Fresh and cool mountain-air, an idyllic and peaceful calm, and no single cloud in sight. These were my first impressions when I woke up in my sleeping bag on top of the Paternkofel, a 2,746 m high mountain that rises in the Sesto Dolomites on the border between Veneto and South Tyrol.
It is a historically famous place, during the First World War it was located along the frontier, between the Italian and Austrian borders, and some strategic tunnels were dug inside to reach the top.
Normally it’s pretty hectic up here, also because this mountain is just in front of the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo which are parts of the UNESCO World Heritage. But luckily not that early in the morning.
I started hiking at a really young age. My parents always had a passion for the mountains, and brought me almost every weekend during the summer seasons on a peak. And the passion remained even after, when I grew up. I love being outdoor, in the middle of mother nature, to unwind and to leave the daily routine behind me. It’s an incredible feeling to reach the the top of a mountain, and trust me it’s even better to hike these mountains before the sun is out. Once arrived on a peak, I prepare my camera to capture all the amazing moments which mother nature has to offer. It’s so good and every time different, that makes this passion so special for me.
Since more than two years I am working as a full time filmmaker and content creator, also thanks to my huge passion for mountains. Therefore I was even more stoked when I got the opportunity to create content for the Swiss outdoor brand Mammut. Combining my passion for the mountains, in particular for the Dolomites, with my work makes me feel truly grateful.
Together with some friends, I embarked on an overnight mission because Mammut challenged me to go on a local adventure, testing myself by exploring some wonderful places near home. Luckily I live in the heart of the beautiful Dolomites, and all these epic peaks aren’t that far away from my base. So late in the afternoon, we started our hike from the Auronzo Hütte, a place often used as a starting point for the Paternkofel, for exploring the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and for the Alta Via no. 4. After 45 minutes of easy walking, we reached the beginning of the De Luca-Innerkofler via ferrata, a trail not too complicated, but still a route for expert climbers.
The weather didn’t look that promising, there was a lot of fog and we were not sure if we would able to see the Tre Cime di Lavaredo from up there. But we continued our ascent and had a pretty good time even we had to carry a lot of stuff in our backpacks. Arrived there, we had a pretty spectacular view but it lasted only for a few minutes because the fog enveloped us again in a short time.
But somehow, I love weather conditions like this because you never know what happens next and how the views will change in a few minutes.
In the meantime, we decided to get all our stuff ready for the night, so we searched for a good spot to sleep, prepared the sleeping bag and all our other stuff, and waited.
Then it happened, the fog opened up a little and offered a pretty unreal view on all sides of the peak. We were more than stoked and started to create content till the “blue hour” finished, that moment of twilight when the sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and the residual indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue hue.
The night was clear and super fresh, but luckily everyone had a good sleeping bag, so we were totally fine. The next morning was cloudless, and of course, we prepared all our gear to get some cool content during the sunrise.
It has been a truly epic adventure that, once again, made me feel grateful to live in such an extraordinary environment and to be able to combine my passion for the mountains with my work.
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Words by Markus Ranalter (Instagram)
Photos by Thomas Monsorno (Instagram)
