Tre Cime di Lavaredo
2,999 m
Italy
Also known as Tre Cime, Große Zinne, +6Also known as
Tre Cime · Große Zinne · Τρεις Κορυφές του Λαβαρέντο · Tres Cimas de Lavaredo · Cima Grande · Cima Grande - Große Zinne · Тре Чиме ди Лаваредо · Tri Cine
- Elevation
- 2,999 m
- Prominence
- 551 m
- Difficulty
- 6/10
- Alpine climb
- Best Season
- Jul–Sep
- Routes
- 2
RegulationReported 23 May 2026
Tre Cime toll road reopened on 23 May 2026 with compulsory online booking at auronzo.info (number plate required, about 700 cars a day). Prices unchanged from 2025: EUR 40 per car; ticket valid 12 hours.
dolomitireview.com
Routes
2Approximate line — not for navigation
An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.
Why? 4 check notes
- danger scan: Cappella degli Alpini → Cima Grande di Lavaredo: connector line 119 m above the last hut/bivouac
- last routed vertex 119 m from the summit
- DEM 25 m before the summit is 2851 m vs summit elevation 2999 m (DEM too coarse for the summit block?)
- unresolved waypoints: Start of the normal route, Ring ledge
Sources differ: PD+ (VieNormali.it)
The line of the first ascent to the highest of the three towers (2,999 m): about 500 m of complex but mostly easy climbing (I–II with several III pitches) through gullies, chimneys and ledges on the south-east side, 45 minutes from the Rifugio Auronzo car park. Route-finding, not technical difficulty, is the main problem; descent is by the same line with several rappels.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 3.7 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +731 m
- −66 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 2,999 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 3h 01m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 2h 08m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the Rifugio Auronzo (2,320 m), at the end of the Misurina toll road, follow the track east towards the Rifugio Lavaredo for about 10 minutes, then take a path north up the scree (or the path from the small chapel) into the big gully between the Cima Grande and the Cima Piccola. The route starts fairly high in this gully on a ramp on the left, on the right-hand side of the deep cleft that separates the pyramid-shaped base from the main mass. Climb the ramp (I) and partly the left wall of the gully (II) to a notch, then a steep, cracked wall left of the crest (III-) and two more notches to the start of the broad lower terrace. Easy rock, gullies and steps lead straight up to a steep chimney; avoid its base on the left, then a deep, narrow chimney with chockstones leads right (II–III) to a small notch, followed by a few steep, exposed moves (III). The line then trends left into the main gully and reaches the large ring ledge about 100 m below the summit. Follow the ledge left for 60–80 m to an obvious, well-trodden gully that leads to the top. Allow 2–3 hours for the climbing; the rock is solid but polished, and pegs, chains and bolted belays mark the way. Descend the same way. Rappel anchors are in place below the ring ledge (four rappels of about 25 m per VieNormali, 2 x 20 m per other descriptions) and lower down; many parties downclimb the easier sections. The main route-finding traps are just below the ring ledge and at the three notches near the bottom (do not turn left too early). The route is busy in summer, so stonefall from parties above is a real risk, and it becomes confusing in mist.
Start
Parcheggio Rifugio Auronzo2,335 m
- Seasonal Dolomiti Bus service from Cortina d'Ampezzo and Misurina to the Rifugio Auronzo in summer; from the Val Pusteria a shuttle runs from Dobbiaco/Toblach with compulsory advance booking. Check current timetables.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parcheggio Rifugio Auronzo → Cima Grande di Lavaredo | 3.7 | 731 | 66 | 3h 01m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Parcheggio Rifugio Auronzo2,335 m
End of the Tre Cime toll road; booking required
- Hut: Rifugio Auronzo2,324 m
- Feature: Cappella degli Alpini2,344 m
Path north from the chapel to the gully between Cima Grande and Cima Piccola
- Summit: Cima Grande di Lavaredo2,999 m
Key Passages
- Cracked wall above the first notch (III-)
- Deep chockstone chimney (II–III)
- Steep, exposed moves above the small notch (III)
- Ring ledge 100 m below the summit
- Rappels and route-finding on descent
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
Three free-standing dolomite towers in the Sexten Dolomites: the Cima Grande (2,999 m), Cima Ovest (2,973 m) and Cima Piccola (2,857 m). Their north faces are among the great walls of the Alps; the summits themselves are reached only by rock climbs, the easiest being the AD- normal route on the Cima Grande.
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Drei Zinnen) stand on the border between South Tyrol and the province of Belluno, above a high plateau of scree at about 2,300 m between Misurina and the Val Fiscalina. Seen from the north, from the Rifugio Locatelli, the three towers rise 500–550 m sheer from the scree in one of the best-known views of the Dolomites. The area north of the peaks lies in the Tre Cime Nature Park, part of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage site since 2009.
