because of the disaster that could have been avoided. In the distance you can see portion of Mount Toc where the rock slid into the river. I could explain the disaster, but I think it is better explained in this article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24464867 . This one has before and after pictures: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/expecting-disaster-1963-landslide-vajont-dam. If you read it you will learn that the construction of the dam is considered one of the worst man-made environmental disasters. I honestly did not know the extent of the disaster until writing this blog. It does not change my experience the day of the hike, but the emotions I have learning the depths of this tragedy and filtering through my pictures provides another element to my hiking trip. Perhaps my journey to Vajont Dam has actually ended with this blog post.

Mount Toc where the rock slid into the river

After a quick look at the dam we stopped to have a beer and lunch. There are a couple of food trucks to grab food and beverages so Luisa and I got a celebratory beer, because apparently even Luisa did not know we would be scaling a mountain! Bruno the other guide and Luisa’s friend’s husband apparently did not tell her the difficulty level because he knew she could do the hike and that she would not have done it if she knew. Ignorance really is bliss! After the beer I opted save my money and eat what I brought: cans of tuna and apples. Whenever I go hiking I pack food that can be easily packed and disposed of such as beef jerky, packaged tuna or chicken, fruit, trail mix. Apparently in Italy eating tuna from a can is bizarre! It is okay to put tuna on a pizza or pasta in Italy, but eating it from the can is considered weird! My group had a good laugh at my expense! I will forever be known as the Tonne girl!

It was time to head back onto the wooded trail home. No more climbing, just a brisk walk the mountain! I was disappointed because I really enjoyed the climb, but at least we were not taking the road back! There are two ways to get to the dam: by a trail or by road. So we scaled a mountain to our destined dam when we could have easily driven on the paved road! But today was about the journey to the destination. I would have never seen life from the side of a mountain. But more importantly I felt lighter than I had in weeks. When we were climbing all my focus was placing my fingers and toes in just the right place. I have no clue how long or how high we climbed but I felt renewed and full of energy! It was like the clouds in my head dissipated and there was a spring in my step! Let’s just say I skipped down the mountain!

After our climb we went to Longarone for more beer and ice cream. I got a Tiramisu sundae!!!!!! Sooooooo good! Then we had a couple hour drive back to Vicenza.

Beautiful drive home!!!!!!!

Arriving in my apartment I still felt weightless, energized, content! The sun was about to set, so I put on my running shoes and decided to chase the setting sun! Seven miles and hundreds of pictures later I sat on a bench at a nearby park. I loved this day!