Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: ian mcenery on June 30, 2009, 01:10:54 PM
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Pam and I visited the Dolomites for a week from the 15 June this year. It is our 3rd visit and it is still wonderful just love those towering rock faces. For me it is the nearest thing to a religious experience.
Our first day was up to the Pordoi and a walk up to the high ridge (puff puff pant) above the viel del Pain
walking up
daphne cneorum
Pulsatilla vernalis various
A bird would like an ID please it shared lunch with us
an ant stealing some of my lunch
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And some more of the first day
Eritrichium nanum
The kings view
Gentiana verna
Anemone baldensis
verna showing variation
Geum reptans or montana
Primula halleri
Primula minima varios showing habitat
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and some more from day one
Ranunculs glacialis I am sure someone may be interested ;) Growing on the top of the ridge and with a vertical drop beneath I was being very careful
Sax oppositifolia
Soldanella alpina the snow had goe only a day or so earlier showing how many there were
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last of day one
Can anyone ID this plant please?
Vitalina (I still think of it as Douglasia)
Sassolungo my favourite mountain
Trollius
View of part of the Sella massif
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Great start Ian ! :D
We can never get enough of this wonderful mountainrange... and of it's gorgeous flora !
Keep 'em coming please ! 8)
Thanks !
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An adorable place, Ian, Great photographs.
Paddy
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Thank heavens that so many of the Forumists like to make holiday trips! 8)
Spectacular photos, Ian..... so MANY Soldanellas!!
Your unknown seems to be a Rhodiola rosea or whatever name it is going under these days :-\
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A real paradise found, Ian, what an exhilarating experience even virtually ;)
Fabulous photos of plants at home on this dramatic range of mountains the primula minima 2 shot feels like we're on the slope - what a sight! Ranunculs glacialis is quite ethereal too and in peak condition :)
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Great pics Ian. For the "get dizzy three feet in the air" types, like me, this is the way to enjoy mountains.
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Magnificent! I especially like some of the moody views, looking forward to more :)
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Ian,
You are right it is Vitaliana primuliflora (syn. Androsace vitaliana, Douglasia vitaliana, Primula vitaliana) I visited this place very often. Thanks. :)
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Oh Ian ... what a wonderful start. Three more long days and we'll be there! I hope those buttercups cling on until I can focus on them. I trust I can be as careful as you, but my track record isn't particularly good. ;D
Can't wait to see more of your lovely images.
Kind regards to you both.
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A bird would like an ID please it shared lunch with us
Hi Ian, Super pictures, thanks for showing them. I'm champing at the bit waiting for the end of term.
Your bird is a Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis), http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?f=43124 (http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?f=43124)
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Thanks all for your encouragement and information.
Diane I expected to see you at Rob and Diane's tonight. Great garden by the way in superb condition
Here is day 2 a little quieter because we were visiting a new location on a north facing slope. This is known as the Cinque Torri which was an Italian first world war fortified spot and there are trenches or rather caves throughout these rocks. Unfortunately for them it was overlooked by the Austrians who were "dug" in on the higher Laguzoi. A fascinating area for those interested in such things
The Cinque Torri
View down to Cortina
I think Croda de Lago
Soldanella Pusilla
How much was that insurance for? ;D
Rhodothamnus all doing well in shade and on a north facing aspect. Later I will show just how adaptable this plant seems tp be
Views on the way down
Oth
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Oh Ian!! :o So many wonderful things. The Primula minima is just so cute, and the little Soldanella pusilla. Beautiful! 8)
Thank you to yourself and all the others who are giving us the mountain tours of places I'll likely never get to visit. So many wondrous plants growing in the wild. Yes I know that everything grows (or used to grow) somewhere in the wild, but it still blows me away every time I see pictures like this. Thank you all so much. :-*
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Day 3 and up to St Croce. A lovely place which face West. We first climbed to follow the high path skirting the high cliffs wit some screes and then descended through some wonderful alpine meadows to Pedraces
St Croce views
Sasshonger from St Croce
Rhodothamnus habit and examples. Although we saw these in amy places these were the most fully flowered, largest and most beautiful plants we saw
Rhododendron most were not yet in flower
A meadow just below the screes where this was dominated by G verna, acaulis and Primula farinosa
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more of day 3
The meadow mentioned in the last post and G Acaulis
Papaaver rhaeticum
Picnic
view back to St Croce
Orchids
Pedicularis
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Lovely, Ian.
Many thanks, Paddy
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Ian,
wonderful picture tour - it is always a great pleasure to see the wild Dolomits with its flora and fauna 8) 8) 8)
Thanks for posting.