A toll road from Misurina reaches the Rifugio Auronzo at 2,320 m, so the walk round the base of the towers is one of the busiest hikes in the Alps. The summits are another matter: there is no walking route to any of them. The normal routes, all following the lines of the first ascents, are long, intricate climbs of grade II–IV with multiple rappels on descent. The Cima Grande's south-east route (AD-, III) is the easiest and most climbed, and its route-finding is the main challenge. The Cima Ovest's normal route (AD, IV) is quieter; the Cima Piccola's is the hardest of the three.
The north faces carry some of the most famous rock climbs in Europe, including the Comici route on the Cima Grande (1933) and the Cassin route on the Cima Ovest. The skeleton position for this page is the Cima Ovest; the highest summit is the Cima Grande, and both normal routes are described.
Climbing Notes
Even the easiest summit requires competent multi-pitch climbing: confident movement on grade III rock without a rope on the easier sections, belaying, setting up and checking rappels, and good route-finding. The normal routes are not equipped as sport climbs; belays have pegs or bolts, but protection between them is sparse. If you are new to Dolomite climbing, hire a mountain guide from Cortina, Sesto or Misurina; the local guide offices all offer the normal routes.
Allow a full day: about 4 hours from the Auronzo car park to the Cima Grande summit and 3–4 hours back, mostly on descent with rappels and downclimbing. Start early to avoid queues on the Cima Grande and thunderstorms, which are common on summer afternoons; the gullies become serious in rain and mist. Snow lingers in the gullies, particularly on the Cima Ovest, into July.
The Tre Cime toll road requires online booking in advance and costs EUR 40 per car (2026); the ticket is valid for 12 hours, so an overnight at the Rifugio Auronzo or Lavaredo means paying again. Alternatives are the seasonal buses from Misurina, Cortina or Dobbiaco, or a longer approach on foot from the Val Fiscalina or Landro via the Rifugio Locatelli.
History
The Cima Grande was first climbed on 21 August 1869 by Paul Grohmann with the guides Franz Innerkofler and Peter Salcher from the south, the line of today's normal route; the first winter ascent followed on 28 December 1892. Exactly ten years after Grohmann, on 21 August 1879, Michel Innerkofler and Georg Ploner climbed the Cima Ovest. Michel and Hans Innerkofler made the first ascent of the Cima Piccola on 25 July 1881. Emilio Comici and the brothers Giuseppe and Angelo Dimai climbed the north face of the Cima Grande in 1933 over three days. Until 1919 the towers marked the border between Italy and Austria-Hungary, and during the First World War the front line ran through them; trenches, tunnels and iron ladders from the fighting of 1915–1917 remain around the plateau, notably on Monte Paterno.
Season
Best Jul–Sep- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Best (best window)
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter; toll road closed, winter climbing for experts only
- Feb
- Winter conditions
- Mar
- Winter conditions; ski touring around the base
- Apr
- Snow on ledges and in gullies
- May
- Toll road opens in late May (23 May in 2026); routes still snowy
- Jun
- Rifugio Auronzo opens in early June; snow in the gullies and on ledges
- Jul
- Main climbing season; afternoon thunderstorms; queues on the Cima Grande
- Aug
- Main season; road quota fills days ahead at weekends
- Sep
- Often the most stable weather and fewer people
- Oct
- Short days, cold rock and early snow; Rifugio Auronzo closes mid-October
- Nov
- Toll road closes with the first lasting snow
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Tre Cime toll road bookingOptional
Required only if driving to the Rifugio Auronzo: online booking of a time slot and number plate at auronzo.info is compulsory, with a cap of about 700 cars a day. Walkers, cyclists and bus passengers do not need it.
auronzo.info
- Hut Booking
- Rifugio Auronzo (CAI, about 100 places, June to mid-October) and Rifugio Lavaredo (private, about 24 places): book directly with the huts; summer weekends fill early.
- Fees
- Tre Cime toll road and parking at the Rifugio Auronzo (2026): EUR 40 per car, EUR 26 per motorbike, EUR 60 per camper; ticket valid for 12 hours from the booked entry time
- Paid car park at Misurina/Antorno for those taking the bus
- Hut overnight fees
- Rules
- Toll road open roughly late May to early November, closed in winter; road tickets expire after 12 hours
- North side lies in the Tre Cime Nature Park (South Tyrol); stay on marked paths
- Getting There
Misurina and Auronzo di Cadore (south); Sesto/Sexten and Dobbiaco/Toblach (north); Cortina d'Ampezzo
Venice Marco Polo (VCE); Innsbruck (INN)
- By car: SR 48 to Misurina, then the road towards Carbonin and the Tre Cime toll road past Lago d'Antorno to the Rifugio Auronzo (booking required)
- Bus: seasonal Dolomiti Bus line from Cortina d'Ampezzo and Misurina to the Rifugio Auronzo in summer; shuttle from Dobbiaco with compulsory advance booking
- On foot: path 101 from Antorno; from the Val Fiscalina (path 102) or Landro via the Rifugio Locatelli
Hazards
- Rockfall
- Exposure
- Weather
Huts & Shelters
2- 2,320 m
- 2,344 m