Alta Via 1 stage 5: Rifugio Staulanza - Rifugio Vazzoler

This is another long day that leads me through a great diversity of landscapes. With over a thousand meters up and down it is also one of the more intensive days, although the ascent to Rifugio Coldai is very gradual. Along the way you will also find the only supermarket on the entire Alta Via I and you can take advantage of that.

UNESCO World Heritage Site proudly adorns the sign as I leave Rifugio Staulanza. Something the Italians are justifiably proud of, because the Dolomites are a piece of heritage that should definitely be cherished. Via a steady rise it goes up more than one hundred meters in a beautiful forest. The fact that we are on the Italian-speaking side of the Dolomites is also gradually becoming clear through the markings, or rather the lack of it. By sheer coincidence I discover that I suddenly have to turn right, while there is no sign to be found in the far or near roads. It is a shortcoming that I am confronted with more in the later days on the Alta Via 1.

After a long, but very mild descent, I arrive at another rifugio, which is closed. I don't have to worry, because I can quench my thirst at a supermarket a little further along that is connected to the local campsite. For the big climb that follows, I take a bottle of Gatorade with me, but that is completely unnecessary for the first half of the climb. Via long hairpin bends it goes up on gravel roads and a very busy sun makes me sweat more than the climb itself. At a closed farm, I decide to do some bushcrafting and I opt for a small path through the wilderness while the - remarkably many - other hikers opt for the larger road strewn with boulders and stones.

The adventure spirit immediately kicks up a gear with a steeper grade, rocks in the road and a trail that is much more difficult to navigate. A lot more tiring, but also a lot more rewarding to trek to Rifugio Coldai. Since the path sometimes disappears into the wilderness, it is sometimes difficult to find the right way, but in fact there is only one right direction: upwards! Once at the top, Rifugio Coldai overlooks the beautiful mountain lake Lago Coldai and the trident of Monte Civetta. There are less nice places to stay than here.

Lago Coldai of course provides beautiful pictures, but you also have to watch out for the labyrinth of paths that lead to everywhere and nowhere. The best strategy is to leave the lake at your left-hand side and then you'll get to a point where it goes down dangerously. With a drop of two hundred meters, this doesn't look impressive on paper, but when you see the winding rock paths, it is. Personally, I found this to be the most difficult part of this stage. The good news, however, is that after this descent the walk continues in open plains.

Not without first making a mistake, even twice, when I see two large arrows appearing left and right on a rock. One is for the ascent of a local summit (I didn't have to be here) and the other to go to Rifugio Tissi (I didn't have to be here either). Third time is a charm, and via worn-out paths full of bumps, I make my way along this plain to Rifugio Vazzoler. Less tiring, but also less beautiful because the extensive alpine meadows show little or no sign of life. The various channels don't make it any easier to walk on either. The final descent goes via a gravel road to Rifugio Vazzoler where I finish my hike after eight hours.

This has again become a well-stocked walking dinner with a whole range of landscapes. However, I must confess that there are some more boring elements on this stage than on the previous routes. In the first place I think of the long(er) climb over gravel roads towards Rifugio Coldai and the last kilometers to Rifugio Vazzoler are a bit boring as well. In any case, this remains a very nice route, but because it is a bit longer, there are also more negatives to note.