Central Dolomites

I have long wanted to visit the Dolomites, having heard that they are one of the most amazing mountain ranges in the world. So, I jumped at the opportunity when Erin Babnik, a photographer deeply familiar with the Dolomites, announced photography workshops for this summer. The workshop was limited to eight participants and we rendezvoused with Erin and a second leader, Enrico Fossati, in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The Dolomites are a large complex range, made up of many distinct small ranges, or groups. Over the course of six days we explored three of them: Popera, Sorapis, and Tre Cime. We stayed in high rifugios (aka huttes) so that it was relatively quick and easy to get to prime locations early and late in the day.

Coming into Cortina, I drove over the Passo Sella which the Giro d'Italia cycling race had recently summitted on this year's "queen stage". I counted 25 steep, hellish switchbacks up to the pass, with many cyclist admonishments painted on the pavement – a majority seemed addressed to Vincenzo Nibali, an Italian favorite and the eventual 2016 Giro winner. The view from the pass summit was beautiful:

(Tap/click to show an interactive, moving panorama)

I have segregated my photos into albums by area, together with "Favorites" album of select images from the other albums: