Sadly, I won't be able to go back to the South Tyrol as an HF
Holidays Leader and the trip to Selva
in the Dolomites in a month's time has had to be cancelled. The
Administration of the Province of Bolzano have changed the rules
about who can be a Hiking Guide in the South Tyrol. They define
as a 'Hiking Guide' someone who accompanies hikers without crampons, ropes or
ice axes on paths without fixed-ropes or other equipment and away from
glaciers. This is what I do.
It goes on to say that
the professional qualifications of these guides must be obtained through attendance at own's own courses and after passing the appropriate exam
at the Association of South Tyrolean Mountain and Ski Guides.
There
is a UK qualification that I could obtain called
'International Mountain Leader' that would be acceptable. This qualifies you to lead in the Alps in both
Summer and Winter conditions but I am only interested in the former . From now on, in the South Tyrol at least,
HF Holidays will need to employ someone with the necessary qualifications.
To become an IML you must first qualify as a UK Mountain Leader and have a certain
amount of experience internationally in summer conditions. OK so far, but you also need more international experience than I have in winter conditions. So I'd have to get out and do that.
After that, you take the IML summer training course in the
UK, which includes a timed navigation test in the mountains. This is
followed by a summer assessment course and a winter training course,
both in the Alps.
Finally, and after more experience has been built up, you have to pass a winter assessment course in the Alps.
A lot of this might be enjoyable but it would cost a lot of money and it seems a bit rich to insist on winter experience as a pre-requisite for leading in the summer.
If the result of this is that both local and European guides get more paid work then I shouldn't complain of course. I hope it works out that way.
Of course none of this prevents me from going to the area with Dorothy and other friends and
this is something I will definitely be doing in the future.
Wednesday, 5 June 2019
Schenna
The hotel used by HF Holidays in Schenna is totally amazing. It is called Schenna Resort because it is several hotels combined into one. You can watch this short film to get an idea of the facilities. They focus on 'Wellness' and offer lots of free activities during the day. Take a look at this weekly program.
The theory is that Wellness Holidays improve physical
well-being, happiness, and productivity, giving you a fresh perspective, improving
creativity, resilience, problem solving, and capacity for coping with
stress. I concur and I think that this also applies Walking and Cycling Holidays in general.
The hotel does offer short walks but mainly concentrates on spa type treatments. The concept is not new. Merano, further down the valley from Schenna, has been a spa town for a long time. Their favourite visitor was Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She arrived in the autumn of 1870 with an entourage of 102 for an extended stay to try to improve the health of her two year old daughter. Sissi, as she is affectionately known locally, was a keen walker and she returned to the town on three further occasions. On one of our walks we saw a sign by a tap sticking out of the wall in the forest explaining that she had drunk from it!
It is a fantastic area for walking. You can use cable cars to gain access to paths that wind their way, high up across the hillside. Sometimes crossing cliffs that seem impenetrable. Look at these pictures taken on two sections of the Meranoer Hohenweg.
Some of the walks had to be adjusted because there had been a lot of late snow. Apparently the last few weeks had been 10 degrees colder than average and the coldest for 29 years.
On another walk we went up the very modern Merano 2000 cable car and got off at the mid-station. It reminded me of the sort of thing you might see in the original 1960s Thunderbirds Are Go TV Series.
You can visit the Trauttsmansdorff Botanical Gardens, head down to Merano, visit Ötzi in Bolzano (see previous post) or just admire the incredible views.
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| Schenna Resort - Weekly Program |
The hotel does offer short walks but mainly concentrates on spa type treatments. The concept is not new. Merano, further down the valley from Schenna, has been a spa town for a long time. Their favourite visitor was Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She arrived in the autumn of 1870 with an entourage of 102 for an extended stay to try to improve the health of her two year old daughter. Sissi, as she is affectionately known locally, was a keen walker and she returned to the town on three further occasions. On one of our walks we saw a sign by a tap sticking out of the wall in the forest explaining that she had drunk from it!
