One of the must do days for the visit was to visit Tre Cime, 3 peaks of limestone and it is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The tallest of the 3 peaks, the Cima Grande reaches 2,999m above sea level.  Sadly we were unable to get too close and were not able to see the front on view because of the weather and road closures. Unperturbed by this, we set off on a different view to get as close as possible.  We parked at the side of lake blah blah.  There were quite a few cars there.  None of them had paid for parking, so we assumed that May was out of season, so we didn’t pay either.

It was very kind of them to write directions on the road.

We followed route blah blah in glorious sunshine through a snow-covered forest and small frozen ponds.  There was hardly a soul in sight.  Another advantage of being there in May.  It was actually quite warm.  After approximately XX miles you come to a right turn onto a country road and things start to head upwards.  Even though it is on road, we only saw one car.  The views of the surrounding mountains and countryside were stunning, as we laboured our way up the pretty steep climb.  There was even a little bit of blue sky, which probably lured us into a false sense of security, as the dark cloud were starting to gather behind us. 

 We followed route blah blah in glorious sunshine through a snow-covered forest and small frozen ponds.  There was hardly a soul in sight.  Another advantage of being there in May.  It was actually quite warm.  After approximately XX miles you come to a right turn onto a country road and things start to head upwards.  Even though it is on road, we only saw one car.  The views of the surrounding mountains and countryside were stunning, as we laboured our way up the pretty steep climb.  There was even a little bit of blue sky, which probably lured us into a false sense of security, as the dark cloud were starting to gather behind us. 

As the road meanders up towards the refuge at XX you expect to see the peaks in front of you each time you turn a corner and finally they were there, although from our side on angle you could only see one of the peaks.  It was quite dramatic as the clouds passed over, the colours changes and the shadows moved.  It had started to get a little cooler and a look over our shoulder revealed a storm heading our way and it soon started to snow.  We had wanted to climb as far as the refuge and it wasn’t much further, but caution got the better of us and we decide to retrace our tracks back to a lower level.  It was probably a wise choice.

As we headed back down the road the snow began to fall more heavily until the road was covered.  This was good.  We don’t have the opportunity to walk in the snow in the south of England that often nowadays.

As soon as we arrived back in the valley the sun came out and the temperature rose dramatically.

What a lovely day.  A cracking walk, lots of climbing, sunshine, snow and isolation.  The only downside was the parking ticket.  Not just us, but the whole row of cars.  Someone had a field day handing those out.  We did try very hard via several means to pay it, but without success.