Driving One of the Most Legendary 4x4 Trails

Some trails are never forgotten. This one is one of them. It takes us higher and higher, right to the edge of the eternal snow, through sumptuous alternates, along dizzying ridgelines that put our break to the test. Legendary tracks, almost unreal landscapes. Welcome to Death into the Wild, destination Italian Alps, episode 3. This trail is a bit of holy grail of 4x4 driving. Paolo drove it when he first started out, almost 30 years ago. It's early afternoon, but up here everything can change very quickly. The weather is unstable, so we keep moving. After an endless series of tight alpine turns, we suddenly emerge into a landscape that feels almost unreal. Today we're taking our Defender higher than it has ever been before. The snow is not far away now, and neither is the bad weather. We won't stay long, because driving here in rain or too cold can become very dangerous. Tonight it's beadwork in the land of foes. We quickly find a small spot for the night and rush to start a fire. Up here the temperature drops fast, as soon as the sun disappears. Camping beside a mountain stream, facing the peaks, it's hard to imagine anything more magical. And tonight, Julian is in charge of cooking. In Italy, you often find small farms selling their own cheese, so don't hesitate to stop and grab a good piece. On the menu tonight, a croissé gratin cooked over a wood fire, perfect to warm us up and treat ourselves. But as we said earlier, the weather changes quickly here. Within just a few minutes, fog rolls in and covers the entire valley. It doesn't matter, nothing will spoil this evening. Night slowly falls over the mountains, and we eventually drift off to sleep. The next morning, the sun is back. We cross the high alpine pastures, where cows roam freely and the tracks wind through the mountains. Then, the first century-old tunnels appear, gallery carved directly into a rock, built long ago to supply the whole military force. The trail becomes narrower and leads us straight into what many consider the paradise of 4x4 driving. We are now driving along the ridge lines, with an absolutely breathtaking panorama. Surrounded by mountains, this is simply our favourite place. We climb up to the fort overlooking the valley. From here, the view is incredible. But on the way back down, our brakes give up, so we stop to fully bleed the braking system. After this technical break, we slowly make our way back down into the forest for our final bivouac. A few technical sections, some beautiful axle-twisting moments, just enough to earn this final evening. Sheltered beside this old military fort, we look back on all the incredible moments we experienced this week. Italy is a country we truly love. For the stranger you meet on the road, we greet you with a warm smile, for a cuisine full of rich flavours. And for the landscapes, each one more beautiful than the last. Thank you all for following our adventures in the Italian Alps. See you soon, guys!