It is a fantastic area for walking. You can use cable cars to gain access to paths that wind their way, high up across the hillside. Sometimes crossing cliffs that seem impenetrable. Look at these pictures taken on two sections of the Meranoer Hohenweg.
 |
| Looking down at the next section of the path and the suspension bridge |
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| The well engineered suspension bridge |
 |
| Climbing back up again to regain lost height |
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| Goats on the track. They weren't moving from that shady spot! |
 |
| We walked through here |
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| We didn't walk across that! |
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| A flower meadow at Trauttsmansdorff Gardens |
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| A view of the Dolomites |
Wednesday, 15 May 2019
The South Tyrol
I am going to be leading walks for HF Holidays at two resorts in the South Tyrol over the next couple of months so I thought I'd do a bit of research into the area. It is the most northerly province in Italy and was once
part of the Hapsburg and then Austro-Hungarian Empires. Consequently about 60% of the
population speak German as their first language, 20% speak Italian and
4% Ladin. Also, according to a poll conducted in 2013, 46% of the
population still favour secession from Italy. It is an unusual and interesting place in many ways.
History
At the start of the First World War, the Italian Government remained neutral because they were members of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. This was created in 1882 and was purely defensive; based on each country supporting the others if any of them were attacked. The most likely attacker at the time was France and, going for a belt and braces strategy, Italy had signed a similar defensive guarantee with France in 1902.
There remained mutual suspicion between Italy and Austria-Hungary and this was exploited by Britain, France and Russia when they signed a pact with Italy called the London Treaty. These countries promised Italy large areas of Austria-Hungary if Italy left the Triple Alliance and declared war against Germany and Austria-Hungary.
The territories promised in the London Treaty were; The Tyrol (North, South and East), Trentino to the South of it, and areas along the East coast of the Adriatic Sea. The pact was supposed to have been kept secret but the Bolsheviks spoiled the party by publishing it in 1917 following the Russian Revolution.
When Italy entered the war, Austria’s troops were heavily committed in Russia so the Austrians withdrew to create a defensive line that ran through the Tyrol and the Dolomites. A ferocious battle took place in the mountains up until the end of 1917 for the control of the peaks. Ropes, ladders and tunnels were used to allow troops to move around quickly. These became known as Via Ferrata when they were later replaced by iron structures and it started a new trend in rock climbing.
After the war, British and French leaders reneged on the deal even though the Italian army had occupied all of the Tyrol including Innsbruck. Only the South Tyrol and Trentino were given to Italy, along with some areas alongside the Adriatic.
The vast majority of people in the South Tyrol spoke German as their first language and they wanted to be re-united with Austria. Their currency was changed and attempts were made to persuade them that they would be better off as Italians.
To a limited extent they were allowed to continue with their customs and culture until the Fascists seized power in 1922. The Fascist regime instituted an assimilation policy, insisting on the exclusive use of Italian in public offices and the closure of most German schools. They also introduced incentives to encourage people to move there from other areas of Italy.
In 1939 Hitler and Mussolini decided to offer the inhabitants a choice between moving to Germany-Austria and becoming German citizens, or staying in Italy and accepting that they were Italian. The population was divided, with the majority leaving, most of whom were - in fact - resettled in Germany-Poland.
After the war the people who had gone to Poland were either murdered or sent back to the South Tyrol. It was hoped that the South Tyrol would be re-united with the rest of the Tyrol but this was not to be. Even though the German, Italian and Ladin languages were all recognized and taught in schools, many South Tyroleans were still very unhappy about still being in Italy.
An organisation called the South Tyrolean Liberation Committee blew up and set fire to some public buildings, Italian fascist monuments and electricity pylons. After their leaders were arrested they became involved with Austrian and German neo-Nazis and in 1967 they ambushed Italian Security Forces killing four of them.
After poor handling of the situation by both the Italian and Austrian governments for many years, an agreement was eventually signed between the two nations in 1969 stating that all disputes in South Tyrol would be settled at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and that the province would be given greater autonomy within Italy. This agreement allowed the area to keep a very high percentage of taxes and the province of South Tyrol is now the wealthiest in Italy and attracts large numbers of Tourists who mainly come to enjoy the mountains.
The most famous South Tyrolean is more than 5,000 years old and lived during the Stone Age. Nicknamed Ötzi the Iceman, he was discovered in 1991 in a glacier with many of his clothes and much of his hunting equipment still intact. The mummy can be seen in the archaeological museum in Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol.
