Over the long Corpus Christi weekend I went hiking with my parents in the quiet Villnöss valley beneath the Geislerspitzen, a corner of the Dolomites that is less crowded than others I know. We used the three full days to explore the hiking trails along the long mountain chain, and during showers or thunderstorms we simply stopped somewhere cosy.
Between peaks and alpine pastures
The landscape was beautiful, with steep peaks above green valleys. The drone went up again too and captured the mountains from above.
Days with the family
These days in the mountains with my family will stay with me for a long time. The Geisler peaks form the ridge between Villnöss and Val Gardena and lie largely within the Puez-Geisler Nature Park; their highest summit is the Sass Rigais at 3,025 metres.
A dark ridge above the Villnöss valley, blue ranges and a contrail behind.The Geisler peaks head-on, snowfields above a dark strip of spruce.Left, the Geisler peaks above the forest; right, a detail of a summit – in black and white.A chapel with an onion dome in the meadow, the Geisler peaks behind.Sheer walls, streaks of snow running down to the forest.Long snow gullies run down from the Geisler peaks into the dark conifer forest.Left, a ridge in the mist; right, a steep rock face.Pale lilac, fringed flowers on thin stems on the forest floor.Left, a stream in the conifer forest; right, a spruce in front of the snowy peaks.Two rock walls frame a slender spire in the mist.Snow and scree on the steep slope, meadows and houses in the valley on the right.Rocky spires in the mist beneath a vast pale sky.Rock towers in thick, swirling mist – when the showers came we simply stopped for a break indoors.Rocky summits behind spruces, snow on the scree fans.Two rock towers in cloud and mist, snow between the walls.Small blue star-shaped flowers among the grasses.Left, a single tower; right, the whole chain above the meadows.The long chain of the Geisler peaks with large snowfields – the highest summit, Sass Rigais, stands at 3,025 metres.A broad rocky ridge flecked with snow beneath a grey sky.Snow gullies and rock ribs up close beneath the clouds.A meadow with scattered spruces and a path in front of the Geisler peaks.The Geisler peaks with snowfields above an almost black foreground.Side light on the towers, snow and dark spruces in front.Veils of cloud above the Geisler peaks, the dark forest edge in front.The village church with its pointed spire in the Villnöss valley, the Geisler peaks behind.A log hut with a rusty tin roof in a flower meadow below the Geisler peaks.A winding road through meadows and conifer forest in the Villnöss valley.The winding road in front of the snowy Geisler peaks, in black and white.Two huts and a winding track across the green meadow.Clouds rest on the summits, pale snow gullies in the rock below.Meadows and forest in front of the cloud-shrouded Geisler peaks.Rugged rock edges with mist drifting over, in black and white.A steep rock flank flecked with snow above the conifers.Paths, patches of snow and scattered houses on the alpine pasture.Winding pasture tracks, a snowfield and a pale zigzag line.Horizontal, cracked wooden beams of a hut.Light green, feathery fern fronds.Left, the towers; right, a ridge – in black and white.A branching pale stream bed and paths in the forest.A layered rock face flecked with snow, pale peaks behind.Left, a rocky plateau flecked with snow; right, a wall in the mist.A green ridge with a path, clouds hanging in the rock flanks – days that will stay in the memory for a long time.
