Monte Piano/a. An example for the war in the Dolomites.

The “Flat Mountain”
The charter document of Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria for the endowment of the Abbey of Innichen is the first recorded use of the name “Monte Plano” (the flat mountain) in the year 769. This relatively small massif lies in the border region of the autonomous province of Bozen and the province of Belluno. It is bounded on the west by the Höhlenstein valley. To the north lies the Rienz valley, to the south, the Val Popena Bassa, and to the east is the Valle di Rimbianco. The plateau is geographically divided into the north crest (Monte Piano) and the south crest (Monte Piana).
The easiest way to access the region is from the north, through the Höhlenstein valley, which runs from Toblach toward Cortina d’Ampezzo and is an important connection between the Puster valley in the north and Veneto in the south. This connection has presumably been around since the crusades (around 1100 to 1300.) The modern road through the Höhlenstein valley was built in 1832. At Schluderbach, a branch road heads off toward Misurina. From there, a path and a road run up to the Rifugio Angelo Bosi. Other ways to get up on the mountain or plateau come from the north, the east, and even from the west.
To avoid border disputes between the Habsburg Empire and Venetia, a border stone was set up on Monte Piana back in 1753. In 1797, Venetia joined the Habsburg monarchy due to the Peace of Campo Formio. When Venetia fell to the Kingdom of Italy after the third war of independence in 1866, Monte Piana became an important strategic military point.

The “South Front”
After war was declared by Italy on Austria-Hungary in May of 1915, both parties sought to occupy important strategic parts of the front in the mountains. The western part of the massively contested “south front” extends from the Ortler region to the south, crosses the region north of Lake Garda, and runs on to the east until just before the gates of the current small town of Asiago (Venetia, province of Vicenza.) The eastern part of the front then runs from Asiago to the north, up to the Rolle pass, then on over the Marmolada to the Sexten Dolomites. First along the Karnisch Alps to the Julian Alps, the south front is bounded on the east by Isonzo (Slovene: Socá) before the front line runs southward again to the Trieste basin.

Battle Before the “Drei Zinnen”
Because the front runs like this, the region on Monte Piano/Monte Piana became a scene of war and conflict between Austria-Hungary and Italy, starting in June 1915. The north crest (Monte Piano) was occupied by the mountain troops of the Imperial and Royal Monarchy, while the south crest (Monte Piana) was taken by Italian “Alpini” troops. Fierce fighting raged between the enemy positions, with huge consumption of resources.
The objective of the Italian troops was to push forward to Toblach. The battles that took place between summer of 1915 and autumn of 1917, however, brought no territorial gains to either side. Tunnels, trenches, checkpoints, and watchtowers still bear witness to the fighting today, which is thought to have claimed 14,000 dead.

Dolomites: etymology & touristic milestones

The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England in the late 18th century brought upheaval to the Alpine region. Viewed as threatening and eerie until the late modern era, the Alps were being discovered as an attractive destination for tourists and mountaineers. Initially Switzerland was most popular among mountaineers.

 

Etymology
The “Pale Mountains”, as the Dolomites are also known, did not gain popularity among mountaineers until several decades later. In the early stages of this development it was scientists who became interested in this region. French researcher Deodat de Dolomieu (1750 – 1801) went on several excursions to the Tyrol mountains around the year of 1790. He described these seemingly familiar calcareous rocks as non-calcitic minerals. Chemical examinations confirmed his suspicions. Initially only a handful of English-speaking mineralogists used the term “Dolomites” in their papers. This changed as soon as the first, English mountaineers and tourists arrived. J. Gilbert and G.C. In 1864 George Cheetham Churchill published his book “The Dolomite Mountains” in London. In it Gilbert and Churchill describe in great detail the excursions on which they went in Tyrol, Kaernten, the Carnic Alps, and Friuli. The term “Dolomites” was used for the first time to refer to this entire region. Renowned geologists at that time rejected the term. After the First World War, however, this term was widely used in general speech but also in science.

 

Touristic milestones
There are a number of key developments that led to the eastern Alpine region being developed as a tourist destination and as a destination for business. These key developments are of great importance and some of them even took place in the 21st century. Here are some of them:

• alpine clubs were founded in Austria and Germany in the 1860s. Hiking trails were established and improved, signposts were put up, small mountain huts were built, and the training of guides first began.
• at the end of the first/second half of the 19th century rail links were being built. When the Pustertalbahn railway started operating between Lienz and Franzensfeste in the autumn of 1871, travelling to the northern Dolomites became relatively easy, fast, predictable, and comparatively cheap. The railway became central to tourism in the region. This trend continued up until the second half of the 20th century.
• the innkeepers’ commitment and their hard work and determination helped build businesses in the hospitality sector. It is these people who, thanks to their vision, have made a huge contribution to the development of tourism in the region.

 

Important first ascents
The second half of the 19th century saw important peak victories in the Dolomites. Irish natural scientist and mountaineer John Ball climbed Monte Pelmo (3168 m) in 1857. This was the first ascent of a mountain in the Dolomites by a tourist. Vienna-born Paul Grohmann went on a few important first ascents with a local guide. These took him to Marmolata (1864), the Langkofel (1869) or the Grosse Zinne (1869). In the Dolomites of Prags (Braies) it was Viktor Wolf Edler von Glanvell who, with a combination of careful planning, a great sense of direction, and the courage to go on an adventure, discovered new ascents and actually used these routes himself.

hiking is healthy

Hiking is beneficial for body and soul, our grandparents already told us so decades ago. Today, scientists have proved that a certain kind of hiking can benefit your health even after just a short while. Already on short distances, hiking combined with coordination and relaxation exercises can verifiably make you healthier. For example, your body weight is reduced, your BMI improves and blood pressure decreases.

Researchers of the Halle-Wittenberg University were able to scientifically prove this, as quoted by Christine Merkel, member of the German Hiking Association in Kassel. The Hiking Association has developed this concept of so called Health Hiking together with physio therapists of the technical college Osnabrück; they have also initiated the current survey. To make this happen, 18 employees met twice a week for seven weeks to hike in accordance with the certified concept. 16 not active employees of the same age group were taken as a comparison group.

Merkel explains that “the hikes were set up for one and a half hours.” Depending on the terrain, the participants covered 3.7 to 5.6 kilometers during each hike. Every time, the averagely 53.6 year old hikers that did not take part in any other kind of sport activity spent one hour in motion. During each hike, they stopped twice to complete physiotherapeutic exercises. (…)

(…)The health status of hikers and comparison group was checked by the researchers, once before the hikes and then again seven weeks later. No changes were seen in the comparison group. The active group’s weight had been reduced by 1.3 kilograms on average. Their blood pressure was better; their heart rate had gone from 131 to 122 under the same hiking conditions. And also their stamina, determined through lactate values and the oxygen level in their blood, had increased, as Merkel explained. Furthermore, their coordination skills had also improved.