Dolomites High Route 5: Misurina to the Zsigmondy Hut – turning back, the Drei Zinnen and over 12 hours

So early start this morning. We got up at six, had a little breakfast that the hotel had made for us in the lobby and left at 7:30. We wanted to hit the trail right at the Torre del Diavolo, I think it’s called. But on the way up we missed one of the intersections, went in the wrong direction for a little while and had to go back.

Selfie of the two of us in a green forest clearing, me in a blue cap and Sina making an okay sign

A hiker on a forest path past yellow marsh marigolds and a little stream

Then it was probably a six or seven hundred meter climb up into the valley that leads up towards the Torre del Diavolo. Once we got up into the bowl we looked at it and it was full of snow. The climb out of the bowl was a pretty steep wall, also completely covered in snow. And that was only 2.400 or 2.500 meters at its highest point. After that the via ferrata would have started, going up to 2.700, and we couldn’t see what was behind.

Sina with a ponytail looking at a sea of clouds in the valley and pale peaks behind it

Sina climbing over boulders towards a snowy valley between rock towers

Sharp rock towers in the mist above snow with a rock out of focus in front

It also started raining. So even though we made it all the way up there, close to the end of the bowl, we decided to play it safe. We went down again, went around the massif and tried it in the next valley.

Selfie of the two of us in red jackets in the snowy valley, Sina giving a thumbs down — Not today.

And this actually worked, apart from the last 100 meters. It was free of snow until then, and the last 100 meters were a little bit of a bitch, with postholing and way too steep snow. But we made it. At the Fonda Savio hut we met two Austrian guys who were trying to do a via ferrata, but they also had to turn back at one point. We saw them again on the way down.

A hiker standing on a big snow field in front of dark rock towers in the mist

The two of us on the wooden terrace of the hut with harnesses on and snowy rock walls behind

Then we went down the gully on the other side, and we looked at where the trail would have come from that we originally wanted to take. It was probably just a straight face down, completely covered in snow. There would have been no way of getting down there safely. So a good call that we went around.

Selfie of the two of us in the snow with the Drei Zinnen in the clouds far behind us, Sina pointing at them

A hiker walking over a snow field below a dark rock wall

We made it down the gully, glissaded a few times, which made it easy. And then we came to an intersection and that’s where the, well, I wouldn’t call it a via ferrata, but a pretty exposed hiking trail started. A good one, secured with some ropes in most of the areas and also some climbing with ladders. Beautiful. We circled around the massif, the sun came out once in a while, it stopped raining and then clouds pushed in again. It was on and off the entire time.

Sina from behind on a narrow trail below an overhanging rock

A tiny hiker on the trail along a steep rock wall with pines

Me walking through a narrow gap between rock walls with sharp peaks behind me

A tiny hiker in red on the rocks in a gap with two peaks in the clouds behind

Then we made it out of the climbing part, with a beautiful view onto the Drei Zinnen already. They were partly covered in clouds, so it was again the game of on and off: raincoats on, raincoats off. Since it’s a very well known spot for photos and close to a road, we actually bumped into a lot of people trying to take pictures. We went to the very famous viewpoint, took a few pictures and then made our way to the Rifugio Auronzo.

The two of us on a rock with the jagged peaks of the Cadini di Misurina behind us — The very famous viewpoint.

A hiker standing on a wide gravel plateau at the edge of a wall of clouds

A wall of clouds swallowing the cliffs at the edge of the plateau

We warmed ourselves up a little with a coffee and a coke. And as soon as we got to the rifugio the clouds pushed in and we were just completely covered, we couldn’t see anything anymore. After probably 30 or 40 minutes we decided to continue. We went outside, it was freezing cold and wet, so we started to make some pace.

Dark jagged peaks barely visible in a sea of blue clouds

The Drei Zinnen seen from the side at the end of a long ridge with snow and mountain pines

And after probably one and a half or two kilometers the clouds actually disappeared. The Drei Zinnen came out of nowhere and were just there, fully on. Beautiful. I mean, this was one of the things we really wanted to see, and it was great to just stand there at the bottom and look at them. Amazing view.

The Drei Zinnen above a half frozen lake with little yellow flowers in front

The Drei Zinnen and their reflection in the calm water of the lake

The two of us as tiny figures on a rock below the three huge towers of the Drei Zinnen in the fog — One of the things we really wanted to see.

We continued for a little while and made it up to the Drei Zinnen hut. It was closed, so we just put on some gear and went into the next valley, since we wanted to continue to the Zsigmondy hut. And after probably 100 meters it was just a snow field again. We were postholing up to our waist, our feet were completely soaked again and it was quite a hassle to get through the first 500 meters or so.

After that the trail actually went up the wall a little and was free of snow most of the time. But the clouds pushed in, it started raining again and it was just cold. Not really nice. Once in a while the clouds lifted and you could see around, and it was just a beautiful scenery, with these monoliths standing out left and right.

Dark rock walls in the clouds above snow patches and a frozen lake

The last section was climbing up another 400 meters, probably. The wind pushed in, clouds came in, it started raining. It was a good fight over a few really steep snow fields and we were pretty exhausted already. It was probably 5:30 or 6 o’clock and we had been on the road since 7:30. So quite a long day already. You could see a lot of the military houses and bunkers at the top of the gully.

Me raising my arm on a snow field with deep footprints behind me

Then we made it up on the ridge, could see clear tracks and circled around to the next hut, the Büllelejoch hut. We met the owners, who were just starting to clean up because they wanted to open next week. They gave us some good advice on the next stretch down to the Zsigmondy hut, which they said was an easy one. But they also told us about what we had planned for tomorrow, the Alpini-Steig: no way. It’s completely covered in snow, way too dangerous and you can’t pass it, because the snow has been blown into the tracks and there is no way through. So yeah, that dream popped.

Panorama of a rocky basin with snow fields and rock peaks, a small hiker on the right

So we made it down to the Zsigmondy hut, another 30 or 45 minutes. An easy hike through beautiful scenery. They also told us that a week ago it was still completely covered in snow, so we were really lucky that a lot of it had melted. The hut even has a winter room which was open, with like six beds, but we decided to pitch the tent and have another night in it. We brought it and we actually feel quite happy in it.