Day 2 – Around Tre Cime di Lavaredo

Sep 26, 2022

Today’s Adventure

On Monday Cindy and I tackled one of the most famous hikes in the Dolomites – a loop around the iconic Drei Zinnen, also known as the Tre Cime di Lavaredo or ‘Three Peaks of Lavaredo’. The tallest spire of this impressive massif, known as Cima Grande, rises to just under 10,000 feet above sea level.

To access this hike we took a short train ride from Innichen to Dobbiaco where we boarded a special express bus. That bus took us to the Auronzo Hütte in the Drei Zinnen Nature Park. This park lies on the border between the Italian provinces of Belluno and Südtirol, about 21 miles from our hotel.

Rain and colder temperatures were in the weather forecast so we got a very early start to try and finish the hike before the weather deteriorated later in the day. The early start also helped us to avoid the worst of the crowds, which even for an off-season weekday with a doubtful weather forecast were quite impressive by the time we finished the loop. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere near this trail on a summer holiday weekend.

As it turned out it had snowed in the upper elevations of the Dolomites the day before so we found ourselves with snow-covered trails and chilly temperatures down around freezing when we started the hike. The good news is that we were dressed appropriately and warmed up quickly as we made our way around the loop. Of course we were hoping for a bluebird day with clear skies and lots of sunshine so that our photos of this landmark would be picture-perfect but that wasn’t the case. That said the clouds and snow added some interesting drama to help make up for the challenges of obscured peaks and flat lighting.

We arrived back at the Auronzo Hütte just in time for a late lunch, which was perfect timing as it was getting windy and starting to sleet. We appreciated sitting inside for our nice hot lunch before walking down the hill to the bus staging area. We found the correct express bus for our return to Dobbiacco (one of about a half-dozen buses queued there to pick up hikers) and climbed aboard. The bus dropped us off at the front door of the Bahnhof in Dobbiaco so we simply walked around the building to catch the train back to Innichen.

When we finished today’s loop at the Auronzo Hütte we had hiked 6-1/4 snowy miles with 1,400 feet of cumulative elevation in four hours flat. It wasn’t our fastest time for this distance, but it included frequent camera stops and some slow, careful footing on the slippery bits. It was a very memorable day all around!

To return to the main page for Innichen click here.

To return to the main page for the entire trip click here.