Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita

Overview

Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita seen from the west

The Prags / Braies Dolomites in the very north of the Dolomites mountain range are often overlooked due to their much more famous neighbours. Granted, Pragser Wildsee / Lago di Braies with the north face of Seekofel / Sas dla Porta / Croda del Becco towering above dark waters is one of the most famous sights of the range and Plätzwiese / Prato Piatto is downright crowded on summer weekends but if you are looking for remote and solitary places this is the place to go to. Mainly in the nortehrn and eastern parts of the Prags / Braies Dolomites you will find mountains which are climbed only rarely.

Of these Olanger Köpfe, a line of six mountains, take a special position. They belong to the northernmost mountains of any Dolomite group and tower some 1500m above the valley floor of Pustertal / Val Pusteria. The line is divided into two sections by Lapadures Joch / Ju Slapadures, an eastern one with four major summits (Kaserkopf / Punta Casera, Hochalpenkopf / Cima dei Colli Alti, Maurerkopf / Munt de Mur / Monte Muro and Flatschkofel / Col Valacia) and a western one with two mountains, Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita and Piz da Peres / Pizzo delle Pietre.

Being located in an area, where three languages are spoken (Ladin, German, Italian) most of these mountains carry at least two, sometimes three names and Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita is no excepition. The German and Italian Names reflect that - when seen from Pustertal / Val Pusteria - there are three distinct towers in the west of the mountain's north face, looking like so many fingers. If you draw close, however, you may be excused to count more than three, maybe five or even six fingers, as the north face of Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita shows many subdivisions.

This quite naturally is caused by the poor rock quality of the mountain. Like any of its neighbours - actually the whole Prags / Braies Dolomites - Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita consists of soft llimestone, which easily erodes into almost sandstone-like quality. Poor sandstone quality, I have to add. Thus there are no descent climbing routes through the north face even though it is some 700m high and nearly vertical. Instead the mountain can be reached through either of the two saddles on its western and eastern sides: Dreifingerscharte / Forcella Tre Dita or Lapaduresjoch / Ju dles Slapadures. Even here the ground is brittle, almost sand-like, making the ascent routes very strenuous.

As a mountain Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita shows the brittle vertical north face but also a very smooth and shallow south slope. Having reached one of the saddles, the final ascent poses no problems. There is no marked path to the summit but a cross leads the way. Also - and since the mountain is used for cattle grazing in the summer months a wooden cattle fence has been erected to protect the animals from the brittle gullies between the three fingers.

Like all of the Olanger Köpfe, Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita is a wonderful lookout mountain. It offers great views towards the northern and central Dolomites but it is its posiition high above Pustertal / Val Pusteria and the northern ascpect which draws most attentio. Across the valley you can see the glaciated mountains of the Zillertal Alps and Hohe Tauern with Hochgall / Collalto taking the central position.

Summit Panorama

180° Panorama covering the Dolomites in the south of the mountain

Getting There

Rieserferner Group seen from Dreifingerspitze

The best trailhead for Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita is at Furkelsattel / Ju de Furcia / Passo de Furcia which separates the Olanger Köpfe Group from Kronplatz / Plan de Corones. Alternatives are Enneberg / Mareo / Marebbe to the west or Pragser Wildsee / Lago di Braies in the east. Both alternatives require lengthy ascents with hefty elevation gains.

From The North

• Take A22 Brenner Motorway to exit Brixen / Bressanone
  
• Turn off onto SS49 east to Bruneck / Brunico
  
• After Percha / Perca turn off left onto SP43 which takes you to the saddle

From Austria (East)

• Take A12 Inntalautobahn to exit Kufstein.
  
• Turn onto B178, later B161 south in direction Kitzbühel.
  
• At Mittersill B161 turns into B108 which heads through Felbertauern Tunnel.
  
• Take B108 to Lienz were you turn right (west) onto E66 which on the border crossing turns into SS49 to Bruneck / Brunico.
  
• After SP44 turns off north into Antholzer Tal / Val Anterselva, SP43 turns off south and takes you to Furkelsattel

From Udine

• Take A23 north to exit Carnia.
  
