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Learn about World War 1 - on a pair of skis
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead

The Dolomites in Italy, well worth a ski for any reason, were the site of significant troop movements and battles in World War I. Clare Mann found some pistes and lifts that link up with strategic locations, and reports for the Daily Telegraph.

Have you ever had the desire to 'go historical' on skis, or maybe reconstruct famous battles? One possibility is to borrow an elephant and retrace Hannibal's route across the Alps.
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ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

David, I never "go historical" while on ski. I "am historical" as soon as I set to reach a mountain.
WWI on the Italian front was bitterly fought on the Apls, soldiers on both sides had to fight against nature and their foe at the same time.
Places and mountains such as the Marmolada, the Lagazuoi, Passo del Tonale, Col di Lana (also known as "Col di Sangue" or "Bloody Hill" for the bitterness of the battle fought there), Passo Stelvio, Bormio and Santa Caterina are all places where today we happily ski, but we should always keep in mind what happened there 90 years ago.
Also, I always interpreted "going to the mountain" as a trip not to forget; a trip bakc in the time. Oftentimes, the older peopel taught us, when I was a boy, duringthe long tranfer hours on the coach, the songs the Alpini usedto sing at wafr time...
"Ta-pum" (from the sound the mountain artillery cannon shells were doing when exploding) see http://ingeb.org/songs/ventigio.html
"Il Testamento del Capitano" (the Captain's will) see http://www.ana.it/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=451 (see here to download one version of the song http://www.brigatacadore.it/pagine/Canzoni/pag_testamentocap.htm ) Interestingto not that in the different versions, "King" is substituted with "Patria" (Homeland) and "Bandiera" (Flag, again simbolizing the homeland for the soldiers) to reflect the different political times (during WWI Italy was still a kingdom) also instead of "Corpo" (Body) sometimes "Cuore" (Heart) is used

And related to WWII
"O bella ciao" (partisans' song about freedom) http://www.italianfolkmusic.com/belaciao.html
Are only three that come to my mind
All these songs "talk" about the war, but also about the love these men felt for the mountains, our homeland.

When at Passo del Tonale I never fail to stop at the monument to the Italian Alpini and to the Austrian Kaiserjäger who fought on the Glacier and say a little prayer for them...honouring their memory.

The "Grande Guerra Tour" is a "commercial" attempt to replicate the SellaRonda tour, but at the same time it servers a purpouse, to provide some historical background, which is slowly being lost in the younger generations...
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