Alta Via 1 Gear List: 120 km Rifugio to Rifugio in the Dolomites

Alta Via 1 runs 120 km through the Dolomites from Lago di Braies south to Belluno, walkable from late June, when the passes shed their snow, until the rifugios close in late September. Most people hike it hut to hut, and that's the version this list packs for: no tent, no sleeping bag, no sleeping pad, no stove. Cutting the whole shelter and sleep department is why the base weight lands at 4.1 kg (9.1 lb) instead of the 6 kg a camping kit needs.

Your sleep system is a 248 g liner. Rifugios provide mattresses, blankets and pillows, and CAI huts require a sleeping bag liner for hygiene; you can rent a sheet for around five euros a night, but your own weighs less than the argument. Earplugs are the other half of the system.

The question everyone asks: no, the standard AV1 needs no via ferrata gear. It's a walking route the whole way. Only the optional ferrata variants call for a lanyard set and helmet, and this list skips them.

Water is the quiet surprise. The Dolomites are limestone karst, so streams sink underground and taps between huts are rare. The list carries 2.5 liters of capacity and purification tablets instead of a filter; fill up at every rifugio.

Storms build on summer afternoons. Start early, be off the exposed passes by mid-afternoon, and keep the rain shell reachable rather than buried. The Micro Puff matters more than it looks; terrace evenings at 2,400 m turn cold the moment the sun drops.

Book beds months ahead for July and August, and carry the week's hut money mostly in cash; half board runs 65 to 80 euros a night. Copy this list and adapt it, and add a tent only if you've confirmed a legal place to pitch it, which on this route you mostly won't find.