Ski Tour to the Sextener Stein in the Dolomites

The stunning tour in the Dolomites can be done in the winter as a ski/splitboard tour or as a snowshoe tour. It's also possible to hike the same route in the summer.

The tour starts next to the Hotel Dolomitenhof, just across from the main parking area.

Stating at 1450m, the first section of the tour is almost completely flat, as you head along the valley floor as far as the Talschlusshütte. As you stand facing the hut, the valley splits in to two. Take the path to the right of the hut and follow the sign that points to the Drei Zinnen Hütte. 

This section of the trail winds up fairly steeply through the relatively sparse treeline and emerges out of the top around 1750m. 

At this point there’s a short relatively flat section before the route starts to climb again on a relatively open (although not too steep) face. This part of the tour is in the sun for quite a large amount of time during the day, so the snow can get quite heavy and churned up, especially since many of the skiers will ski back down this face destroying the skinning tracks.

This section of the tour continues at a relatively consistent gradient until around 2330m where a small ridge offers the chance for a small break before the final uphill section to the Sextener Stein and breathtaking views of the Sextener Dolomites and the famous Dress Zinnen peaks.

Skiing back down, it’s possible to take two routes. The most popular seemed to ski back down the way that you came up. But for anyone looking for some nice off-piste, it’s possible to traverse across the valley and ski back down on the opposite side of the mountain which is predominantly in the shade and has much better snow conditions. This is the route we took and we got some amazing fresh tracks in really nice powder.

As you get to the opening of the valley, just keep left and you’ll end up back at the Talschlusshütte.