Just 100 kilometers as the crow flies separate the alpine Val Gardena in the heart of the Dolomites from Lake Garda with its mild, Mediterranean flair. The Ladin mountain guide Ivo Rabanser leads into “his” climbing paradise – from Val Gardena, across the Brenta to Arco – and sets out with climbing partners and friends on a historical search for traces through a region that was once part of the Habsburg Monarchy.