Sunrise over the Dolomites
The first notes of Eddie Wedder’s Rise fill the room’s darkness, pulling me out of a deep sleep. I reach for the phone and stop the alarm. The clock marks 05:00 AM. I sigh. From under the soft duvet, the idea of going out in the cold is all but appealing. I just want to curl up and keep sleeping. But I can’t. We have an appointment with sunrise – and sunrise does not wait.
At 05:45 AM we meet with the others in Ronchi, near Moena, in the direction of Passo San Pellegrino. In the dark, one by one I discern my travel buddies’ sleepy faces. A few greetings, not many words. It is too early for conversation. It is too early to even think.
In silence, we get on the first of the two Lusia cable cars that will take us up to Le Cune summit, at 2,200m (7,217ft). Taking the cable car at night is quite the odd experience: as soon as the cabin leaves the station, it is engulfed by darkness and you feel like you’re floating in outer space.
When we get to the top, it’s only a couple of minutes past six. Our timing is perfect. Subtly, the majestic outline of the Pale di San Martino Group takes shape right in front of our eyes, like it’s being sketched out of the night.
Slowly, the outline becomes clearer and clearer, and the landscape gains more detail, like a painting being slowly unveiled.
The cold light of dawn slowly turns into warmer shades of pink and orange. The clouds beyond the mountains transform into skilfully-placed brush strokes. Finally, the sky bursts into an amazing bright red.
The sun surely knows how to make a theatrical entrance and, when it does, you can’t do anything but stay there, chilled and mesmerized, witnessing the beauty of it all.
I’m fascinated by how nature seems to highlight these moments of transition, almost as a way of reminding us of their importance. It’s no coincidence that sunrises and sunsets amaze, move and inspire men since the beginning of time.
While I take shelter from the humidity inside the bar, I think that it’s not by chance that nature puts up such a display every single morning.
After all, it’s the birth of a new day – and probably nothing in the world deserves more to be celebrated.
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Date of travel: 15 September 2013
This beautiful sunrise was the appropriate conclusion to #bloggerWEmoena, an event sponsored by the Hotelier Association of Moena and Passo San Pellegrino and conceived, organised and coordinated by Matteo Torresani, aka @sognotrentino. Despite being a sponsored tour, views and opinions are mine and mine only, as always on this site.
