Tre Cime di Lavaredo — Italy

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Ultimate Tre Cime di Lavaredo Guide: Hiking, Climbing & Full Logistics

The Tre Cime di Lavaredo (German: Drei Zinnen — Three Merlons) are three free-standing limestone towers in the Sexten/Sesto Dolomites of northeastern Italy, rising from an alpine plateau at approximately 2,200 m and piercing the sky with vertical faces on all sides. They are, by any reasonable measure, the most recognised mountain group in the entire Alps: a silhouette so distinctive and so repeatedly photographed that it has become a global shorthand for the very idea of mountains. Reinhold Messner called them “a mirror of the evolution of alpinism” — from the first hesitant ascents of 1869 to the free solos of the modern era, every generation of climbers has returned here to define what is possible.

The three peaks span a cultural and political border: the north faces look into the German-speaking South Tyrol (formerly Austria-Hungary until 1919); the south faces look into the Italian-speaking Province of Belluno (Veneto). The names themselves encode this duality — Tre Cime in Italian, Drei Zinnen in German, both correct, both in use. The summit ridge is still, as it has been for centuries, a language border.

The three peaks — Cima Grande (2,999 m), Cima Ovest (2,973 m), and Cima Piccola (2,857 m) — were first climbed across a span of 12 years, all by the same guide family: the Innerkoflers of Sexten. The north face of Cima Grande was climbed by Emilio Comici in 1933 — one of the Six Great North Faces of the Alps. Between the first ascent and Comici’s route lay the catastrophe of the First World War, which turned these peaks into a front line and killed one of the very Innerkoflers who had opened them to climbing.

At a Glance

Tre Cime di Lavaredo Quick Facts

First Ascents

Paul Grohmann, the Innerkofler Family & Three Peaks in Twelve Years

Paul Grohmann — Cima Grande, August 21, 1869

Paul Grohmann (1838–1908) was a Viennese mountaineer who essentially opened the Dolomites to systematic alpinism between 1863 and 1869. Looking south from the high Tauern, he had seen the Dolomites and resolved to climb them all. By the time he arrived at Tre Cime, he had already made first ascents of Antelao, Pelmo, Marmolada, Tofana, Monte Civetta (fourth ascent), and others. The Tre Cime — specifically Cima Grande — were his crowning objective. On August 21, 1869, Grohmann with guides Franz Innerkofler and Peter Salcher reached the summit of Cima Grande via the South Face — a route of 200 m that remains the Normal Route today. The date August 21, 1869 is considered the founding moment of serious Dolomite mountaineering.

The Innerkofler Family — Cima Ovest (1879) & Cima Piccola (1881)

The Innerkofler guide family of Sexten (Sesto) in South Tyrol made three of the three Tre Cime first ascents. Franz Innerkofler guided Grohmann in 1869. Then, on August 21, 1879 — exactly ten years to the day after the Cima Grande first ascent — Michel Innerkofler with client G. Ploner made the first ascent of the Cima Ovest. Two years later, on July 25, 1881, Michel and Hans Innerkofler made the first ascent of the Cima Piccola — the most technically demanding of the three normal routes. The three first ascents span twelve years; all three normal ascent routes still follow the Innerkofler lines. No other guide family in the Dolomites can claim to have opened an entire massif of this stature.

The Normal Routes Today — Still the Original Lines

The Normal Route on each peak follows precisely the line taken on the first ascent. Cima Grande’s South Face (UIAA II, 200 m, 2.5 hours from the Lavaredo hut) is the most popular climbing objective in the entire Dolomites — smooth from generations of ascent, approached in 40 minutes from the Rifugio Auronzo parking area, and heavily trafficked in July and August. The Cima Piccola Normal Route is the most difficult, with the summit block requiring more committed climbing. The Cima Ovest Normal Route (SW Face, UIAA III, 300 m, 2 hours) is the least visited of the three by ordinary walkers but offers the finest summit position.

The Evolution: From Normal Routes to the Modern Era

After the Innerkofler first ascents, successive generations measured their ambitions against the north face of Cima Grande. The north face looks out toward South Tyrol — almost entirely vertical, 550 m high, overhanging at its core. Between 1869 and 1933, it was attempted and left unclimbed. Then Comici arrived (see below). After Comici, the great routes of the post-war era followed: the Hasse-Brandler Directissima in 1958 (18 pitches, originally climbed with significant aid), an important test piece that took the absolute most direct line up the centre of the face. By the modern era, Alex Huber had free-soloed the north face in 2002. The Tre Cime had compressed the entire history of rock climbing into a single wall.