Economy
The economy consists of artisans, services, industry and agriculture. There is lower unemployment than anywhere else in Italy and a higher GDP per capita. It is mainly small and medium sized businesses, many of which are family run that generate this income.
There is a system of proportional representation between German, Italian and Ladin speaking populations when it comes to allocating public office jobs. The Brenner Pass carries a huge amount of traffic between Italy and Austria and is famous for its traffic jams and the consequent pollution. The EU, Austria and Italy are currently funding the construction of The Brenner Base Tunnel to transfer freight traffic from the road to the railway. It is currently expected to be finished in 2028. When the tunnel is connected to the Innsbruck bypass tunnel, it will be 64 kilometres long, making it the longest underground railway tunnel in the world!
Most tourists are German (almost half) and Italian (over a third) but the South Tyrol also attracts people from Switzerland, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Britain. About 60 percent visit in the summer and winter brings more than a third of the revenue. There are over 1,000 km of ski runs, 400 lifts and 13,000 km of hiking trails.
Many visitors are fascinated by the world of South Tyrol’s farmers. Every year, about 1,700 people, mostly German, come to the South Tyrol on voluntary work assignments in order to experience what life is like today on a mountain farm; where dairy farming, fruit growing (especially apples), and cultivating grapes for wine predominate.
Geology
The Alps were formed about 30 million years ago when the African and Euroasian Tectonic plates were pushed together and the African plate was pushed over the European plate. During the Ice Ages the area was repeatedly covered and then uncovered by snow and ice. The erosion this caused along with erosion by rivers created the landscape we see today.
The most interesting area of the South Tyrol from a geological perspective is the area to the East known as the Dolomites. They are named after the scientist Déodat de Dolomieu who discovered the mineral called Dolomite, which is Calcium Magnesium Carbonate - CaMg(CO3)2. The Dolomite Mountains are made of limestone but they contain a high percentage of this mineral.
The rock making up the Dolomites began to be formed about 250 million years ago, between the Permian and the Triassic geological periods. This corresponded with the most severe extinction of life in the history of the planet. About 96% of all marine species became extinct, as well as 70% of terrestrial vertebrates!
Consequently the mountains are key to understanding the way that life recovered from this event. In fact three of the subdivisions of the Triassic period are named after areas within the Dolomites: Ladinian, Fassanian and Cordevolian.
In the early Triassic, a large number of organisms developed that needed light to live. They began to build reefs in order to keep pace with the progressive lowering of the sea bed. They created an archipelago of islands with atolls and lagoons by extracting mineral salts from the sea and using them to build their skeletons.
Later this was transformed into the Dolomite mineral through the addition of magnesium, found in seawater. Scientists are still not sure how this happens and it is known as ‘The Dolomite Problem’. The region was affected by volcanic eruptions that often buried the reefs and fossilized them. There was then another period of reef building before land erosion covered the area in layers of fine mud. Some dinosaur footprints have been found in this mud.
The area was once again covered by sea. Red limestone - full of ammonites, belemnites and nodules of iron and manganese were deposited. Another great extinction followed as the dinosaurs and the ammonites were wiped out. The African Continent began to drift north into the European Continent. The Alps Mountain Range was created and The Dolomites were pushed up and exposed by erosion.
The Dolomites are famous for the way that they change colour at dawn and dusk to look pink, orange and sometimes even violet. This effect is known as Enrosadira and it is as a result of the Dolomite minerals in the rocks. Enrosadira is a Ladin word that means “turning pink” and the effect can vary enormously depending on atmospheric conditions. There are also particular rock faces that are coloured all day. Small amounts of iron give the dolomite crystals a yellow to brown tint and a high manganese content turn them a rosy pink colour.
 |
| A photograph I took when I last visited the Dolomites in the South Tyrol |
History
At the start of the First World War, the Italian Government remained neutral because they were members of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. This was created in 1882 and was purely defensive; based on each country supporting the others if any of them were attacked. The most likely attacker at the time was France and, going for a belt and braces strategy, Italy had signed a similar defensive guarantee with France in 1902.
