We don’t ask participants to write reviews on purpose. They are first share their impressions on social networks and in other places:
I want life to be different after the hike because it just can’t be the same.
— Irina Kudres, photographer, Bergamo, Italy
This great journey has given me mountains of new things. I’ve learned a new side of myself that I’ve never seen before.
— Tanya, photographer, Moscow, Russia
I don’t know how the hike would have turned out if Ivan hadn’t believed in us. But he did, and it was worth a lot. He blessed us to take the hard route instead of the easy one: “I can see that you will make it!”
— Natasha, manager in the game testing group at NVIDIA, San Diego, California, USA
The small town of Lamon is a great place to stay if you love hiking and adventures that are off the beaten path. Ivan was an amazing host! He made me feel welcome and is also very knowledgeable about the area. I would recommend this place 100%.
— Lauren, traveler and farmer, Canada
There are so few tourists in Lamon that we found there what we wanted — Italy as it is! We were in the Dolomites for only 1.5 days, but we had enough impressions for a week: we explored all the nearby mountains, met amazing people, tried desperately to speak Italian, ate pizza somewhere in the dark forest, listened to children singing in the church and just enjoyed life. I want to come back and go on a longer hike in the mountains.
— Vika, engineer at the Institute of Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
I needed a local guide in the Dolomites for my friend’s personalized tour for the May 2018 holidays. Vanya was super! Just a guide is boring, it’s not about Vanya. You always need something more.
— Julia, an organizer at Bhutan Travel Agent, Hanoi, Vietnam
And let the whole world wait…
— Kostya, designer at concept store “Luminaires on Malaya Ordynka Street, 39”, Moscow, Russia
Still can’t believe it happened to me. “Down with delayed life!”
— Vera, project manager at the Polytechnic Museum, Moscow, Russia
The main impression is discovering in yourself inexhaustible resources for what seems impossible. You just go, because there is no choice, and one step at a time you find yourself next door to the fluffy clouds, at the top. This is the clearest proof to yourself that there is no such thing as impossible, and fast is slow, but without interruption. And you breathe the mountain air, you love every tree, you are happy, and nothing is scary. So the main impression is not even how beautiful the mountains it is, but an understanding of what incredible heights you can climb.
— Katya, web data analyst at T-Bank, Moscow, Russia
There is still fatigue in my whole body, I still want to sleep all the time, but I can’t stop revisiting the photos, telling everyone around me about how amazing it was, and feeling happiness and freedom with every cell of my body.
— Dasha, press service specialist at Atomenergomash company, Moscow, Russia
It’s the Dolomites!
— Artem, programmer at Yandex search company, Moscow, Russia
Mountain hiking is a high and incredible delight from nature and the beauties of the Earth! It’s also a test of strength, unplanned challenging situations, and adventures, teamwork, and trust in the Universe. Lots of laughter, insights, and meditative states along the way. Soulful and cool emotions.
— Mila, client service specialist at Alfa Bank, Moscow, Russia
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— Arina, ex-coordinator of AlfaLab at Alfa-Bank, St. Petersburg, Russia
And then there was the Moon. Or Mars. Who knows? It’s hard to walk, and on the way down, everyone swears. The rocks are as big and as small as they want, like they’re mocking us. And they fall down and sideways from under our feet. And there… there’s not always even anything to fall on. In the photo, of course, you can’t read the volume and space — how precipitous, high and deep it all is.
— Nastya, ceramic and jewelry artist at Ukratka.fm, Moscow, Russia
Once again I realized how I see my old age. I want to be like the people we met in the hotels and on the route. They are 60+, and they were galloping through the mountains like mountain goats, regularly overtaking us, and chatting noisily at a long table in the evening.
— Asya, a teacher at Netology online university, Moscow, Russia
A place that Vanya shared with us like a small personal secret or a jewel — and it will now remain in our hearts too.
— Zhenya, specialist at ZEISS Connecting Solutions, Moscow, Russia
I think I dreamed of this little journey to a fairy-tale land where simple and open people live, where one word is enough to communicate: ciao!
— Natasha, director of the advertising agency “Business Gift”, Kaliningrad, Russia
Another of my dreams came true: I went hiking in the Alps. Four days of hiking, overcoming heights and myself, mountains and silence — after such an adventure you can’t stay the same.
— Liza, PR-specialist at Anna Nova Art Gallery, St. Petersburg, Russia
My big adventure to the Dolomites, which I received as a 30th birthday present from my husband and friends, is over. One of the best and most unforgettable trips of my life, because everything I love came together in it. Unusual place and cool company, difficulties and lightness, a lot of movement, surprises, and interesting acquaintances.
— Nastya, co-founder and producer of Script.Shot.Sound movie studio, Moscow, Russia
The experience was carefully designed, it was perfect. Ivan knows the small places very well. I give it 5 stars.
— Maad Jahangir, IT-specialist and digital nomad, Karachi, Pakistan
We have a trip in the spirit of German romanticism of the 19th century. At the same time, we did not work hard in a romantic way — we climbed up the slope, wet from the splashes of the waterfall, followed the path along the cliff and did not look down, crossed the ford of the flooded mountain river, tying our shoes and hanging them on our backpacks.
— Oleg, wine import specialist at Simple company, Moscow, Russia
Having walked the mountains of Pale di San Martino twice in two weeks, I was not tired at all. Because the whole way I was thinking about the beauty, forgetting all fatigue. This time there was twice as much of it in the mountains.
— Ivan, outdoor writer, Bergamo, Italy
***
An interesting detail: on each of our four big hikes, participants also came up with a common hashtag to tag the posts on social media, so they can find each other while sharing their impressions during and after the hikes. They were born completely by accident from phrases left by someone at random. So these tags were: #noplains (#никакихравнин), #primavoltadolomiti (#firsttimedolomites), #iamnotakey (#янеключ), and something that can be translated in English as #hihahake (#похахаход).
These reviews were written after the first two seasons of creative hikes in 2018 and 2019 when the focus was on hiking and exploring a place. The new version from 2024 focuses more on creativity.
To be continued…
Go back to Creative hikes page.