Approaching the peaks

After arriving at the foot of the mountain, our two guides gave us helmets and harnesses– at which point I internally thought “ohh f-ck, this is real.” We hiked uphill for a solid hour(?) before we went through the first tunnel. Then we clipped on to metal ropes and crossed through the face of the cliff. I was terrified, to say the least. I was almost completely hyperventilating and my head was spinning. The humane terror of knowing that if I slipped, it was only these metal clips sheltering me from Death. And the views were absolutely breathtaking. I would look up from my feet– unsteadily placed– and just lose myself in the looming, beautiful mountains stretching far and miraculously tall. I have never experienced anything like this before. I nearly broke down crying at each terrifying junction, and when I reached the end of that stretch, I could not stop the tears. Standing there, surrounded by my friends, unable to take my eyes off of the expansive mountains stretching across the horizon, I cried. I couldn’t– and still can’t– put to words the emotions I experienced. It was sublimity– subliminal– sublime. 

In the middle of it…

The next part of the hike was a 1.5-2 hour trek through an uphill tunnel. Stair after stair, floor after floor, one foot after another, it never ended. I retreated inside my mind, held by the darkness and chill in the air. I was entirely within myself– it was meditative. My legs grew numb with exertion, and my mind quiet. Still. I haven’t experienced such serenity (lack of anxiety, as I first described it) in so long. My mind constantly races, but it was still with the shock of sublimity. 

When we finally reached the end of the uphill tunnel, all I could see was a door. Or, a bright light shining in the shape of a door, starkly contrasting with the dark expanse of the tunnel. And when we stepped out, we were immersed in the clouds among the peaks. I hadn’t quite realized how far we had climbed on those stairs, but here we were, on a peak. The subsequent 30 minute hike the rest of the way to Lagazuoi was breathtaking. Finally out of my shock, I collected some samples of the plants on the trail. 

When we got to the rifugio on the top of the mountain, the first thing I did was shed my helmet. Then I had a delicious cappuccino and tagliatelle al ragu with my friends. 

Un cappuccino