Silent Hiking 9 days in the Dolomites in Autumn

ABOUT THE HIKE
In October 2022 I hiked a part of the Alta Via 2 route in the Dolimites, Italy. My route started at Passo Rodella (1870m) where I headed into the Peitlerkofelgruppe. I camped in Val della Roa just past Forcella della Roa (2617m). The second day I headed into the Puezgruppe and camped near the peak of Sass da Ciampac (2667m). Day 3 I headed down to Passo Gardena (2121m) and up into Gruppo del Sella into the fog. I passed Refugio Franco Cavazza al Piscidù (2587m) and headed through the snow to Refugio Boè without seeing a single person. On day 4 the weather had cleared and I headed down to Passo Pordoi from where I drove to Gruppo della Marmolada only to find out my originally planned route was closed off due to recent avalanche activity last summer. Plan B: I drove to Malga Ciapela, and headed up to Pas de Ombreta (2702m) on the backside of the Marmolada Gruppo. I spent the night at Bivacco Marco Dal Bianco. Day 5: Trail E650
to the peak Ombreta Orientale (3011m), then via the AV2 route to Passo de le Cirèle (2683m) and Passo San Pelligrino. On day 6 I headed to Passo Valles from whereI made my way to Bivacco Giorgio Brunner on the AV2 route, via Forcella Margherita (2655m) and Passo delle Farangole (2814m). Day 7 I merged back with the AV2, passed Refugio di Rosetta and Refugio Pradidali then headed up into the massif of Pale di San Martino Parco Naturale. I tried to reach another bivacco only to find out it was only reachable by a climbers route. Instead I wild camped on the (cold) plateau. On day 8 I headed to Passo delle Lede and down to Val Canali. From there I drove to the Tre Cime (Dreizinnen) where I spent my final night above the Dreizinnenhütte on Sasso di Sesto (2539m).

This trip is made possible by SOTO. The best stoves and cookware from Japan.

GEAR

Hiking Poles: Decathlon Forclaz MH500
Shirt: North Face Summit Series Futurefleece

This is an ambient film without dialog.

Timestamps:
0:00 Drone intro
1:09 Day 1: Golden sunset
2:59 Day 2: Camping on the mountain top
7:15 Day 3: Fog and snow to closed refuge
11:28 Day 4: Bivacco next to the tallest peak in the Dolomites
17:02 Day 5: Sleeping in a chapel
20:29 Day 6: Red bivacco in a hidden valley
24:54 Day 7: Wildcamping on the Passo San Pelligrino plateau
29:25 Day 8: To the Tre Cime (Dreizinnen)
32:47 Day 9: Tre Cime (Dreizinnen)

#hiking #solocamping #silentfilm #thedolomites #italy #thealps

[eoloeolo]

I am Italian and living in the north. I've never seen my dolomites in this way. This is exactly what I do when I go there. I walk alone, listening to the silence and watching the views, colors...good video indeed...thank you. This video is a gift to all of us...keep going...

[oniojon]

31 years old and I never thought a hiking video with no words would bring me to tears, but here we are.

[RhinoVisio]

No one on YouTube produces content as good as you. Every journey is amazing. Thank you for sharing these videos with us.

[JobanBasra]

Words couldn't even describe how well put together this is.. Probably some of the best 36 minutes of screen time in my life.

[dagek]

i think this is one of the best video I have EVER seen on you tube about the dolomites

[forestshomer]

Praise to those who went before and constructed mountain paths.

[kimixiami]

This film is definitely the jewel in the crown in the solo walk documentary.

[MrJTE]

Being alone in such an incredible and remote place, in deep connection with nature, must be one of most beautiful experiences in life.

