To reach the next, more difficult part of the climb, we must hike. As I trudge wearily on tired
legs after my goat-like guide, my mind wanders back to the previous day. For this was not the first hike of my trip, not the first time I had risen early and unquestioningly followed an inscrutable guide. Yesterday I had been richly rewarded for my physical exertions and faith with the opportunity to explore first-hand the setting for one of the most dramatic episodes of WWI.
When Italy joined the Great War in 1915, the Alta Badia Valley went from being a forgotten Austrian backwater to the frontline in a conflict between rival empires. The Austro-Hungarians set their defensive frontline right through the Dolomite mountains, knowing that they could retain control of the valleys by using the mountain peaks as observation posts and artillery stations. They created some of the first via ferratas by fixing ropes and ladders to the cliffs to help move troops and artillery to the summits.
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