The Toms Barnetts' Escapades in the Dolomiti & Zillertal Alps: Hike through Rosszahne Pass to the award-winning Rifugio Alpes di Tires

Today was a rather chill day, relatively speaking. The plan was to enjoy a nice breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road. Unfortunately, breakfast turned out to be a bit of a tease. There was an incredible spread for the buffet, but we had to stand behind a black line and tell a server what we wanted. Between the language barrier and not being able to see everything, none of us got quite what we were hoping for, but no one went hungry. Darn COVID.

After stuffing everything back into the car, we hit the road for Alpe de Siusi and then Compatsch. I haven't yet mentioned Italian mountain roads, so I should. Italians bring a whole new meaning to switchbacks and hairpin turns. With all of the wild things we have done so far, the kids find the driving to be the scariest. Another incredible thing is that there are cyclists EVERYWHERE! On roads that seem like they would be impossible to ride because of the climbing and lack of shoulder, there are cyclists happily climbing forever on their bikes.

We were a little bit confused about parking in Compatsch. It is an Italian alpine village to which most people take a chairlift. In the summer, the snowfields turn into cow pastures and fields for haying. It turns out that overnight parking is not allowed which is what we needed to do in order to stay at the rifugio. We were able to get permission, but I needed to drive the car to a different parking and hike back up while my family sat down and had a lovely meal - lucky ducks.

We thought we had an easy hike ahead of us, but when one of the kids asked where the trail went, Dan pointed to a mountain pass with lots of switchbacks for a trail. So, we hiked through the picturesque alpine farms and then climbed the mountain pass. Juno boogied up and then hiked back down again to help Dan with his pack. When we reached the top of the pass, everyone was a sweaty mess (it was hot), but the view was spectacular! James assumed his usual horizontal position at the top, so our selfie has him laying down - what a turkey. The last stretch to the rifugio was a piece of cake.

Each rifugio was a bit of a surprise to us - we had no idea what to expect at each one. Rifugio Alpes de Tires was definitely a treat. We even got our own room with 5 bunks. We all changed out of our sweaty clothes and I hung my shirt in the window despite Dan telling me not to. Good thing that Juno was able to have Dan hold onto their feet while they dangled out the window to retrieve it after the wind caught hold of it. Guess he was right. The food was exceptional and the mountains in every direction were majestic! There were some articles in the rifugio that mentioned that the hut had received several awards.