Interview with Bepi Monti

INTERVIEW WITH BEPI MONTI INITIATOR OF THE PROJECT

When did the idea of the High Altitude Trail in the name of Peace (Dolomites without Borders) come to your mind? In spring/summer 2014 I started thinking about how to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the First World War. In which way can the delusion of war be commemorated with a concrete idea of peace? The first idea came to me on October 18, 2014, when I set out for the first time with friends and photographers on the newly established trail that solved the long-standing problem of the Croda Dei Toni circuit. At a certain point I shared my intuition with the others: “this new route closes a circle of via ferratas, why not create something much more important?” The trails were set up during the First World War by the Italian Alpini and the Austrian Kaiserjäger. Ideas and thoughts were flowing and soon the dream became reality: a route of peace at the scenes of war! I talked to the mountain guide Lio De Nes, who immediately understood the value and importance of this dream. We decided to share it with the hut owners and the mountain guides of Sexten. The approval was fantastic! The man who coined the name Dolomites without Borders, which was no longer a dream but becoming a real project, was the mountain guide Daniel Rogger: “we call the project Dolomites without Borders because it shares all the values and contents of the event that you, Bepi, have been organizing for years in the refuge”.

Tell us, why did you organize this important event at the Carducci Refuge for years? When the Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 2009, I had the impression that the main focus for many tourist agencies was on economic advantages. For me, however, it was a cultural and social opportunity. The strong message of the UNESCO Dolomites was to experience them not as a barrier, but rather as a place of encounter. As bridges that connect different peoples, languages, cultures and traditions.

And this is how the idea of the festival called Dolomites without borders was born, in which mountain guides, volunteers of the mountain rescue service and numerous mountain lovers took part. From 2010 onwards, we organised the festival every year at the Carducci Refuge and all the proceeds always went to solidarity projects.

The national and international media showed a lot of attention to this project. Why? Especially in autumn 2016, when the project was still in its start-up phase, the media showed great interest. In Europe, the hypothesis of closing borders was on the rise as a result of the conflict-ridden treatment of the phenomenon of migration. Therefore, the initiative not only had historical value, but was also very topical. The project was not only reminding of the scenes of the First World War, but was also perceived in its deeper meaning: borderlines are the doorstep of war! Our project has thus also developed into a mission to promote the idea of a united and solidary Europe without borders through strength and enthusiasm.

How do you hope to proceed with Dolomites without borders? Dolomites without Borders has a future if the young people go to the mountains, understand the message behind this idea and are committed to share this idea. The aim is to create consistency and synergies with existing initiatives, such as the Big Kinigat on Monte Cavallino, the Pitturina Race and the “Pedalare senza confini” (biking without borders) project, which is currently under development and is aimed especially at

Rifugio Carducci young people. These are concrete examples of a territory that tries to remove all difficulties in order to create something together. I trust the young mountain lovers and I hope that they will have the courage to overcome borders, language barriers and local patriotism in order to harmoniously live out the possibilities that the wonderful territory of the Dolomites has to offer.