• Turn off onto SS52 which leads through several detours to Innichen / San Candido
  
• Turn east onto SS49 to Bruneck / Brunico.
  
• After SP44 turns off north into Antholzer Tal / Val Anterselva, SP43 turns off south and takes you to Furkelsattel

From Venezia

• Take motorway A27 north towards its end near Belluno.
  
• Turn onto SS51 towards Cortina d’Ampezzo and on to Toblach / Dobbiaco.
  
• Turn east onto SS49 to Bruneck / Brunico.
  
• After SP44 turns off north into Antholzer Tal / Val Anterselva, SP43 turns off south and takes you to Furkelsattel

Routes

Even if you restrict yourself to the trailhead on Furkelsattel / Ju de Furcia / Passo de Furcia there are three ascent routes to the mountain.

• Direct ascent through Dreifingerscahrte / Forcella Tre Dita
  Trail No 3 starts at Furkelsattel and crosses the north slopes of Piz da Peres / Pizzo delle Pietre only slowly gaining elevation. Once beneath Dreifingerscharte / Forcella Tre Dita it splits. The right hand trail turns south and heads up the scree fields towards the saddle. It is a very steep and somewhat uncomfortable ascent due to the amount of small gravel on the route. Once in the saddle turn left and head up Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita along its south slope. The final ascent is path-less.
  
• Eastern ascent through Lapaduresjoch / Ju dles Lapadures
  This route starts as the former one but at the intersection beneath Dreifingerscharte / Forcella Tre Dita take the left hand path (No 3a), which remains beneath the north face of the mountain and descends to Schessels-Alm. Here it meets trai No 3b which gradually heads into Lapadurestal / Val dles Slapadures, which heads towards the saddle of the same name (separating Dreifingerspitze from Flatschkofel). Before you reach the saddle turn onto an unnumbered path which heads across the Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita south slopes. The final ascent again is path-less.
  
• Across Piz da Peres / Pizzo delle Pietre
  From Furkelsattel / Ju de Furcia / Passo de Furcia a path leads across the ski slopes to the north-west of Piz da Peres / Pizzo delle Pietre. It crosses a gully to the west of the mountain before combining with path No 12, heading up its west ridge. This path is steep and exposed on brittle ground! Cross Piz da Peres and head down into Dreifingerscharte / Forcella Tre Dita from where a path takes you to the south side of your destination. Hike to the summit across the path-less meadows to its south.

Red Tape

In 1980 an area of 25680ha has been set aside for the natural Park Fanes Sennes - Prags. You are required to treat the Natural Park with care: leave animals and plants in their place, use trails (especially when mountain biking), and take the official open roads with your car.

For more information see here

• Fanes-Senes-Prags Natural Park

Accommodation

For hotels and apartments have a look at the websites of the towns and cities of the area:

• Bruneck / Brunico
  
• Prags / Braies
  
• Toblach / Dobbiaco
  
• St. Vigil

Weather Conditions

Maps & Books

Books

The Prags Dolomites / Dolomiti de Braies are not as well covered in terms of Guidebooks. The list below offers the German books I know of dealing with the area but there certainly are more, especially Italian ones.

• Dolomiten 5 - Sexten - Toblach - Prags
  F. Hauleitner
  Rother Verlag
  ISBN: 3 7633 4199 4
  
• Dolomiten
  P. Fleischmann
  Kompass Verlag
  ISBN: 3 8705 1409 4
  Sextener Dolomiten extrem - Alpenvereinsführer
  R. Goedeke
  Rother Verlag
  ISBN: 3 7633 1255 2

Maps

The most commonly used maps are the ones by Kompass and by Tabacco. The Kompass one is good as an overview map while the Tabacco one offers more details.

• Bruneck - Toblach / Brunico Dobbiaco
  Kompass Map WK 57
  ISBN: 3 85491 064 9
  Scale: 1:50000
  
• Dolomiti di Braies / Pragser Dolomiten / Marebbe / Enneberg / Plan de Corones / Kronplatz
  Tabacco Map 031
  Scale: 1:25000

Images

View Dreifingerspitze / Col Alc / Punta Tre Dita Image Gallery - 15 Images