I set off before sunrise on 18 August, with the path still dark ahead of me. I had been thinking of taking the shorter route to Punta Penia. Only later did I understand how much the glacier on that route had melted away.
Then two hikers appeared in the distance, calling up to me in Italian. We did not have much language in common. We had the name Punta Penia, plenty of pointing and enough hand gestures to understand that we were heading for the same place.
The two hikers took a longer route, and I followed them. It brought us onto a different glacier, with a thin layer of rock covering the ice beside the via ferrata. I had no ice axe or crampons with me.
On the via ferrata, I used a via ferrata set. It was my first time on one, and I climbed the protected section on the way up and again on the way down. Monte Antelao had been on 14 and 15 August, so that climb was still fresh in my mind. I was surprised by how good I felt moving on the mountain again.
I had looked forward to these Italian mountains for a long time. Standing on Punta Penia with two people I could barely talk to was a lovely, unexpected part of finally being there. We had managed the important conversation well enough to share the climb.
I also came away curious about what I wanted to try next. Parts of the day felt more manageable than I had imagined. That is something for another outing. For this one, I am glad I was there, and glad those two hikers called out.
