On the third day a hike around the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo was on the programme. I had already been here last year, but back then the pass road was still closed and we had to walk all the way up to the Rifugio Auronzo. This time the pass was open and we could start comfortably at the rifugio. A beautiful hike through fresh snow, with magnificent views not only of the Tre Cime – I found the pointed, jagged mountains further south even more impressive. The three summits are called Cima Piccola, Cima Grande and Cima Ovest; the Cima Grande is 2,999 metres high, and until 1919 the border between Italy and Austria-Hungary ran across them.
Snow cornices and dark bands of rock, the summits vanishing into the mist.Snowy rock needles beneath a cloud, blue sky above.A layered rock tower in the haze, snow only at its foot.A lone rock tower with a cloud hanging in front – fresh snow all around.Left, a snowy ridge; right, a nearby rock flank – in black and white.Rugged ridges and snow gullies – the jagged mountains further south impressed me even more.Left, towers in a strip of cloud; right, a layered wall in the snow.Two rocky spires beneath heavy clouds, in black and white.The Tre Cime in fresh snow, a band of cloud drifting past the towers.Two rock towers, mist drifting through the gap between them.The Tre Cime from below – until 1919 the border between Italy and Austria-Hungary ran across them.Two poles through the fresh snow, the jagged peaks behind.An orange waymark on a boulder shows the circular route.The Tre Cime in gathering mist, fresh snow in the foreground.A wide panorama of snow peaks and rocky spires.The Tre Cime rise above the narrow snowy ridge – the tallest reaches 2,999 metres.Left, a spire in the cloud; right, a snow-covered wall.A red-roofed hut in the fresh snow, a lone rock tower in front.A stepped rock face flecked with snow, looking steeply upwards.The Little, Great and Western Peaks – snow filling the gullies between them.Left, snowy rocky spires; right, a broad ridge.The Tre Cime above a smooth snowfield, the sky deep blue.Tightly packed rocky spires and snowfields, in black and white.Snow peaks in a long row, a narrow band of cloud above.Left, single rocky spires in the snow; right, a broad band of summits.Far below, a village, a lake and a river bend beneath the rock face.Snow-covered spikes beneath a pale sky.Snow peaks in the light, the shadow of a dark rock in front.Lake Misurina with its large hotel in front of the snow-covered rock face.A black fringe of forest in front of the pale, snowy wall.
