Soon we reached a height of land along the ridgecrest, and the main summit of Cima Carega came into view. To its left and not far below, we could see the Rifugio Fraccaroli -- our destination for the night -- perched astride Carega's southwestern ridge.
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Ridgecrest path
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R. Fraccaroli and C. Carega
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R. Fraccaroli Deck
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It was only a few minutes farther along easy paths to the rifugio, where (from the outdoor deck) we took in the ever-improving views of the surrounding mountainous terrain. These mountain ranges we were in -- the lower sub-ranges of the dolomites (i.e. the Alpi Vicentine) -- may not be as dramatic as the high dolomites, but they are still full of great mountain scenery.
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Graham at Rifugio
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Distinctive sub-peak
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Fraccaroli Dining Area
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We then reported to the rifugio manager and got set-up in our bunks up in the sleeping area. Turns out there were only four other people in the rifugio with us tonight -- four German hikers.
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View from Rifugio
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View south from Rifugio
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Cima Carega
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Soon it was time for dinner, which was quite hearty and tasty. We then had a bit of time to burn before sunset, and we thought it might be neat to head up to the summit of Cima Carega to watch the sunset. It was June 21 - the summer solstice - and it seemed fitting to go to the highest peak of a mountain range and watch the sun set at its most northerly point for this location.
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View south from Rifugio
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Nearing Sunset
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Climbing to Cima Carega's top
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The weather had turned beautifully sunny - but had also cooled down quite a bit. We donned most of the cold-weather clothes we had brought with us, then headed out of the rifugio for the 15-minute climb to the top of Cima Carega. The late-day light made for fantastic photos!
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Climbing Cima Carega
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View down to the Rifugio
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Fraccaroli and Costa Media Ridge
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Shadow of the Mountain
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Reflections
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The Higher Dolomites
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Costa Media Ridge
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Graham and Alanna Arrive
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Rifugio Fraccaroli
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Sunset from Cima Carega
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Cima Carega Summit
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Distant Peaks
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We snapped pictures in all directions: down to the flatlands of the Po to the south, north to the higher dolomites, north-west to the Brenta and the higher alps beyond. As the sun set, the constantly changing light and shifting cloud banks created many breathtaking scenes. There's nothing like watching the sun go down from a mountaintop!
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Sunrays
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Solstice Sunset
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Clouds over Baldo
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With the post-sunset twilight upon us, we headed back down to the rifugio, its lit windows inviting us back to warmth. Now that the sun had gone down, the temperature was dropping fast. Even though it was the summer solstice, the temperature must have already been down into the single digits.
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Rifugio Fraccaroli
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Costa Media after dark
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We stayed up for a while, playing a couple of games of Bananagrams, a tile-based word game that Graham and Alanna had brought with them. Then, just before going to bed, I went outside for a final look at the scenery. The late twilight shining on the Costa Media ridge, combined with the emerging speckles of thousands of points of light from the densely populated Po plain below had created a wonderful but difficult-to-capture scene. Using a tripod for stability, I managed to take a long exposure shot of it. Some of the guys from the German group were out on the deck, too, and tried unsuccessfully to take a similar shot with their point-and-shoot camera. As it turned out, they spoke excellent english, and we struck up a conversation. One of the group's members introducted himself - Dirk Menke. We agreed that I'd send them my version of the difficult-to-take shot.
It was then off to bed - it had been a long day full of all sorts of wonderful experiences!
Interactive Trackmap - Climb to Rifugio Fraccaroli
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Climb to Rifugio Fraccaroli and Ferrata Campanali
Start Time: |
1:36PM
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Start Elevation: |
4295ft
(1309m)
* |
End Time: |
6:12PM
|
Max Elevation: |
7347ft
(2239m)
* |
Duration: |
4h35m
|
Min Elevation: |
4295ft
(1309m)
* |
Distance: |
6.74 km
(4.19 mi)
|
End Elevation: |
7347ft
(2239m)
* |
Average Speed: |
1.5 km/hr
(0.9 mph)
|
* : +/- 75 feet |
After dinner climb to Cima Carega
Start Time: |
8:42PM
|
Start Elevation: |
7380ft
(2249m)
* |
End Time: |
9:14PM
|
Max Elevation: |
7443ft
(2269m)
* |
Duration: |
0h32m
|
Min Elevation: |
7325ft
(2233m)
* |
Distance: |
0.15 km
(0.09 mi)
|
End Elevation: |
7355ft
(2242m)
* |
Average Speed: |
0.3 km/hr
(0.2 mph)
|
* : +/- 75 feet |
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(last message posted on Sat Nov 06, 23:07 EDT 2010 by Jim W)
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