Summer Fun: Colorado & the Dolomites

Chasm Lake in the Colorado Rockies sits at an elevation of almost 12,000 feet on the north face of Longs Peak (a 14,000-footer). On June 11, 2026 it was still almost totally frozen, with just a narrow strip of refrozen ‘polygons’ along the east shore. The photo on the right was taken in mid-afternoon during the warmest part of the day. It might have been possible to launch from the west end of the lake - but sadly I had neglected to bring my skates and ice safety gear.
Colorado was just a brief prelude to our 18-day hiking and cycling adventure in Italy’s Dolomites and the neighboring Austrian provinces of East Tirol and Carinthia. Though we didn’t find any frozen lakes in the Dolomites, we did see plenty of snow, and not just on the summits. There was plenty of snow to walk through and even have snowball fights with.

Our longest day of cycling started at the Reschensee (Lago di Resia) and descended through the Vinschgau (Venosta) valley to Merano and our accommodation in Lana. The distance was 90 km (55 miles) with a total vertical drop of 4000 feet. As we traveled south we encountered hundreds of competitive cyclists heading north, struggling up the steep climbs. Turns out they were participants in the Dreiländergiro, an annual event that starts in Austria, passes through Switzerland and crosses into Italy (where it climbs the Stelvio Pass) before returning to its starting point in Austria.