[sturmy]

Everything is perfect. The music, the landscape, your filming. Insane work

[paulevans]

I have literally ran out of superlatives to describe your videos, I literally did not want that to end. Best YouTube hiking video I have ever seen 🤷‍♂️👏👏👌👌👍👍

[HarmenHoek]

Some random facts you might like:

1:24 This trip is mostly on the Alta Via 2 in the Dolomites, one of the tougher high routes in the area. I did not do the whole route however. I skipped several stages that are not as rough and extreme as these (ski areas for example).
2:36 What was on my mind here? Water! The Dolomites are made of very porous rocks, so there's very little water up there. I descended quite a bit before pitching my tent, but even here all the streams were completely dried up. Right after sunset, I packed all my water bottles and headed down the water. I expected to find water 2.5km down at a mapped spring, but luckily I found a brand new trough for cattle with clean water in it not too far down. Made my day.
5:10 I had my camera running here for about 10 minutes. Every time I stood up the crows would be scared off and not come back for 10 minutes. But once they returned they behaved like tamed animals.
8:50 The first real section of Via Ferrata! The Dolomites are full of sections with these steel guide lines. The sections on the AV2 aren't particularly hard and having a handrail like this gave me enough safety to not bring any climbing gear. This section was actually quite long (30min).
12:01 Ok this was funny. I hadn't seen anyone in these mountains for almost 24 hours when all the sudden a helicopter dives out of the valley, shoots over the edge without making gaining single meter too much, drops off several people and falls back down just as quickly as it came. Not sure what those people did there exactly, but it has to do with some maintenance of the refuge.
15:05 One of those moments I hike and suddenly see this perfect shot: these ibexes on a rock with the bivacco I'm heading to on the background. Then everything lined up perfectly to get this shot: the ibexes didn't move while I took of my bag, switched lenses and put up my tripod and the tripod was tall enough line up the bivacco perfectly with the ibexes. Lucky shot.
21:21 Right around here was the last time I saw someone for the next 48 hours.
23:18 I've fallen in love with these small red huts. Hard to reach, but at such beautiful and remote locations. This one was particularly beautiful. The was you hike sort of zigzag into this valley makes it that the bivacco is surrounded by vertical walls on all 4 sides. No phone reception and not a single sound expect for a few crows that stopped by. Magnificent.
25:20 22 kilos on my back feels like nothing by now. But having to hold it above my head. Whatta?!
27:40 'Highest effort'-shot I did this trip, in terms of walking distance. But only about 8 minutes back and forth.
27:59 This campingside was actually plan B. Plan A was another bivacco high up on the mountain. I got within 300 horizontal meters before finding myself at the edge of a 200m wide ravine with pinnacles several hundreds of meters tall. As it turned out (I didn't do my homework properly): it's only accessible by a climbers route.

[marinmb]

This is how you film beautiful landscapes, by showing the landscape and not someone’s face. Words are not necessary to convey the beauty of such a region. Thank you!

[DianeMarie]

The best video/photography - so beautiful! The crunch of the snow, the sound of a bird, water pouring…I’m watching as I’m ending a long day. So peaceful! Thank you for taking us along, and for all the extra walking & climbing to get those awesome distance shots. Loved the drone footage too!

[lsplatinum]

“ The day man knows peace. He will see that his inner nature is that of his beloved outer nature. From the peaks of the mountains and down to the valleys below, Along the rivers and into the sea. It is from this point a single raindrop finds its way into the ocean, for I know I am and… therefor I am HOME.”

Thank you for sharing this lovely video,
It is breathtaking to see Mother Earth at her finest.🫶💯

[chcomes]

The visuals... breathtaking. I was visiting the Dolomites last week, but of course not like this. Best visuals in the hiking YT community, no doubt in my mind.

[hikesome]

Finally an adventure in the Dolomites through your lens, they deserved it ;) Thank you for all the effort, inspiration, and passion Harmen!

[giulianapattis]

Finalmente un filmato sulle Dolomiti senza tanti commenti, qui è la natura che parla e vedere queste montagne, che d'estate brulicano di persone così desertiche, è un vero piacere dell' anima.
Grazie 😊

[dumbledebbie]

Your cinematic eye is magnificent! And I love your peaceful style of film making! Thank you for sharing such stunning places with all of us! ❤

[joeziegler]

You have shared an amazing journey, that captivates the soul and imagination of hiking the mountains. Thank you so much for sharing your talents and videography. It makes those who cannot physically do this anymore be by your side for the hike.

[morgsmountains]

It's quite simple. This gem of a film should be on television. Relaxing, stunning scenery and mountain skills on display. Thank you so much.