While spring has already begun in the valley, skiing is still possible in the small mountain village Solda. We follow the windy road up to the cableway and make a stop at the outskirts at the ice museum of Reinhold Messner, to have a look at the opening times.
Next door is the Yak & Yeti, a small but very good restaurant. A rusty newspaper tube on a rock indicates the inn and we walk over the snowy path to the small farm with the huge yak head at the front.
Finding Nepal in Solda
Colorful prayer flags are fluttering in the wind and suddenly we hear a loud grunt and cackle. The farm is still open and it is apparently feeding time. A low hum mingles with the animal noises. Curiously I walk around the barn and see a large herd of yaks. The exotic animals stare back curiously and search in their fenced willow for some more hay.
I read that the mountaineer Reinhold Messner brought the first yaks to Solda in the South Tyrol region Vinschgau – Venosta valley 30 years ago. In summer, the semi-wild herd of the shaggy animals grazes on the skiing slopes, but in wintertime they live next to the museum at the stable. The mountain climate of the Alpes seems to be very good for them! An outlet further little pigs grunt, chickens next door peck at grains. The same choice is incidentally also on the menu of the Yak & Yeti.
Spontaneously we stop – before skiing. Bacon from the pig with Yak-Yak carpaccio and smoked sausages are served, for vegetarians like me there are fantastic mushroom dumplings with alpine cheese. Chef Hannes Bacher is a genius at the stove. By chance he met in 2013 in Solda on Reinhold Messnerm who was looking for an operator for his court. In short, he and his girlfriend leased the tavern and also attempts to grow some plants at over 2000 meters above sea level – which is not so easy – he says.
After lunch, we visit the MMM Ortles – the Ice Museum by Reinhold Messner. “In the end of the world” – this is the name of the museum – and so the glacier Ortler was used to be called. In the exhibition Messner shows the horrors of the ice, details about the snow man and the myth Yeti. (It was not allowed to take pictures inside the museum.)
Winter sports in Solda
We postponed our plans for skiing spontaneously to the next day and arrive early at the cableway. With 44 km of slopes and eleven lifts Solda is the largest of six ski areas in the South Tyrolian region Vinschgau – Venosta Valley and especially snow-sure.
Soon we ride down the slopes, where in summertime the yak herd is grazing. The cableway takes us up to hut called “Madritschhütte”. The sun is shining from the blue sky and the slopes above the hut offer all levels of difficulty. Some people on snow shoes trudge off the slopes up the mountain. The panorama is unique!
At the mountain at 3,250 meters above sea level, I enjoy the view on the opposite Ortler peak before I ski down across the wide slopes. At noon I stop at the “Yak-Bar” next to the hut “Madritschhütte”. The radiant sun glistens on the fresh snow and it will take a few days until Reinhold Messner will bring the yaks again up the hills.
Find more information about the Venosta Valley at www.vinschgau.net.
Who is interested in the museum of Reinhold Messner should click here: www.messner-mountain-museum.it
Note: This trip was supported by the tourism office of Vinschgau – Venosta Valley. The report is intended solely as our own opinion.
