Drei Zinnen – Tre Cime and much more

It’s been a while that the Drei Zinnen are on my to do list. I already was very close when hiking from Venice to Munich, but now I am finally getting there. I am also hoping that end August there are less visitors… I am up early and start immediately after breakfast as it’s 45minutes by car to the Fischleintal. This place is one of the best (and shortest) options if you want to hike up to the Drei Zinnen. Otherwise you can always pay 25€ for the Tunnel and drive up there, as hundreds of tourists are doing every day…

At 8.30am the parking is still pretty empty. The high fog is not showing much more than a few glimpses of the mountains. It’s an easy stroll to the first hut, the Talschlußhütte. From there the sign shows 2h40 to hike up to the Drei Zinnen hut. Off I go, steadily up the hill, getting slowly above the fog that is clearing up.

The beginning of the day hike into the fog

I came up from the valley on the left, the mountains should be the Elferkofel (the eleven summit – the summits have been named after the hours at which the sun is showing above them)

At 11am I am already at the hut, situated just opposite the impressive Drei Zinnen. There are now people everywhere and I have to think about the next trail. I brought my via ferrata set as I thought about doing the Paternkofel ferrata. This is the mountain just next to the Drei Zinnen and you have a great view. I am not sure about the length though and also I don’t have a helmet with me, which might be a problem looking at the plenty of people up there.

So happy to be at the Drei Zinnen (which you can obviously see in the background)

This is the Paternkofel, the mountain just next to the Drei Zinnen

Then a couple tells me that the round trip around the Drei Zinnen takes three hours. So it’s decided, this is for me today. I am going anti-clockwise and have first the beautiful valley and the best view. But also plenty of tourists. Big groups of twenty people, families, very old people, slow people… But I am so happy that I can still enjoy the nature.

Be prepared, I took hundreds of pictures of the Drei Zinnen. They always look different depending where you are

Looking back, if you look carefully you can see the Drei Zinnen hut

The Paternkofel also looks very different from this angle

I said plenty of people and plenty of people it is! I am discovering later that this is the end of the “Street” going from the parking up to the Drei Zinnen and hence it is as crowded

Can you spot the climbers climbing up the middle tower of the Drei Zinnen?

The summit in the back on the right is the Seekofel where I was yesterday

Looking down to the Valley and Misurina (with the lake). I don’t know it yet but I’ll be driving through there tomorrow

The Drei Zinnen from the backside, much less stunning

Now this is the big parking where all the cats and buses are arriving! Right below the Drei Zinnen. Who allowed them to build a street and parking to this wonder of the nature? 😦

The street leading to the Paternkofel and the saddle

Up on the saddle (where the line of people were standing on one of the previous pictures) I am deciding that I have still enough time to take the long hike back. So around the Paternkofel on the south side (down and up again) and around the Einserkofel (one summit) to the Zsigmondy hut. From there back down into the valley. It’s going to be a long day of more than nine hours hiking and my left foot will be hurting as hell in the end but how can you stop exploring this wonderful place? It’s worth all the pain.