After the storm

The next day dawned clear and still, with the only trace of the storm being the drifts of hail and the washed away sections of footpaths.

We spent the morning drying out the remainder of our equipment and relaxing outside the hut.

As the kit dried, we watched about ten teams of climbers taking on the route. (At the same time!). We were at least glad not to be in the slow moving que up there!

After a while, we took a stroll over to the col to view down into the next valley.

The panorama from the col, which is basically the edge of the Dolomite Mountains was amazing - right across to Austria.

Then, we retraced out steps back the hut, picked up the last of our gear and hiked down to the Preuss Hutte. We arrived in time for lunch and wolfed down a big meal before descending further to the top of the road head. Here we waited for the 'mountain taxi' to come and take us the last way back to the Val di Fassa. There were way too many people queuing for the first taxi, but we managed to get a seat. Good job too as the heavens opened just as we pulled away!

Back at the van, we changed clothes and  went straight for ice creams on an undercover sofa as the storm passed over! 

Then we bid our goodbyes to the valley and the Dolomites, and got on the road. We headed north towards Austria and found a campsite near the border, where we were able to shower, dry out, and relax over some cool white wine while talking back over the trip together - particularly the epic last 48hours! What a finish!!