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Thanks Ian, took me back to St Croce in February when it was just a little colder and whiter! Only 2 1/2 weeks to go till we're back again. Hope you didn't use up all this year's quota of good weather
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and the last from day 3
Alpine meadows with amazing displays will probably be even better now
Aster alpinus
Campanula barbata
Campanula latifolia
Geranium sylvaticum
a well deserved tipple ;)
Salvia
clematis alpina
Looking back
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Martin it warmed up just before we arrived and by the end of the holiday it was decidedly cold with north winds but nothing to stop us except that much of the snow had not yet melted. All had gone from St Croce though
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Super photo series Ian, many thanks for the tour!
The orchid has an intense colour to it, did you ID it?
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Ian, what magnificent pictures of a beautiful piece of the Dolomites and the flowers.
Cannot get enough of seeing such pictures. Thanks a lot.
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Ian,
Your photographs reaffirm my opinion that the meadow meadows and their flowers are outstandingly beautiful and, for me, far more enjoyable than the upper reaches of the mountains.
Paddy
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Ian,
Your photographs reaffirm my opinion that the meadow meadows and their flowers are outstanding beautiful and, for me, far more enjoyable than the upper reaches of the mountains.
Paddy
I agree, Paddy.... but the dramatic high tops make a fabulous backdrop, don't they?
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Ian,
Your photographs reaffirm my opinion that the meadow meadows and their flowers are outstanding beautiful and, for me, far more enjoyable than the upper reaches of the mountains.
Paddy
I agree, Paddy.... but the dramatic high tops make a fabulous backdrop, don't they?
I too love the meadow flowers but it is the scenery I mainly go for. The feeling that you get when high up in the mountains particularly when you are on your own or sharing with someone close is hard to describe but let us say it is definitely good for the soul. The walk this day was up to the Laguzoi a walk we had done before by using the cable car to make the main ascent. This was also the plan this time BUT the cable car was having a major refurb so after some discussion we decided to walk up to the ridge. There was some small snowfields to negotiate but nothing desperate but there were few flowers when we made the col only soldanellas and a few sax oppositifolias. However the frisson felt when trying to find the path in the snow, the occasional difficlty of crossing a snowfield and the fact that we saw no one at all gave the enterprise an edge
The first shot shows the route which is to ascend the ridge just visible to the left
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and a few more
The way down and the view
some WW1 fortifications including some carved into Tofano truly amazing
Phyteuma comosa
Daphne striata
Dryas there was a lot
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Continuing magnificently Ian!
I disagree with the opinion that the meadows beat the high places. (And I guess you like the high places given the efforts you have made to visit them ;)) However you have confirmed in my mind that an early visit offers the best of the meadows. I am moved (you did say like a religious experience I think) by the high mountain places and the flowers that brighten them, the senses are always vibrant after the effort of getting there which heightens the experience.
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Glorious! 8)
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Brian, thanks so much for posting those magnificent views and terrains, not to mention rock strata that you captured with a head for heights! I think both regions of the mountains have their own magical call and perhaps it is the solitude and time to think that heightens the experience of discovery whether it is rare or common - could also be the adrenaline rush getting to the top ;D
In between the views you found some real gems - linaria-alpina is something I would love to see in situ - the colour combination says it all: 'look at me!'
Bees must have a head for heights too - I wonder if they have to acclimatise ???
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Robin,
That Linaria was the most impressive pic for me too. Such a fantastic colour. 8)
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Such amazingly beautiful places! Thank you for posting!
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holy cow! (speaking of religious experiences ;)
thanks for the wonderful tour, ian--both plants and views are incredible!
for me there is nothing like the extreme environments and the plants that inhabit them--i love forests and meadows and ponds too, of course, but high alpine areas, deserts, windswept plateaus and cliffs with the few species specialised enough to thrive in these severe places-- usually small, with interesting foliage and outsized flowers--all my favourite things!
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We are out here in Corvara in the Dolomites enjoying these magnificent places for ourselves once again. We are in the middle of a sixteen day wildflower-walk leading holiday and the meadows and screes are superb, simply overflowing with orchids, campanulas, gentianellas and a veritable host of other glorious blooms. Many images to post on our return. We have tried to post a number during our stay but the internet connection will not allow such extravagances. :D
Best wishes and kind regards to you all.
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Cliff, please leave a few flowers for next week won't you. I don't want them all camera shy because you've been overdoing it!
