Sunrise at the Geisler Peaks

My room for the night in the Schlüterhütte wasn’t heated, but thick down duvets and the tiredness after the ascent from Campill let me sleep deeply, softly and warmly. There’s only that one moment of overcoming when you have to leave the cosy cocoon in the morning and get into cool clothes. For me, this moment came before sunrise, which I absolutely wanted to spend again on the summit of Zendleser Kofel with a view of the Geisler Peaks.

The night was icy and star-clear, and the short path to the summit was quickly covered with a headlamp. I also stayed alone to marvel at the entire majestic transition from the deep black night, through the gentle glimmer of dawn, to the first bright sunbeams on the mountain peaks of the Geisler Peaks and Puez Peaks. The hot coffee at breakfast back in the hut tasted all the better then. Unfortunately, the planned farewell portraits of the hut warden proved difficult because the camera lenses were still icy cold from the morning photo session and kept fogging up in the warm room – resulting only in ghostly blurred shots.

For today, only the descent via the Medalgesalm down to Campill was planned. To do this, I followed a short section of the Dolomite High Trail No. 2 up to the Kreuzjoch, which then leads further to the Puezhütte through the steep Roascharte. At the beginning of the path, the traverse of the Sobutsch to the Bronsoijoch was on the agenda. There, a warm updraft from the sunny, south-facing slopes of the Medalgesalm and a beautiful mountain panorama greeted me.

Opposite, the still frosty, shady north faces of the Puez Peaks rose up, seemingly within reach. I reached the Kreuzjoch via the gently sloping path and got a close-up impression of the vertical rock faces of the Geisler Peaks. The warm autumn sun had already almost melted away the snow from the past few days here. Unfortunately, the Medalges Almhütte was already closed, but the spot is a beautifully situated resting place. The high trail follows the valley head and then leads through the steep and seemingly impassable Roa-Scharte between the rocks into the Roa Valley. However, I turned downhill. On the further descent to Campill across the alpine meadows and sparse larch and spruce forests, I was gradually able to pack my warm clothes into my backpack. When I finally reached the hikers’ car park, I still had enough energy for a visit to the mills in the Mill Valley of Campill.

More pictures: