• Italy: Ciao Bella
    1View from the parking lot where we left the car to ride Dolomiti Bus.
    2Find Mui in the Dolomiti Bus queue near the parking lot.Panorama of the view from where Dolomiti Bus drops off passengers.That's Lake Misurina down there ... our car is somewhere near there.Looking down to the valley from Refugio Auronzo near the Tre Cime di Lavaredo trailhead.Hiking to Refugio Lavaredo ... Refugio Auronzo is the white building on the right.Tre Cime di Lavaredo trail ... this section is flat and easySmall church built by the 12th Battalion of the Bersaglieri in 1917.Memorial plaques near the church with Tre Cime in the background.'Rock graffiti' just off the Tre Cime di Lavaredo trail.Tre Cime and the Refugio Lavaredo.That's me in the coral jacket — Tre Cime and the Refugio Lavaredo.4Tre Cime and the Refugio Lavaredo.Near the Refugio Lavaredo.Near the Refugio Lavaredo.Near the Refugio Lavaredo.2Hikers continuing onto one of many long hikes in the area.

    Dolomiti: Tre Cime di Lavaredo

    July 4 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    The popular sites of the Dolomiti get very crowded during the summer season. To control the numbers, restrictions are put in place … requiring parking reservations, advance ticket purchases for gondolas, etc.

    We didn’t want to constrain ourselves, so our plan was to wing it. We’d visit these places when the mood struck … and the weather cooperated. If we could get in … great. If not, well so be it.

    Today’s destination was Tre Cime di Lavaredo (the Three Summits of Lavaredo) … part of the Dolomiti di Sesto group. They are apparently some of the most famous mountains in the world of mountaineering. I’ll admit I had not heard of them until we started planning our ‘escape the heat’ trip.

    Yesterday, with the forecast for today promising nothing but sunshine, Mui checked to see if there were any cancelations for parking reservations. None showed up. So, we proceeded with plan B … park near Lake Misurina and take the Dolomiti Bus up to Rifugio Auronzo at 7,654 feet (2,333m).

    Using the EasyPark app, we paid for the parking and joined the bus queue. Long though the queue seemed, we found ourselves on the next bus at 8:40a … standing all the way up.

    When we got off the bus, we were greeted by expansive views, a crisp breeze, and a temperature of 50F (10C). It felt very refreshing. Nonetheless, we were happy that we had our rain jackets with us … they served as good wind breaks.

    From Rifugio Auronzo, we found the trailhead to Refugio Lavaredo and joined everyone else heading to the Tre Cime. With an elevation gain of merely 46 feet (14m), the trail was flat and easy … at least the section we hiked.

    The hike to go around to the other side of the Tre Cime was a whole different matter. No problem … the long hike, going up scree slopes to continue around to the other side, was not on our agenda today. Especially not after seeing people hiking up single column, one after another in close formation.

    To get away from the crowd around the refugio, we followed a narrow path before going off trail for some of the best views of the Tre Cime. With everyone else left behind, it was nice and peaceful.    Read more