Dolomites

Laura and Rich Bertenshaw climb Ivano Dibonna Via Ferrata in the Dolomites

Vertical Limit

Imagine scaling the sheer walls of a mountain, gripping onto metal rungs and wires, while admiring the stunning scenery of the Alps, the Mediterranean, or the Canadian Rockies. This is the thrill of Via Ferrata, or “Iron Way”, a type of climbing that originated in the First World War as a way for soldiers to traverse the rugged terrain of the Dolomites.

Alpine Escapes

When I started 2020, I was almost mountain fit. Not rock-climbing fit, you understand, but skiing down. I spent the last six months of 2019 working on a fitness routine to kick start myself into a 2020 season of incredible heli skiing in New Zealand, British Columbia and Japan.

Corvara – Dolomites

As the temperature plummets and the frost sits longer, I often stare out my window in the morning, coffee in hand, and think about all the times I’ve woken up surrounded by freshly fallen snow in Alpine escapes. Winter is a calling for some of us; a return to the pistes of Europe and beyond; a time to get back to nature, to reconnect with the mountains in a way only those who chase the snow will understand. I still have many things to tick off on my alpine bucket list – the Cresta Run, Japanese powder, and the unbound wilds of Canada – but one trip remains at the…

Hotel Rosa Alpina

Having skied most of Europe over the past five years, some places twice, it was time that the team headed to pastures pinker. The Hotel Rosa Alpina resides in San Cassiano in the Dolomites, the epitome of Italian charm. If Peter Sarstedt’s ‘Jet Set’ needs a new bolt hole, San Moritz is out, San Cassiano is in. The small town of San Cassiano is located at the foot of Mount Lavarela. With a population of under 1000 people, it is a welcome change from the hedonistic attitude and footfall of its more meretricious cousins. We shan’t name names. San Casiano is more of a sybaritic escape for the great, the…