{"id":1005,"date":"2020-08-14T03:52:52","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T01:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dolomitemountains.com\/blog\/?p=1005"},"modified":"2021-03-23T12:25:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T10:25:49","slug":"featured-guide-meet-marika-fave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dolomitemountains.com\/blog\/dolomites-insight\/featured-guide-meet-marika-fave\/","title":{"rendered":"Featured Guide: Meet Marika Fav\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marica Fav\u00e9 is a Professional Mountain Guide based in the Dolomites\u2019 Val di Fassa. She has lived her entire life in these mountains, as a ski racer, member of the forest police, alpinist, competitive ice climber, ski patroller,\u00a0ski instructor, Italian Federal ski coach, and member of an Alpine rescue team. But she says her greatest \u2013 and hardest-won \u2013 mountain accomplishment was becoming a UIAGM\/IFMGA Guide<\/a><\/u>, a role which she still cherishes today. We recently had the opportunity to catch up with Marica\u2026 Read on to learn why she loves the Dolomites plus her favorite places, trails, and pastas!<\/p>\n

This is the first in an occasional series highlighting our incredible <\/em>Dolomite Mountains Guides<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Q&A<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dolomite Mountains [DM]: \u00a0 What is your favorite thing about living in the mountains?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMarika Fav\u00e9 [MF]: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That you reach isolation and\/or incredible places within ten minutes.<\/p>\n

DM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are your favorite things about the Dolomites?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These are the most perfect mountains without any doubt. Jagged towers, vertical walls, contrast of colors, green of the grass (due to the really fertile volcanic soil). There are no other places in the world with a similar landscape.<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Why did you become a mountain guide?? <\/em><\/strong>
\nMF: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I love to show people the beauty of the mountains.<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What is your favorite thing about guiding?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is the relationship you create with the clients including trust and friendship.<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Does being a woman affect the way you guide? <\/em><\/strong>
\nMF: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Women and men are different, no doubt. We have different qualities. The psychological approach between female and male guides is probably different, but the way of guiding does not change. The methods, the safety, do not change. The quality and the examination required to become mountain guide are identical. So no doubt, to become mountain guide you have to be a badass woman\u2026<\/p>\n

DM:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do you have any favorite clients?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kim and Marc. I guided them for the first time on Via Ferrata Tridentina seven years ago. They loved it and have come back every year since! We have climbed a lot in the Dolomites, but I have also guided them other places in Italy: in the Val di Mello Natural Reserve in the nearby Lombardy region; on the Island of Sardinia; and on the volcanoes of the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily. Since the first year, they have felt like friends. We cry every time when they have to go back home!<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are your favorite places in the Dolomites? <\/em><\/strong>
\nMF: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My favorite trail:<\/em> The next one\u2026 I like to see new places!
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0My favorite climb:<\/em> Primo Spigolo Tofana di Rozes \u2013 the Pompanin-Alver\u00e0 route. It\u2019s a really fun 15-pitch route, surrounded by beautiful red vertical walls.
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0My favorite colouir:<\/em> Holzer Colouir on SassPordoi \u2013\u00a0the ultimate steep and narrow ski run in the Dolomites.
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0My favorite region of the Dolomites:<\/em> Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo. I love Cortina! I like to go downtown and visit the Cooperativa di Cortina. It is a big store that has every kind of stuff: food, books, post cards, souvenirs, calendars, camping gear, shoes, underwear, clothing, headlamps, climbing equipment\u2026<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Are there places in the Dolomites that you still want to explore?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pale di San Martino, south east of the Val di Fassa, where I live. It\u2019s actually one of the largest groups in the Dolomites, and the furthest south, surrounded by deep so there is a lot of really interesting hiking and climbing.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are your favorite foods in the Dolomites?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Casunciei all\u2019Ampezzana is no doubt my favorite dish. It is ravioli shaped like a half-moon, filled with red beets and ricotta cheese, served in a butter sauce and sprinkled with poppyseeds and parmesan cheese on top.<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are your favorite things to do when you are not hiking \/ climbing \/ skiing?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My favorite non guiding activity is spending time with Anja, my daughter. I am also a ski instructor and always think that teaching (anything) is an art. And teaching your daughter is just incredible satisfaction.<\/p>\n

\"Marica
Marica Fave | UIAGM\/IFMGA Professional Mountain Guide<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What makes Val di Fassa, where you live, so special?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The people \u2013\u00a0we are really friendly!
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>Freeriding [skiing off-piste] here is the best: on Marmolada, the highest peak of Dolomites, and the only wide glacier of the region; and on the Sella Massif, with its valleys, saddles, forks, and couloirs.
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>Plus, Fassa is a sunny valley, with a flat bottom and open sides. It is a glacier valley, that carved into a \u201cU\u201d shape.<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How does Val di Fassa capture the magnificence of the Dolomites?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We have some incredible and unique mountains: Catinaccio, Sassolungo, Sella, Latemar\u2026<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What things in Val di Fassa are \u201ctypical,\u201d traditional Dolomites?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The architecture is very Tyrolean in style. The houses always have a wooden balcony and a wooden roof, and the balconies are filled with flowers in summer.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What makes Val di Fassa different than the rest of the Dolomites?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As I mentioned before, the Fassa valley has a the flatter bottom due to its glacier origin. It is this \u201cU\u201d shape because it was carved by a glacier, which is different than the rest of the Dolomites valleys<\/p>\n

DM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is there anything in Val di Fassa that is similar to the rest of the Dolomites, but has it\u2019s own unique Val di Fassa signture?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Like in Cortina, the Val di Fassa has its own special dish, Casonc\u00ece da Fighes<\/a>, or fig ravioli. This is very similar to Casunciei all\u2019Ampezzana, but filled with figs instead of beets.<\/p>\n

dDM: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Anything else you\u2019d like to share?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMF:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Local people from Val di Fassa, like me, are really attached to our Ladin roots. I consider myself Ladin before Italian. I feel Ladin is my first language, even though I can speak it just in my valley. I never speak Italian with my daughter \u2013 we always speak Ladin.<\/p>\n

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To read Marika\u2019s complete biography, click <\/em>here<\/a><\/u><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Check out the Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/u> to read about Marika guiding a ski safari!<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Dolomites and guiding run in Marika\u2019s blood. Today, in addition to being a mountain guide, she is also a ski instructor, a federal ski coach, and a mother, and now we\u2019re just waiting to see her child skiing and climbing along side her! Keep dreaming… . . #dolomitemountains #dolomitesmountain #wearethedolomites #dolomitesunesco #unescoworldheritagesite #beautifuldestinations #uiagmmountainguides #activetravel #hike #climbing #ski #skiingadventures #travel #travelswithmuse #travelgram #traveller #luxurytravel #pure_theshow #purelifeexperiences #ducotravelsummit #iltm #travellermade #signaturetravelnetwork<\/a><\/p>\n

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