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We are out here in Corvara in the Dolomites enjoying these magnificent places for ourselves once again. We are in the middle of a sixteen day wildflower-walk leading holiday and the meadows and screes are superb, simply overflowing with orchids, campanulas, gentianellas and a veritable host of other glorious blooms. Many images to post on our return. We have tried to post a number during our stay but the internet connection will not allow such extravagances. :D
Best wishes and kind regards to you all.
Wondered why it was all so quiet on the Dolomite front after you posted the blue butterfly - can't wait to see your photos on your return - have a great time :)
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Robin ...and others...... don't forget that in the main SRGC website, under the Monthly Feature section: se here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/monthfeature/content.html ......
there are no less than SIX articles by Cliff on the Dolomites, the articles are titled
Land Of Coral - Mountains Of Dreams ... there are hundreds of photos!
Enjoy!
Also, apart from two Dolomite threads in the forum this year, there are also two from previous years in the forum......
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=734.0 and http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2111.0.
And.... in the Old Forum.... there is this: http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/4/36776.html from Franz H. in 2006.
So, not to put a damper on anyone, but there is no shortage of photo reports from the Dolomites to enjoy!
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Many thanks for that, Maggi ... I have still managed to take 1700 images so far (with almost a week to go), so the flowers, landscapes, pollinators and local interest shots are still available in these incredible mountains.
Thanks Robin for your kind anticipation - lots of interesting images will no doubt appear when time allows.
Martin,
We have left enchanting meadows untouched, magnificent screes untrod, burgeoning woodlands unsullied and untold thousands of orchids unphotographed - weather permitting you should have a field day! Pralongia, Sella, Cinque Torre, the meadows on the Pordoi, Val Gardena, Piz Boe, the screes above the EidelwiesserHutte, Campitello, etc. etc. - all are awaiting you - have a magnificent time and we await your thousands of images with equal and eager anticipation. The sun is coming out this week and the flowers are performing to their very best.
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Droolls uncontrollably at the prospect......then remembers he has to keep the boss happy as well ::) I seem to remember the 'yes, we can go but you're not spending two weeks staring at flowers!' statement.
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As an indicator, Martin, during the past few days we have seen Ranunculus glacialis, Eritrichium nanaum, Linaria alpina, Soldanellas by the hundred and Geum reptans in full bloom at the top of the Porta Vescova cable car out of Arabba; We have enjoyed meadows of many thousands of orchids on Pralongia; the screes and cliffs below Sassongher are alive with Ranunculus alpestris, Thlaspi rotundifolium, Potentilla nitida rubra, Paederota bonarota and various gentians by the bucket loads.
You are almost guaranteed to see most of your special plants, but not Cypripedium of course, they have gone over at Campitello.
My absolute recommendation though is to visit Cinque Torre and spend an eternity strolling this magnificent site - you will find everything from Pulsatilla alpina (and apiifolia), P. vernalis (STILL in bloom), Gentiana acaulis and G. verna at their best, Trollius, soldanellas making their holes in the remaining snow, Primula farinosa, Clematis alpina, louseworts in profusion, geraniums, Dactylorhiza majalis swarms and too many other beautiful plants to list.
Have a tremendous holiday and enjoy!
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It must be paradise Cliff to be in 7th heaven ;)
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Thanks for the tips Cliff. I wonder how many handbags going all those places is going to cost me!
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Go on Martin, be the master in your own house!! :P
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You're living dangerously David, the boss reads this stuff over my shoulder ;D
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;D ;D Sorry Mrs R. I knows me place in our household.
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Go on Martin, be the master in your own house!! :P
Martin, he's only saying this cos Maureen must be out! ;D
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You guessed! ;D
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You guessed! ;D
Yes ! ;D You forget, David, that in spite of my incredibly youthful appearance..... I have been a wife for a very long time and so am well versed in the behaviour of husbands....sadly, my own attempts to train the BD are a constant reminder of my failure to fully comprehend the psyche of "the other half" but I understand most of the basics! :-X
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Maggi,
As long as he's reasonably toilet trained you should be happy. We're male after all... you can't expect TOO much from us. ;D
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Dolomitaphiles will enjoy John Richard's A Northumberland Gardener's Diary over on the AGS Site.
http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/diaries/Northumberland/+July+/212/
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Dolomitaphiles will enjoy John Richard's A Northumberland Gardener's Diary over on the AGS Site.
http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/diaries/Northumberland/+July+/212/
I wish I hadn't, David, as I now see that Vitaliana is back as an Androsace again! ???
cheers
fermi
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Must be the ping-pong ball of the plant world Fermi ;D