There remained mutual suspicion between Italy and Austria-Hungary and this was exploited by Britain, France and Russia when they signed a pact with Italy called the London Treaty. These countries promised Italy large areas of Austria-Hungary if Italy left the Triple Alliance and declared war against Germany and Austria-Hungary.
The territories promised in the London Treaty were; The Tyrol (North, South and East), Trentino to the South of it, and areas along the East coast of the Adriatic Sea. The pact was supposed to have been kept secret but the Bolsheviks spoiled the party by publishing it in 1917 following the Russian Revolution.
When Italy entered the war, Austria’s troops were heavily committed in Russia so the Austrians withdrew to create a defensive line that ran through the Tyrol and the Dolomites. A ferocious battle took place in the mountains up until the end of 1917 for the control of the peaks. Ropes, ladders and tunnels were used to allow troops to move around quickly. These became known as Via Ferrata when they were later replaced by iron structures and it started a new trend in rock climbing.
After the war, British and French leaders reneged on the deal even though the Italian army had occupied all of the Tyrol including Innsbruck. Only the South Tyrol and Trentino were given to Italy, along with some areas alongside the Adriatic.
The vast majority of people in the South Tyrol spoke German as their first language and they wanted to be re-united with Austria. Their currency was changed and attempts were made to persuade them that they would be better off as Italians.
To a limited extent they were allowed to continue with their customs and culture until the Fascists seized power in 1922. The Fascist regime instituted an assimilation policy, insisting on the exclusive use of Italian in public offices and the closure of most German schools. They also introduced incentives to encourage people to move there from other areas of Italy.
In 1939 Hitler and Mussolini decided to offer the inhabitants a choice between moving to Germany-Austria and becoming German citizens, or staying in Italy and accepting that they were Italian. The population was divided, with the majority leaving, most of whom were - in fact - resettled in Germany-Poland.
After the war the people who had gone to Poland were either murdered or sent back to the South Tyrol. It was hoped that the South Tyrol would be re-united with the rest of the Tyrol but this was not to be. Even though the German, Italian and Ladin languages were all recognized and taught in schools, many South Tyroleans were still very unhappy about still being in Italy.
An organisation called the South Tyrolean Liberation Committee blew up and set fire to some public buildings, Italian fascist monuments and electricity pylons. After their leaders were arrested they became involved with Austrian and German neo-Nazis and in 1967 they ambushed Italian Security Forces killing four of them.
After poor handling of the situation by both the Italian and Austrian governments for many years, an agreement was eventually signed between the two nations in 1969 stating that all disputes in South Tyrol would be settled at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and that the province would be given greater autonomy within Italy. This agreement allowed the area to keep a very high percentage of taxes and the province of South Tyrol is now the wealthiest in Italy and attracts large numbers of Tourists who mainly come to enjoy the mountains.
The most famous South Tyrolean is more than 5,000 years old and lived during the Stone Age. Nicknamed Ötzi the Iceman, he was discovered in 1991 in a glacier with many of his clothes and much of his hunting equipment still intact. The mummy can be seen in the archaeological museum in Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol.
Economy
The economy consists of artisans, services, industry and agriculture. There is lower unemployment than anywhere else in Italy and a higher GDP per capita. It is mainly small and medium sized businesses, many of which are family run that generate this income.
There is a system of proportional representation between German, Italian and Ladin speaking populations when it comes to allocating public office jobs. The Brenner Pass carries a huge amount of traffic between Italy and Austria and is famous for its traffic jams and the consequent pollution. The EU, Austria and Italy are currently funding the construction of The Brenner Base Tunnel to transfer freight traffic from the road to the railway. It is currently expected to be finished in 2028. When the tunnel is connected to the Innsbruck bypass tunnel, it will be 64 kilometres long, making it the longest underground railway tunnel in the world!
Most tourists are German (almost half) and Italian (over a third) but the South Tyrol also attracts people from Switzerland, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Britain. About 60 percent visit in the summer and winter brings more than a third of the revenue. There are over 1,000 km of ski runs, 400 lifts and 13,000 km of hiking trails.