The North Face & Comici’s Philosophy

Emilio Comici — The Drop of Water & the North Face of Cima Grande, 1933

The White War

World War I at the Tre Cime — The Front Line & Sepp Innerkofler

Between 1915 and 1917, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo were a front line of the First World War. The pre-1919 border between Italy and Austria-Hungary ran precisely through the peaks — which meant that when Italy entered the war in May 1915, Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops found themselves entrenched on the ridge that the Innerkoflers had climbed for sport less than 40 years earlier. The conflict in the Dolomites was known as the “White War” (Guerra Bianca) — fought at altitude, in snow and ice, in conditions of extreme cold and isolation, by soldiers who sometimes faced each other from positions just a few hundred metres apart on adjacent peaks.

The traces of the White War remain perfectly visible throughout the Tre Cime area: trenches, tunnels carved through the rock, artillery positions, iron ladders, and commemorative plaques scattered along the hiking trails. Monte Paterno (2,744 m) — the rocky pyramid northeast of the Tre Cime, visible from Rifugio Locatelli — is an open-air museum of WWI, with a system of tunnels that the Italian Alpini dug through the mountain to reach their positions without exposure to Austrian fire.

Sepp Innerkofler — July 4, 1915

Sepp Innerkofler was one of the most famous mountain guides in the Sexten/Sesto area — a member of the Innerkofler guide family that had opened the Tre Cime between 1869 and 1881 — and was serving as an Austrian soldier when the war began. On the night of July 4, 1915, Innerkofler led a patrol in a night attack attempting to storm the summit of Monte Paterno, which the Italian Alpini had fortified. Italian sharpshooters spotted the men and opened fire. Sepp Innerkofler was killed on the mountain he knew better than any soldier on either side. It is said that the Italian Alpine soldiers who discovered who had been killed were distraught — many were themselves alpinists who had admired Innerkofler as a guide. His body was laid to rest on the summit of Monte Paterno and later moved to a cemetery in Sexten after the war.

Today, the Via Ferrata De Luca-Innerkofler on Monte Paterno is named jointly after Sepp Innerkofler and Piero de Luca, an Italian Alpini officer who defended the summit in the same engagement — a deliberate act of reconciliation between the nations that once faced each other here. The via ferrata passes through the original WWI tunnels (headlamp essential) before emerging onto the cabled sections of the mountain’s crest.

Getting There — 2025 Update

Access, Toll Road & 2025 Mandatory Reservation

All Routes & Experiences

From the Loop Hike to the Six Great North Faces

Route Detail

The Circuit Hike, Cima Grande Normal Route & Comici North Face

Sample Itinerary

Classic Two-Day Tre Cime Program

Huts & Access

Three Rifugi, Toll Road & No Climbing Permits

Seasonal Planning

Best Time to Visit the Tre Cime

Equipment

Essential Gear by Activity

Risk & Preparedness

Difficulty & Safety Notes

A mountain for everyone — but crowds create specific hazards

• Rockfall on Cima Grande Normal Route: The south face is polished and heavily trafficked. Parties above dislodge rock — whether intentionally or not — onto parties below. Helmet mandatory from the approach. On busy days (July–August weekends), the density of parties creates sustained rockfall hazard throughout the route. Consider early starts (pre-dawn) or off-peak timing (September).
• Afternoon thunderstorms: The Dolomites produce severe afternoon thunderstorms with very little warning. The characteristic pattern: clear morning, clouds building from noon, storm by 2–3 PM. For any route on the peaks, summit by noon. Do not start the Cima Grande Normal Route after 9 AM in storm-risk conditions.
• Wet rock on the Normal Route: UIAA II on dry Dolomite limestone is accessible for most roped parties with basic climbing experience. The same route in rain or after rain becomes a much more serious proposition — smooth, polished, wet limestone is far harder than its nominal grade suggests.
• Comici North Face — no retreat: The overhanging structure of the north face means that once committed past the lower section, retreat by abseiling is not a viable option. Parties must be certain of their ability to complete the route before starting. Check the weather twice. Have an alpine start that guarantees summit before noon.
• Via Ferrata Innerkofler — length at altitude: The difficulty is moderate but the duration (5–7 hours) at altitude (up to 2,744 m) means that pace must be managed carefully. People have died on this route; clip in throughout. The headlamp in the tunnels is not optional — the natural light is insufficient.
• Crowd management on the circuit hike: The Giro delle Tre Cime is straightforward but congested. Start before 8 AM to have the best viewpoints with manageable crowds. On high-season summer weekends, the Forcella Lavaredo and Rifugio Locatelli areas can be overwhelmingly busy by mid-morning.

Guided Programs

Tre Cime Guide Services

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions About the Tre Cime

Live Conditions

Map of the Tre Cime & Live Weather

Summit location and live weather from Cima Grande di Lavaredo’s coordinates (46.617°N, 12.304°E). The map shows all three peaks, the three rifugi, and Misurina (toll road access point).

Planning Summary

At-a-Glance Planning Snapshot

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