Text and photosIan Smith

Tre Cime

Around the Dolomites there are a thousand walking trails, all of which no doubt have something to recommend them. Undoubtedly the most popular is Tre Cime, it’s about half an hour away from our accommodation in Cortina and at the top of our list. After a second night of snow it’s turned out made-to-order weather. Bright sun, not a cloud in the sky; the weather goddess has done it again.

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We leave what we think is early but, in reality, is at the back end of early. By the time we rock up to the entry gate on the road to Tre Cime, the queue is only about 20 cars long.

After forking out our obligatory 30 euros (around AU$50) we zig-zag up the classic switchback mountain road and the view makes you want to stop but you can’t. At the car park it’s already about ¾ full. We realise how lucky we are to have left 'early'.

Getting started

Out on the trail, it’s patently obvious they’ve all come, it’s like a scene from the Yukon gold rush, they’re strung out for kilometres in single file. The halt and the lame (we’ve both got dodgy knees), the young (some carried by parents), the fit (an occasional runner), the old (are we in that category as well?), the cyclists, the true mountain walkers with poles, the dogs, the fashionistas and a few guided tours. All the while, in the background, we’re accompanied by the constant ringing of 50 unique cowbells melodiously echoing across the mountain pastures, and the cattle are so friendly, they stand on and beside the

trails without a care in the world as a hundred tourists pose beside them. It’s all so ho-hum in their world.

A different scale

The place is epic and the stories surrounding it are epic. The human tragedy of 10,000 soldiers dying nearby during WWI in one night of extreme cold. The Italians constantly throwing themselves at the Austrians’ impregnable position to the point where the Austrians told them once to stop doing it because they didn’t really want to kill them; but still they came, under orders of ignorant commanders. There are memorials on a flat part of the down side as we move along the path.

The day before we walked here, a man with a flying suit ascended all three of the Tre Cime, jumping off each one in his suit before climbing the next. It took him 5 hours 20 minutes, a new record apparently. Today there are four climbers on the face of Cima Grande di Lavaredo, first conquered in 1869 by a man named Grohmann who started from Landro and, together with Franz Innerkofler and Peter Salcher, reached the summit. It’s the tallest one on the left in our pictures.

Climbers on the ascent of one of the chimneys

The queue en route to Tre Cime

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Hitting the trail

The trail is rated 1, as in easy. On this day it’s definitely not easy and we’re not the only ones struggling with the overnight snowfall. When we start climbing it’s very slippery and we envy the people with climbing poles (knew we forgot to pack something). On the roof of the first refuge, there are two men shovelling snow off the roof so it’s been a significant drop.

At the next refuge there are food and drinks available. With one of the world’s great sights before you, it’s hard not to stop and we’re lucky enough to find a seat. We’re higher here than Kosciuszko and still the mountains rise up around us. There’s a loop in front of us that we decide to do and it takes us to a col where the hike continues around for 9.5 km total, but we decide the ridge is enough and the views are reportedly the best from here.

Unusual obstacles en route, what a cow of an idea

Lorraine, on right, scraping past the oncoming traffic

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Lago D’Antorno

Lorraine struggles on the rise with the uncertain footage but the way down is a bit of a nightmare as her knee continually gives way. She is in constant pain and one ascending hiker says we can’t go down this way because it’s too dangerous. So much for the grade 1 classification!

All the time we are distracted however, mainly by the scenery that is some of the finest in the world, but also by having to share the path with hundreds of people coming the other way, most of whom are polite, with the odd exception.

Back on the flat it’s easy going all the way. We’ve probably only done about 5 kms but don’t really care, the number one attraction in the Dolomites is behind us. We’re just on the descent to the car park when we hear the squealing brakes of a bike behind us. It turns out that it’s a couple from our B&B who are on their bikes. From what we gather they’ve ridden their bikes up from Lago D’Antorno, a couple of kilometres further down. We’re impressed, but not half as much as the next morning when we hear that, in fact, they’d ridden all the way up, around a 50 km round trip that took 3 hours 50 minutes up the steep switchbacks.

On our return drive we pass the entry gate and the queue is over a kilometre long. People are out of their cars waiting for the line to move. We stop at Lago D’Antorno for some pics and then lunch at Lago Di Misurina on some bland toasted sandwiches. Whatever, it’s food! Plus, Lago Di Misurina isn’t too shabby in its own right. Elsewhere it might be the main attraction but, here, it’s just another photo stop. Such are the Dolomites.

Looking back to the spectacular Dolomites just after the start

Lago Di Misurina

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