Many visitors are fascinated by the world of South Tyrol’s farmers. Every year, about 1,700 people, mostly German, come to the South Tyrol on voluntary work assignments in order to experience what life is like today on a mountain farm; where dairy farming, fruit growing (especially apples), and cultivating grapes for wine predominate.
Geology
The Alps were formed about 30 million years ago when the African and Euroasian Tectonic plates were pushed together and the African plate was pushed over the European plate. During the Ice Ages the area was repeatedly covered and then uncovered by snow and ice. The erosion this caused along with erosion by rivers created the landscape we see today.
The most interesting area of the South Tyrol from a geological perspective is the area to the East known as the Dolomites. They are named after the scientist Déodat de Dolomieu who discovered the mineral called Dolomite, which is Calcium Magnesium Carbonate - CaMg(CO3)2. The Dolomite Mountains are made of limestone but they contain a high percentage of this mineral.
The rock making up the Dolomites began to be formed about 250 million years ago, between the Permian and the Triassic geological periods. This corresponded with the most severe extinction of life in the history of the planet. About 96% of all marine species became extinct, as well as 70% of terrestrial vertebrates!
Consequently the mountains are key to understanding the way that life recovered from this event. In fact three of the subdivisions of the Triassic period are named after areas within the Dolomites: Ladinian, Fassanian and Cordevolian.
In the early Triassic, a large number of organisms developed that needed light to live. They began to build reefs in order to keep pace with the progressive lowering of the sea bed. They created an archipelago of islands with atolls and lagoons by extracting mineral salts from the sea and using them to build their skeletons.
Later this was transformed into the Dolomite mineral through the addition of magnesium, found in seawater. Scientists are still not sure how this happens and it is known as ‘The Dolomite Problem’. The region was affected by volcanic eruptions that often buried the reefs and fossilized them. There was then another period of reef building before land erosion covered the area in layers of fine mud. Some dinosaur footprints have been found in this mud.
The area was once again covered by sea. Red limestone - full of ammonites, belemnites and nodules of iron and manganese were deposited. Another great extinction followed as the dinosaurs and the ammonites were wiped out. The African Continent began to drift north into the European Continent. The Alps Mountain Range was created and The Dolomites were pushed up and exposed by erosion.
The Dolomites are famous for the way that they change colour at dawn and dusk to look pink, orange and sometimes even violet. This effect is known as Enrosadira and it is as a result of the Dolomite minerals in the rocks. Enrosadira is a Ladin word that means “turning pink” and the effect can vary enormously depending on atmospheric conditions. There are also particular rock faces that are coloured all day. Small amounts of iron give the dolomite crystals a yellow to brown tint and a high manganese content turn them a rosy pink colour.
 |
| Photo of Enrosadira from dolomiti.org |
Monday, 6 May 2019
Benimaurell in Valencia
Getting away to sunny places so early in the year has been wonderful but I must admit that my lack of Spanish does make things a bit more challenging and I found this to be particularly true on the HF Holiday that I was leading at Benimaurell in Valencia last week.
One of the best things about the place is its isolation but that means that you are unlikely to find people who talk English outside the hotel; including the manager of the transport company. Valencian is a dialect of Catalan so, although I have no doubt that people would understand you if you spoke Spanish, it is not their first language.
Many of the walks are in the local area and, on the two days when we use a coach to travel to Lliber and to Parcent, the journeys are short. This means that you really get to explore the local area which is famous for it's dramatic rock architecture and the Trails built by the Mozerabs.
HF used the hotel a few years ago. In fact we went on the holiday in 2010. They stopped going there for a while but are now back. We were there for the second and third week of the new holiday. The Field Adviser was there with me for a week and he'd had to make a lot of amendments to both the walks and the walks descriptions. This doesn't make things any easier.
Compared to similar HF European holidays, the walking is fairly easy which is fine on a lovely sunny day as people can come back to the hotel and relax by the pool. We had several days like this but also some cloudy days. In fact, when we arrived it was into day 2 of 4 days of torrential rain that created a lake behind Isberts Dam in the Barranc de l’Infern (Hell's Ravine). Isbert had the dam built to create a reservoir in the ravine but all the water drained away through the limestone.
