TRAVE+LEISURE – Think Mountain-Climbing Is Tough? Not In The Italian Dolomites

No one who knows me would ever mistake me for a mountaineer. Though I’ve happily met all manner of challenges on flat ground (including Patagonian glaciers, Australian desert, and Costa Rican rainforest), high-altitude adventures have always set me whimpering.

So recently, I decided to test my fear of heights in the cushiest possible way: with a customized, weeklong guided foray into the Italian Dolomites.

My trip, put together by newly minted tour operator Dolomite Mountains SRL (website coming soon; for now, email: info@dolomitemountains.com), guaranteed plenty of sky-high action among the region’s Alpine hiking trails and vie ferrate (climbs up sheer rock faces, aided by steel cables sunk into the cliffs). But it also promised a fascinating dose of high culture (the area boasts a unique confluence of Italian, Austrian, and ancient Ladin traditions), and high luxury (in the form of chic boutique hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants)...

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