After visiting the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps I can say one thing with certainty: overall the Alps as a region have a very distinctive architectural style (regardless of what side of a line drawn on a piece of paper they happen to now be on).
This trip found me for the second time in the Italian Alps, though a much different part. The dolomites. North-eastern Italy.
The mountains of the Dolomites have a distinct character. And despite the numerous snowfields and towering peaks, there is not only no heli-skiing, but in general no off-piste/back country skiing. Not to say there’s no heli-skiing in Italy. From the next valley helicopters serve more northern snowfields, but shockingly none in this region. These peaks are protected in Italy, and a recent inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list. I met some locals who are hoping to gain access in near future, but there’s none for now. That doesn’t stop a select few from climbing ridges out of bounds or hopping through the trees (which is not labeled as prohibited, but illegal!). Yet most happily stick to the groomers, and complain when it’s not perfect corduroy. A racer’s paradise (just looking to be exploited by the powder hounds of the world).
With ample snowfall you can easily go out of bounds. The question is, do you want to? Wet heavy snows are typical, along with freezing conditions, followed by more wet snow. On steep slopes, the layering of frozen hard-pack and fresh heavy snow makes for a dangerous combination. And though the weather was far too warm for fresh snow, every day of my week here saw slides.
It was warm, even hot, spring-skiing conditions during my visit to Madonna Di Campiglio. Beautiful, but every day as the warm, melting snow compacted on itself there were new slides, big and small. Each afternoon cracks and fissures appeared on the upper peaks, and frequently under lifts/between groomed runs, that weren’t there in the morning.
I’d love to ski this area in the middle of winter after a big snowfall, but not without an avalanche beacon. And living at the beach nowadays, it’d be nice to have a few days to acclimatize to the elevation too!
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- Heading out. Newark Airport. It’s for the birds. Literally.
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- Lots of long, winding tunnels here in the Dolomites.
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- Working upwards through the connected valleys are scattered numerous small villages with massive churches.
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- An old, mountain local at Madonna Di Campiglio. Try as I might, I could not get a good head-on shot of this gentleman why trying to be not-so-obvious. Maybe I should have.
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- Snowfields above Campiglio.
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- Despite near t-shirt wearing warmth, there was still an amazing amount of snow.
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- Three things of note in this photo: (1) all the little slides (the main face let go later that day!), (2) the massive cracks and fissures forming across the slope, (3) that is not dirt showing through due to melt, but SAND blown from the Sahara Desert deposited a few weeks before my arrival. Yes, sand from the Sahara in the Italian Dolomites.
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- The saddle between the peaks is Grosté ski area, seen from across the valley from the top of Pradalago.
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- The steep peaks of the Dolomites.
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- More sand from the Sahara Desert and more mini-slides. The face to the right of this image slide the next day.
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- Cima Brenta and Cima Tosa towering high above Madonna Di Campiglio, nestled on the valley floor.
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- The snow-covered mountain village of Madonna Di Campiglio.
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- Festivities start for the Dolomite’s Fire torchlight parade for charity. You can see the blending of cultures in this once Austrian, now Italian territory.
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- Artistic detailing in the railings.
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- Details shot through details.
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- Steep cobbled streets.
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- I love the juxtaposition here of the large carved bear, seemingly lurking around the corner from the figurine of the queen holding a baby, just on the other side of the window.
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- Alpine architecture at its finest.
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- The main square in Campiglio.
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- Overlooking the village of Tione Di Trento. Roughly 1000 m below Campiglio, it’s still nestled in it’s own valley up in the Alps.
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- A sea of orange roof tiles.
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- Heavy chains required during winters around here.
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- An old farm house in the foothills, halfway to Milan.
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- Another view of the farmhouse. Not sure which composition I prefer…zoomed in as previous, or pulled back here (nearly identical tones and contrast as the previous when converted to b/w).
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- One of the bigger slides at 5 Laghi, viewed from over the gondola.
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- Another view of the slide at 5 Laghi. The crowd of skiers help put this to scale. (Notice the large cracks forming along the entire slope to the left…)
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- Crews hard at work with shovels and a chain saw clearing snow off the roof while tourists sun themselves out front.
Select prints will be available shortly from the DriftwoodFoto online galleries/storefronts: Mountains and Snow and Fine Art. Please also feel free to email sales@driftwoofoto.com for all inquiries and orders.
Benjamin Ginsberg and Driftwood Photography Studios (DriftwoodFoto) is based out of Huntington Beach, CA.