Bear Trakker: Day 06: Chapella to Prato allo Stelvio (Bolzano)

Let me start this post by point out one thing... Gerle was correct in Bregenz when she said that we needed more blankets.

Silly me, I figured that it wasn't going to be too much colder anywhere on the trip than the previous night adjacent to the lake, where it must have dropped to a brisk but not cold 12 degrees. Cool, but bearable, especially with the newly acquired sheets and blankets.

My plan since prior to the trip has been to buy some woolen blankets in any of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and / or Tajikistan prior to ascending into the higher altitudes of the voyage where I guess that things could get seriously cold, especially if the weather is a little unseasonable. Hence, with the car already pretty full, I didn't really see any need for extra blankets on Day 05. Big mistake. It was cold, freezing bloody cold. In the morning, after it had warmed up enough to thaw out sufficiently to climb down out of the tent, the gauge in the car read 4 degrees Celsius... I'm sure it got down to less than that. It was a wet cold inside the forest and beside the river too, one that crept into the body.

I knew that Gerle wasn't impressed with my choice of sleeping materials thoughout the night, whilst trying to use me as a blanket, but It was certainly clear that she wasn't impressed after slipping on the frosty ladder and in desperate need of the toilet! My bad, and my humble pie was to get out in the freezing cold in only my underpants quick as a flash to render what first aid might be required; thankfully, despite a large and deep bruise above the knee, there wasn't any more significant damage. A broken tibia, knee or femur were all possible, which probably would have put a bit of a dampener on the holiday... We can laugh about it now in hindsight, but thank goodness it was not worse. 3 points of contact!

View from the tent in the morning.

Munt la Schera and Lago di Livigno

After administering some TLC, washing the dishes courtesy of hot water from the Kelly Kettle (first test the night before, just for the fun of it in the morning also), we departed for a fairly challenging day of driving that would see us up and over the famed Stelvio Pass.

The drive out of Switzerland was again scenic, gently winding our way up and down over various mountain passes and through picturesque Swiss / German / Italian mountainside villages. Out exit / entry point between Switzerland and Italy was the midpoint of the Punt dal Gall arch dam, forming Lago di Livigno (Lake Livigno), which is access from Switzerland via the Munt la Schera tunnel. This tunnel only single lane (with traffic lights alternating the direction of travel every 15 minutes or so), and was opened for public traffic in 1968 after being used as the primary access to the Punt dal Gall dam construction site.

Emerging from the darkness, which lasted quite a while at 50 kilometres per hour for 4 kilometres, we came out to a spectacularly coloured lake with evergreen trees down to the banks. The water level was down a bit from capacity, which provided some steep banks from which local fishermen were having a go. If the slope continued down beneath the water as it approached it, I imagine it would be quite difficult to get out if one slipped in.

After paying the toll for the tunnel in the middle of the bridge, we drove along a short distance before stopping at a roadside cafe for an espresso (me, tea (Gerle) and a panini (together). There was a deck outside from which to soak up the wonderfully clean air and bright sunshine whislt relaxing in the ambiance. We stopped for about 30 minutes, watching tourists, locals and a multitude of cyclists pass by. Heading off again, we stopped initially only for fuel in the town of Livigno, but ended up going into the town and exploring on foot. For some reason, the price of diesel in Livigno was about two thirds of what it has been everywhere else on the trip (up until Day 16 when I am actually writing this in Greece).

Wandering about Livigno, we again stocked up on food and drink, as we were planning on camping in the evening. Another fantastic selection of meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and alcoholic drinks were to be had. Leaving with prosciutto, freshly baked bread, cheese, wine, beer and some fruity liqueurs we were set.

Lago di Livigno

Punt dal Gall dam

Stopped by the roadside cafe.

Serenity all around

Enjoying the sunshine

Mountain climbing!

Mmm.... creamy ice cream and sorbetto.

Am I in heaven?

'Conquering' the 'Passo del Stelvio'

Continuing on toward our intended campsite location, we were yet to ascend or descend the Stelvio Pass beyond Bormio. After a quick stop in Bormio en route to see if we could find another blanket (fearing that we may again be at elevation sleeping in the evening) where we decided not to wait for the shops to reopen after siesta time, we headed for the slopes.

I had known about the Stelvio Pass since watching Jeremy Clarkson et al tackle the beast in an episode of Top Gear. Whilst the Prado isn't anything akin to a sportscar, I figured it would be a good driving experience anyway. I was not disappointed. Climbing the less famous southern side, it was apparent that we were going to get to some serious altitude after seeing snow well before the peak was within sight. Continuing upward, we were totally surrounded by snow cover and still we couldn't see where the summit was. Out for a few photographs, despite the wind it was a very pleasant temperature of about 15 degrees Celsius.

The summit was an attraction in itself, with a horde of businesses plying for attention. It is a base here for summer skiing, and there is apparently a 'snow boarding' university if you can belive the advertising. I guess if there are university classes teaching surfing in Australia, then why not snowboarding in Italy?

Passo del Stelvio crests at RL 2760, so still well short of our upper elevations. It was good that neither of us felt any effect from the altitude. We looked around the tourist merchandise (departing with caps to protect from the strong sunlight in the thinner atmosphere) and Bratwursts each. A few photos at the top, and then the descent began proper. The northern slope is more famed, with most of the switchbacks visible from the top. It is like one long piece of spaghetti draped in a zig zag down the side of a mountain.

After I don't know how many hairpins, we finally got down to the bottom of the pass, and at a much lower altitude than I was expecting. Tonight was going to be warmer, I was in the good books. I was even more in the good books as we entered the camping village that we had found online. This place was camping paradise, German style. Basically everything was like a 4 star hotel, except that you stayed in your own tent. We did the necessary things (washing, etc.), jumped into the pool and then unpacked the tent and had dinner in excellent dusk weather beneath the surrounding mountainside. The Italian small goods and beverages went down a treat. A great end to a great day.