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| View from Hotel: Reservoir behind Isbert's Dam before it drains away |
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| The tunnel |
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| Hotel Alahuar above the village of Benimaurell |
I would definitely recommend it as a relaxing holiday set amongst amazing scenery in an area rich with history. I must admit that I prefer the higher mountains myself. My next HF lead is in Schenna in the South Tyrol. More my kind of country.
Saturday, 13 April 2019
Glencoe Field Advisor
I feel very honoured to have been asked to be a Field Advisor for HF Holidays, especially as it's at their house near Glencoe. There are two of us doing this at Glencoe. If you've read this blog from the beginning you will know how special the place is to me, having led walks from there in the late 70s and early 80s.
Last week I was leading walks on the Glencoe Guided Walking Holiday. So it made sense to go early to set up the leader office and to check out potentially dangerous snow patches, update some walks or help to create new ones. Leaders are provided with a section of map showing where a walk goes, a written description of the route and notes about interesting aspects of the walk. So these are the documents that have to be updated or written. This is much easier now we have digital mapping software.
On the first day I discovered that the Forestry Commission had decided to harvest some of their trees right over the place where three of our walks go. I went to have a look and there was definitely no way through. I did find a way to save one of the walks by coming down the ridge rather than the valley but the other two will be out of action for a year. They say that they will re-instate the path after the work is finished. Let's hope so!
On the first day I discovered that the Forestry Commission had decided to harvest some of their trees right over the place where three of our walks go. I went to have a look and there was definitely no way through. I did find a way to save one of the walks by coming down the ridge rather than the valley but the other two will be out of action for a year. They say that they will re-instate the path after the work is finished. Let's hope so!
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| Forestry Works Notice |
I took these photographs:
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| Kinlochleven and Loch Leven in the morning |
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| Sgurr Eilde Mor and its reflection in the lochan below |
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| Binnein Beag and the Grey Corries from Sgurr Eilde Beag |
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| The Mamores from Binnein Mor South Top |
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| Loch Leven in the afternoon |
Friday, 29 March 2019
Madeira
Last week Dorothy and I flew to Madeira where I was leading walks for HF Holidays. There is plenty of good walking on the island but it is a bit more built up than La Gomera (see previous post). Some of the walking is along Levadas.
The Levadas stretch across the island carrying water from one place to another. We walked through agricultural land, moorland and Laurisilva Forest.
There is huge variety of plants on the island including exotic plants like cacti as well as plants you might find in the UK like Gorse.
We didn't just walk on Levadas. There was a sightseeing day around Funchal, a day high up in the mountains and a day on the St Lawrence Peninsula with its dramatic cliffs.
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| Levada Walking in the Laurisilva Forest |
There is huge variety of plants on the island including exotic plants like cacti as well as plants you might find in the UK like Gorse.
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| Gorse in bloom |
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| St Lawrence Peninsula |
Sunday, 10 March 2019
La Gomera
I have just got back from leading walks for HF Holidays in La Gomera, in the Canary Islands. We fly to Tenerife and then take the ferry. The island has been described as looking like a lemon squeezer because of all the ridges and valleys (barrancos) that run down from the highest point, Garajonay. The walking is on good paths but many are very rough and often on the sides of cliffs that look as if they'd be impossible to climb or traverse. Above Agulo is the amazing glass Skywalk.
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| Skywalk above Agulo |
Above the Skywalk there is a landscape of red earth reminiscent of the Australian Outback. La Gomera is volcanic but has not seen any seismic activity for two million years. That's plenty of time for erosion to create all the barrancos and expose the rock beneath.
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| Mount Teidi on Tenerife looms over the Skywalk building |
Plugs of harder rock have been left behind creating interesting shapes and structures with lots of basalt columnar jointing like the Giants Causeway in Ireland.
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| The path below El Sombrero and other rock structures |
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| Walking on Basalt in the beautiful Guarimiar Barranco |
Everywhere you go you are surrounded by Prickly Pear Cacti, Euphorbia and Agave. There is layer upon layer of strata caused by different types of volcanic eruption and caves where gas bubbles in the lava once were. Often you get views of the sea and other Canary Islands. Some walks take us to remote beaches with crashing waves. It really makes for fantastic hiking.
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| The Hermigua Valley |
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