A Winter Day in Tre Cime di Lavaredo

When I am planning a ski touring day, the snow conditions, the itinerary and the friends I am skiing with are of great importance to me. On this one day in early March, all of the above came together. It had been a few weeks that Pierre and I were trying to spend a day in the mountains, but in January the lack of snow stopped us. In February we were both busy with our jobs. And then, finally, the stars aligned, and we decided to choose the Tre Cime region in the Dolomites as a playground. That specific area is stunning and offers such beautiful landscape and great options that you immediately find yourself surrounded by intimidating yet fascinating mountains. Pierre comes from the Aosta Valley; he is a young ski instructor and a photographer.

Pierre is also a powder seeker. I'm Alice, I'm an action photographer, I come from Trentino, and I love backcountry skiing. I like to go to a different place every time and discover beautiful and less known corners of famous places. I always knew the Tre Cime di Lavaredo as a very popular climbing spot for multi-pitch routes, full of history. I had never considered it during winter. The night before our backcountry day, we went out with Gabriel, who works for the Tre Cime holiday region. Gabriel is also a passionate backcountry skier. We didn't buy any guide book; we just asked Gabriel where to go. The plan is to get up pretty early, leave one car in Misurina and go to the other end of the tour with the second car.

It's going to be a 15-km loop, but we'll only have 800 meters uphill and 1,200 meters downhill. When the downhill meters are more than the uphill ones, it's already a victory. It snowed only a few days before our arrival, so the view in the early morning is priceless: blue skies and fresh snow. Along the way, we stop many times to take pictures. We'd both feel guilty not doing it. On our right side the Cadini group, and approaching the Auronzo hut, the south face of the Tre Cime on our left. During the summertime, the trail that we follow on the way up is the main and only street that leads to the hut. There are many skiable couloirs in the area, and we have decided to go for the one between the west tower and the Cima Lavaredo. We are alone.

There is another group in front of us, but they are taking a different way. So many opportunities and choices in the same place give you more chances to be alone. This is probably what every backcountry skier is looking for. No crowds, no beaten tracks. Powder and silence. Only the sound of the fresh snow under your skis. On the way up to the top of the couloir, we strap the skis to our backpacks. The snow is soft, and although Pierre and I are far from being heavy, we are slow. The snow is deep, well over our knees. As we reach the top, the wind is blowing. We only take one selfie and rip the skins off our skis. Ready to have fun! The couloir is untouched. Pierre takes the first turn and starts his game. I follow him.

When you are skiing, this is exactly the moment you want to last longer; you want the run to be longer, or maybe you want to stop, stare at your line, put the skins back on and hike back up again. But our day is still far from being over, so no need to worry. The sun is shining. We take a small break. A sip of hot tea, a sandwich, and some more pictures. A moment to enjoy the surroundings. In front of us, after being on the other side, under the north face of Tre Cime, other ridgelines appear. It's the mountain range of the Cima Tre Scarperi. We can spot the tracks of other skiers on the Lastron dei Scarperi, a famous backcountry objective. We stop by a small hut.

We talk about our lives, plans, adventures that we had and what we would like to do in the next months. We discuss the snow and the conditions. This time, we were patient, we had to postpone this day twice, but it was more than worth it. Today is perfect. It is good to be in a new place. You can also enjoy the environment and not only what is related to the skiing factor. You pay more attention to the surroundings, and you point out at the next couloir, already planning and dreaming the next adventure even before the end of the day! Now, another 800 meter descent is waiting for us. The slope faces northwest, and the view is entirely different. The name of the spot is Valle Rienz.

The previous run was a typical Dolomitic couloir with rocks all around us. Now it's a wide-open slope. We are approaching a rare forest, descend into a wide canyon, small pine trees and bushes around us, not too steep and not too flat, perfect to take some large turns and jump on broken trees forming some pillows. Perfect to have fun! The snow makes us smile. Soft and powdery. This time I go first, turning and smiling under my ski goggles, maybe even screaming a bit. It is still a long way to the car; on skis we follow the Rienza River. It's rather flat, so we can look around and enjoy the views.

We reach our pickup truck on skis and silently thank Gabriel for the beautiful tour that he recommended and for the strategic parking lot in front of the Lago di Landro Restaurant. If you want to enjoy other places and countries, you must also include local food: Apfelstrudel and Kaiserschmarrn were calling our names. Uh, and, of course, a well-deserved cold beer.