Paige, thank you very much. We were incredibly fortunate last year to see Ranunculus seguieri as I've never seen it before. Absolutely pristine. Two weeks before we arrived, there was a big snowstorm in the alpine areas, and that was why R. seguieri was so perfect. It's a snowmelt plant. We saw huge areas of it and all in prime bloom. Cliff Booker came two weeks later and it was already starting to set seed. Timing is absolutely everything, isn't it? The Rifugios in Italy are privately owned and set their own schedule as far as when they open or close during the seasons. Most of them have a very active skiing season but some are there primarily for hikers. In some cases the building materials have had to be helicoptered there. A few of them are quite remote and visited only by the hikers and climbers who do the "via ferrata", which in Italian means the "iron way". You need climbing gear to do most of those trails. A stay in a Rifugio is a wonderful experience. If only we had them here. There are the Adirondack Mountain Club huts in the Presidential Range in New Hampshire and I've stayed in a couple but there's absolutely no comparison.
-----Original Message----- From: Pacific Rim <[email protected]> To: Alpine-L, the Electronic Rock Garden Society;postings copyright by authors. <[email protected]> Sent: Sun, Feb 27, 2011 2:33 pm Subject: Re: [Alpine-l] The Dolomites- NARGS Forum link Anne, your photographs are wonderful. I'm reacting late because I've been ffline. Your image of Ranunculus seguieri is now in the Alpenpix gallery, ith a link in the notes back to the full array of your photographs in the ARGS Forum. Many's the time I've wished all the forums were one; so far the only way to e sure what's going on in each of them is to dart back and forth. As for alpine refuges: I've certainly wished for one, staggering down a ountain in a thunderstorm, for example. Perhaps our groups could start unding high-altitude rifugios in addition to public rock gardens at lower levations. Paige ----- Original Message ----- rom: <[email protected]> o: <[email protected]> ent: Friday, February 25, 2011 4:30 AM ubject: Re: [Alpine-l] The Dolomites- NARGS Forum link Paige, I don't think easy access is a bad thing. One of the nicest things bout hiking in the Dolomites is the Rifugio system (called huttes in witzerland). They range in size but all offer hot food, wine, chocolate, nd refuge in a storm. Having been caught in the Colorado Rockies above reeline in a thunderstorm, this last is a blessing. We got caught once in storm, made it into a Rifugio where the heat was supplied by all the ikers and their wet and steaming gear. People were practically sitting in ach others laps it was so crowded - but very convivial. Most of the ifugios have overnight accommodations ranging from spartan to comfortable. e once spent the night at one and I loved it. It was in the 30s in the orning (F) and I saw the sun rise over a glacier - how cool is that! Joe rew the line at the shower though - the water was unheated snowmelt. To ave the Rifugio system plus the most wonderful plants - and - it's not ossible to find a bad view. Attached picture is of a typical gorgeous lant - Ranunculus seguieri. Picture #2 is of a Rifugio in the distance. nne Spiegel Mid-Hudson Valley in New York one 4b/5a? No one really knows anymore. ______________________________________________ lpine-l mailing list [email protected] ttp://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
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