Another lovely day in the hills in superb weather. We took the bus down the valley to Pera and took the skilift up to Ciampedie. Actually the walks booklet says to use the cable car from Vigo di Fassa (they come out in the same place) but other Thompsons guests had told us that this was much better. We think that the writer didn’t realise that this lift system would be open. It is lovely because it is three different double scheme lifts where you sit in the open and enjoy the cooling breeze as you go up. It is also remarkably quiet and peace and you get a stunning view of the Rosengarten range of hills. They are probably the pinkest of the different ranges in the Val di Fassa.

From the top we took the contouring path through the woods which hogged the valley downstream. This emerges in the large meadow which is followed by a steep 600 ft pull to Baita Pederiva. This is a real meeting of paths and was very busy. We went and played on a rocky outcrop. I was quite surprised that Beryl came all the way to the top because it was a bit scrambly – she is well capable of doing it but she doesn’t like the return trip down the rock.

We continued along our original path passing lots of people coming the other way. This is the path from the Bolzano side and there was much more German being spoken by the walkers. This leads to the wooden statue of an eagle; this is the Cristomannos Manument to a  pioneer of tourism in the area. I of course had to clamber up to the eagle. It falls away a bit sharply on the other side.

The booklet recommends that, if you’re up for a more exciting path, you take the upward route at the next folk. Well the path was an easy one but it did have a fantastic view. In effect you have walked around the last corner of the Dolomites and you are then looking across lower land right into the Alps. It was nowhere near as clear as last year when we looked the other way from the top of the Tiefenbach glacier to the Dolomites but it was still a wonderful.

We returned the way we had come, pausing for a chilled blackberry joghurt at the refuge. As we were nearing the cable car we could hear opera coming from the nearby refuge. “Makes a change from Europop” I thought. However it was actually three blokes (yes three tenors) singing on the terrace. Now I’m not an opera buff but even I could appreciate them.

We had one last excursion to make. We popped down the final skilift and from there took the other skilift up from that point. There is absolutely nothing at the top but it was lovely and quiet and we sat, sunbathed and read for a while. And as we had been on the skilift we could hear the tenors still performing. We went some distance away but the power of their voices was carrying the music around the mountains.

We did the reverse back to the top of the cable car, had a psoh ice cream whilst e waited and then caught the bus back from Vigo.