Known as the 'high route of the legends' due to the high altitude and technical terrain, the Alta Via 2 spans 110 miles with 12,000m of elevation, and stunning vistas offered by the Via Ferrata. Read on for Bee's top 5 fastpacking tips for the Alta Via 2...
After successfully fastpacking the GR20 solo last year (my first European hiking trip), I decided to make a trip to the mountains of Europe a yearly thing.
It has been on my list for some time and having completed the GR20, known as the toughest trail in Europe, in 7.5 days I decided that the Alta Via 2 would be the perfect long distance trail to fastpack.
At 110 miles with 12000m of elevation and some Via Ferrata across the Dolomites in Northern Italy, it sounded like the perfect trip.
My intention was to do this solo, but I had kept in touch with Nathan who I had met on the GR20, and with minimal discussion or planning we somehow arranged to do it together.
Flights to Venice were booked and we gave ourselves 12 days to do the trail. Having just done the Lakeland 50 the Sunday before we flew out, I was looking forward to taking it easy.
I should have known better, I’m not sure I know how to take it easy, and we ended up doing it in 8 days, with 4 nights camping and 3 in Rifugios.
The plan was, well, there was no plan to be honest. We had tents and the aim was to go as far as we could each day and pitch up near to a Rifugio, so that we weren’t having to carry anything other than emergency food.
This would have been a great plan if I didn’t discover on day 1 that I had forgotten to pack my tent poles.
Being the intrepid adventurer I am though, I managed to make it work with walking poles and elastic bands. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a functioning tent.
Day one was tough, constant uphill on tired legs from my Ultra, the heat and then camping through a thunder and lightening storm made it a tough start, but with a lot of laughter, we survived.
As the days went on the views got better, the terrain more varied and at times it really did feel very remote. To pass time we counted Marmots, Ibex, Chamois and various other animals we seen en route and I became slightly obsessed with the amount of alpine flowers on display.
The views were phenomenal, the Via Ferrata was amazing, although a tad scary at times, and the food was delicious.
The Alta Via 2 is definitely not for the faint hearted or inexperienced hikers. The terrain is challenging and some of the Via Ferrata was quite adrenaline inducing.
I feel very comfortable on exposed terrain, and even I found a few sections interesting. But I think you can avoid or bypass most via ferrata sections and still enjoy everything the AV2 has to offer.
So, here are my 5 top tips for fastpacking the Alta Via 2:
If you are looking to move quickly and scamper your way through the mountains, then I wouldn’t recommend taking a tent. It was great to have it, but there were so many Rifugios, especially on the first half of the AV2, that going hut to hut would have been just as easy.
We didn’t book any in advance but of the 3 nights we stayed in Rifugios, we had no issues getting space when we arrived. Carrying my tent, sleeping matt and sleeping bag, added an extra 2.4kg weight to my rucksack and I’m just not sure it was worth it.
I highly recommend the guide books from Cicerone. I used their GR20 book last year and got the AV2 one for this trip. Its a pocket sized book that contains lots of useful information about the route, from how to get there, flora and fauna, Rifugio information and loads more.
It also comes with a 1:25000 map booklet, which has the mapping and the break down of the route into 13 stages, including Rifugios, distance and elevation. This was great to look over at the start of a day to give us an idea of what we could cover.
Now I love a solo trip and most of my trips, especially in Scotland are solo adventures, but I think I would have struggled doing the AV2 solo. It’s a great route and perfectly safe to do solo, but it seemed to lack the camaraderie that I’ve experienced on the West Highland Way and the GR20.
I think due to the amount of Rifugios, cable cars and days hike routes along the way, mean that it loses the feeling that we are all in it together. Despite August being one of the busiest months, I think we only met 6 other people who were doing the AV2 and that was only the last 2 days. Most folk seemed to be day hikers, or doing sections of the AV2, but not the whole thing.
Also towards the end of the route, we barely passed anyone going the same way as us. With it being quite a tough route and with some tricky Via Ferrata sections, I’m glad I had the company for this one, otherwise I think it would have potentially been quite a lonely adventure.
This is a must for me and so much fun, but I do love a memento. You can get an AV2 Passport at the Rifugios and every Rifugio has a stamp, so you stamp your ‘passport’ to say you’ve been there, and then at the end once you’ve completed the Alta Via 2, you go to the Tourist Information in the Old Town, Feltre, present your stamps and you get an AV2 Stamp, and AV2 pin badge and you get to sign the AV2 book, which was very exciting.
Now I didn’t pick up a passport, as I didn’t realise until we had been to a few, but what I did was use the inside covers of the Cicerone map bookelt, which has now became the perfect little memory of my trip with all my Rifugio stamps.
These are an absolute must! The never-ending up hills and the scree descents would have been a nightmare without them. Also perfect for pitching your tent, if like me, you forget to pack your tent poles.
