It's been kind of a tradition the last couple of years to celebrate she_who_must_be_obeyed's birthday in the mountains. And since there is still lots of snow in the Northern Alps we decided to head down to South Tyrol, into the Dolomites.

The drive by car through Southern Germany, Austria and finally into Italy went pretty well, about 6 hours for ~550km, with quite a bit of non-Autobahn roads, especially on the final leg of the trip.

We parked the car at the Talschlussh�tte in the Fischleinbodental at ~ 1.300m altitude and started our climb up towards the B�llelejochh�tte, 2.528m. Weather was fine, not too hot, perfect for climbing. We got to the refuge at ~ 4 PM and spent the rest of the day relaxing, chatting with the other guests (only 12 beds in that small H�tte) and having a few beers. We had a great time at our table with 2 guys from the UK and a couple from Austria. Food was most excellent, some of the finest I've ever had in a refuge that high up the mountains.

B�llelejochh�tte, with the mighty Zw�lferkofel (3.094m) in the background



Next morning we started on the Sentiero della Pace leading towards the Paternkofel.



The easy fixed rope route winds its way along some amazing scenery and past lots of old fortifications from WW1.

The Paternkofel summit can be seen on the left. It's astonishing to think that this was basically the frontline of some major fighting.



Paternkofel summit (2.744m), view towards the famous Drei Zinnen.



Part of the fixed rope route. Some mountaineers can be seen climbing up on the right side, the route down is on the left side. The route is fairly easy but quite exposed and nothing for someone suffering from fear of heights.



After a short pause at the Rifugio Lavaredo we climb down towards the Cengi valley.



Obligatory SimHQ cap self-pic:



Approaching the Zsigmondyh�tte, our stay for the second night. Again a fun evening with some great people. Met a couple from the US and decided to walk the next day's route together and give them a ride in our car to the train station at Toblach. The guy didn't know Hefeweizen! Gave him an introduction which I'm sure he won't forget for some time.



On the legendary Alpinisteig, a route blasted into the rock by Italian Alpini troops in WW1 to act as supply route.



Yep, it's quite steep. Yes, the route leads right through the middle of the cliff.



The famous Cross of the Alpini, created by the route running through a narrow gorge



The final ascent to the Elferscharte



And the way down, which was quite difficult. The photo really doesn't do it justice, it's FAR steeper than the pic suggests.



And finally back in the Fischleinbodental.




Was a beautiful tour, we really enjoyed it. Can't praise the Dolomite Alps enough, the scenery is just amazing.

Great pics!

I'm still amazed that people managed to have a war up there. What damned conditions to get shot at.

Fantastic pics, as always, Para!

Actually, I did a tour there too, a couple of years ago. However, when I went, I was not yet fully accustomed to Klettersteiggehen, so I did not find the time to take out my camera and snap pictures. It takes some getting used to exposed routes such as these.

The area from the Dreizinnen all the way over to the Marmorlada is IMO the most beautiful mountainous region in the world. Closely followed by the Brenta-Adamello group in the Trentino.


I haven't managed to go on a single tour this year so far, the weather being this unstable and too much other stuff getting in the way.

But your pics are very motivating.

BTW, it looks like there wasn't much "traffic" on the Steig (which would be a good thing)?

Yeah, we went Monday to Wednesday, so no weekend traffic and still too early for the German/Austrian/Italian summer vacations. The refuges had opened just 3 days before we arrived.

On the Alpinisteig there were still a couple of snow fields but routes through them had been prepared just a few days earlier.

Fantastic!

Your mountains certainly out-mountain ours by a fair margin!

Mountains? What are those?

"Unfortunately" (as in, it's quite a journey down there, compared to the Bavarian Alps, which can be reached in about an hour from where I live; not because of WWI), those mountains belong to Italy. But they let us use them.

But our mountains are quite nice, too. You really need to come down south sometime.

Awesome photos. Such Beautiful mountains. Read a few stories about WW1 in those mountains and some
statistics were that there were more deaths from Avalanches and freezing to death then actual combat.

Would love to visit this region some time.

Awesome pics. I always enjoy your trip pictures.

Very pretty!

Thanks guys!




Next trip is already in planning...

Is the SimHQ hat part of your official mountain climbing gear Para?

Actually, yes.


I never go mountaineering without a hat, and unless I have to wear a helmet while climbing I always wear my SimHQ cap. It's become sort of a talisman by now. It's also of high quality (been using it for...10 years by now?) and very comfortable to wear.