From the Plätzwiese to the Dürrenstein

On a cool, clear autumn night, I ascended to the summit of Dürrenstein (2,839 m) in the Prags Dolomites before dawn. In the bright light of the full moon – I didn’t even need a headlamp for the ascent – an impressive alpine panorama unfolded with every step upwards: the Sesto Dolomites with the Three Peaks, the rock towers of Cadini di Misurina, the mighty Cristallo Massif, the Fanes-Sennes-Prags Mountains and below, my starting point and last night’s camp, the Plätzwiese high plateau. At the summit itself, the missing part of the all-round panorama to the north, across the Pustertal valley to the main Alpine ridge, was added.

The magical and silent atmosphere of the dark mountain massifs in the silvery moonlight was followed by the blue hour of dawn, before the new day announced itself in the luminous colours of the sunrise. From mid to late October, the yellow colouring of the larches also reaches its peak, contrasting with the dark green of the spruces and pines – for me, every year a special time for a trip to the Alps, for example to Lake Achensee, the Berchtesgaden National Park, the Großer Ahornboden and many other destinations.