Monday: 14th August: Weather: 9°C to 27°C: Sunny day with blue skies, predicted storms never eventuated
Cortina: 9.1k walk: 2hrs 30 mins: 11.45am to 4.45pm: 3 x 30 min stops: Ascent: 407m Descent 407m
Day Walk: Tre Cime di Lavaredo: Bus Col Gallina via Cortina to Rifugio Auronzo: Walk Tre Cime, return Cortina
Accommodation: Hotel Nord Cortina
Waiting for 9.20am Col Gallina bus
11.30am the queue to Tre Cime
Truly captivating Tre Cime
Tre Cime in glorious sunshine
Wide military track is easy walking
Us at Tre Cime in Dolomires
Hauling bags down to Dolomiti bus
View from Hotel Nord Cortina
Highlight today was walking the Tre Cime di Lavaredo circuit with amazing views of the Tre Cime - the three chimneys. But even more amazing was the thousands of tourists piling into buses and cars en route to Rifugio Auronzo, the start of the walk. It was even busier than Durdle Door, the famed icon on the uk South West Coast Path, which is visited by thousands of tourists from Asia because many Bollywood films are made there. Tre Cime was even busier. Our bus was packed, and the driver had to turn almost 100 people away to tell them to wait for the next bus - if there was one!!
We’re awake before our alarm goes off at 5.45am and have a cup of tea while we sort and pack, ready to leave our Rifugio Col Gallina on the 9.20 bus to Cortina. Breakfast at 7am is another delightful spread of croissants, cake, jam tart, meusli, yoghurt and hot milky coffee. We say good bye to our host and thank him for such a wonderful stay. Then at 9am, we wander over to the bus stop to wait for the Cortina bus which arrives a little late.
This particular bus goes through Cortina and out the otherside up to Lake Misurin and Rifugio Auronza at the start of the Tre Cime Lavaredo walk. We intend catching this bus to do tomorrow to do that walk but half way down to to Cortina, we both have the same thought. Why not just stay on the bus, and keep on going to do the Tre Cime walk today. We just had to hope that the Rifugio Auronza would mind our two bags which we’d brought with us with our airline clothes and spare shoes etc. We’d already teed up our apartment in Bolzano to store the bags for the 2 weeks while we walk teh AV2, but for this week we’re stuck with them.
We take the chance that the Rifugio will store the bags for a few hours, and when we arrive in Cortina, we pay the extra 10 euro each to go all the way to the start of teh Tre Cime. The bus picks up several passengers at each stop along the way and half way there at Lake Misurin, there’s a line of more than 50 people - all wanting to get on the bus. Lake Misurin is a trendy tourist spot with expensive hotels and is a centre for skiing and hiking and there’s cars and people everywhere. The first 6 people get on to our bus and the rest are told to wait for the next bus - not happy customers! The bus moves on a few hundred metres and aain there’s a line of people waiting to get on. The driver opens the oor to tell them the same story - next bus!
Passengers are standing in the aisle of the bus for the next 30 minutes to Rifugio Auronzo and when we arrive at 11.30, the car park is jammed full of cars and mobile homes, the Rifugio is jammed packed with lunch patrons, and the Tre Cime track visible to the right is a traffic jam of hikers. After hauling our 2 x suitcases 100 metres up the road, we’re not optimistic of even talking to someone about storing anything for a few hours. We squeeze our way into the rifugio bar, and inbetween seving beers, ask the barman if it would be ok to store our bags for a few hours. “No problem, over there behind door marked Privato”. And so we did.
And then we joined the people traffic on track 101. It’s 11.45am when we set out and slow going on a wide jeep track, families, kids and dogs setting the slow pace. After 20 minutes, we reach Rifugio Lavaredo, overflowing with hikers who had no intention of walking the entire 10k track, as this spot afforded the most magnificent view of the Tre Cime. Why go further? We can walk a bit faster now that half the hikers have stopped, and a quick calculation tells us we could do the circuit in two and a half hours if we don’t stop for coffee. We could then get the 2.30pm bus back to Cortina instead of waiting for the 4.55pm and it avoided the possibility of getting caught in the thundersorms which were predicted. So this was the plan.
The Views of Tre Cime are truly magnificent. Any wonder it is the most popular spot in the Dolomites. We’d read Tre Cime was popular but the amazing scenery and sheer numbers of visitors is just astounding beyond all expectations. There’s still long lines of hikers on the way up a well graded track to Forcella Lavaredo, many sitting to teh side on rocks admiring the stupendous view that opens out after the Forcella across to the Tre Scarpering Baranci Groups and teh spites of teh Cadini. The track descends a little, then rises to Rifugio Lofatelli where there are more hards of hikers dining and drinking. We skirt the track below, admiring the Tre Cime and valley below flanked by the many different Dolomiti groups, Then the track descends quite steeply on slippery loose dry stones then up the other side to Forcella Col di Mezzo, where Rifugio Auronzo comes into view.
We’ve made good time walking briskly but still having time to stop to take photos along the way, and we reach the Rifugio Auronzo at 2.10pm, just in time to collect our bags from behind the Privato door, then roll back down the road to the waiting bus where there’s already a queue. It’s the same lady bus driver who drove us up and she was extremely competent taking the bus around sharp twists and turns, and in and out of traffic jams. We pile into the bus - no spare seats, and arrive back in Cortina at 3.30pm.
After 4 days, our Aldi SIM cards still aren’t connected so I mind the bags at the stazione while Ian visits the local Windtre store to renew his Italian SIM card. He returns with limited success. The card now works but most of the 20 euro he put into the account disappeared in charges. Google translation didn’t help explain the costs, but at least we have a SIM card that works now. While waiting, I’ve had time to check on other walks and find that one of teh busus to Pass Giau doesn’t go there any more, so we need to work out how best to visit the Crodo da Lago tomorrow. I do a bit more searching while Ian trots back to the local Conad Supermarket for a picnic dinner and returns just in time to catch a local bus Line 1 up to Codeville where the bus drops us at the door of our Hotel Nord.
Our room is nice, but a bit tired, and we kinda like our old Rifugio twin bed room better. This room has a view from the balcony across to the Dolomites, but so did our bar at the Rifugio. Oh well, we were lucky to get to stay at the Rifugio Col Gallina, located in the Middle of so many hikes aroung the Lagazuoi. There’s no bar at the hotel, just bottled beer, but anything is good tonight since we didn’t stop for coffee or lunch today. After a shower and a bit of washing, we enjoy a beer with a picnic ham roll on our balcony before returing to bed to sort photos and blog. An unexpected wonderful day hiking the Tre Cime di Lavardeo circuit.