Holimites… Rolling Through the Dolomites

Home

Sep 12, 2014

•

So… what just happened?

That was the thought Troy Haines and I had last week, after spending 24 hours with Holimites, on their last trail running tour of the season in Italy’s Dolomites.

We had headed from our respective corners of Switzerland to Igor Tavella’s village of Badia, to talk about a partnership between Holimites and Run the Alps, down the road. (Check. That mission was quickly accomplished.) What we got, though, was one heck of a bonus— a rollicking good time that was part trail running, part stunning Dolomites scenery, a bit of yoga, a lot of laughs, and seemingly endless wine.

Along for the ride? Two excellent guides, trail running notables (Jenn Shelton and guide Andreas “Tata” Irsara were fresh off the 2014 Gore-Tex Transalpine run), and a supporting cast of characters.

The Holimites tour crew... at least as it was constituted on Day One. — The Holimites tour crew… at least as it was constituted on Day One. Photo courtesy of Holimites.

Thanks, everyone, for a great time. May your alpine roadshow roll on for years to come. If tour companies had BFF’s, Holimites would be ours. Igor, thanks for the introduction to your corner of Europe. We look forward to spending more time together in the years ahead. And, for any readers out there looking to stretch their legs trail running through one of the most beautiful parts of Italy, well, these are your guys.

Photos courtesy of Holimites, Troy Haines, Doug Mayer.

For More Information:
Holimites
Images from the Alta Via Trail Running Tour

The tour leaves Badia, heading for the hills.

Tite and Mira consider the technical merits of their selfie.

Mira cruises down to Fanes hut at the end of the day, in the Fanes Sennes Braies Natural Park. — Mira Rai cruises down to Fanes hut at the end of the day, in the Fanes Sennes Braies Natural Park. A week later, she won the 2014 Sellaronda trail race.

Doug Mayer

Doug Mayer is the founder of Run the Alps and lives in Chamonix, France with his labradoodle, Izzy. He is the author of The Race that Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB and writes for Outside Online and Ultrasignup News. His upcoming book is a graphic novel about Italy’s 330km long Tor des Géants trail race.