Prepare before you set off
Good days in the mountains are planned, not improvised. Choose a route matched to your fitness and experience — the CAI difficulty scale (T, E, EE, EEA) helps you judge it honestly — and read the elevation gain, distance and exposure before you commit. Check the weather forecast the evening before and again in the morning, start early to beat the afternoon storms that build over the Dolomites in summer, and always tell someone your plan and your expected return time, so an alarm can be raised if you do not come back.
Follow the waymarks — the white-red-white CAI trail blazes and the numbered signposts at junctions — and do not leave the marked path to "shortcut" steep or pathless ground. Turn back without regret when the weather, your timing or your energy turn against you: the summit will still be there next time. Check weather & seasons →
The CAI difficulty scale explained
Italian trails are graded by the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) on a four-step scale. It describes the terrain and the experience required — not your fitness — so read it as the minimum skill level a path demands.
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| T | Tourist — easy, well-marked paths on stable ground, suitable for everyone including families. No experience needed. |
| E | Hiking — the bulk of mountain trails. Needs a minimum of fitness and a habit of walking on uneven ground; may include short steep or exposed stretches. |
| EE | Expert Hikers — demanding terrain: exposed paths, rocky passages, steep slopes, snow patches. Requires sure-footedness, a head for heights and experience. |
| EEA | Expert Hikers with Equipment — via ferrata and equipped routes where a certified kit, helmet and harness are mandatory. |
If a route is graded above your experience, build up to it gradually or go with a mountain guide — do not let a guidebook photo talk you onto ground you cannot safely reverse.
What to carry
For a summer day hike the essentials are: enough water and food, warm layers plus a waterproof jacket (weather changes fast at altitude), sun protection — hat, sunglasses and a high-factor cream — sturdy boots with good grip, a map or GPS, a headtorch, a small first-aid kit, an emergency foil blanket and a charged phone with a power bank. Pack as if you might be out longer than planned.
For a via ferrata, three items are non-negotiable: a via ferrata set certified to the EN 958 standard (two lanyards with quick-release carabiners and an energy-absorbing element), a climbing harness and a helmet. Never improvise this with ordinary slings — only the certified absorber can reduce the impact force of a fall onto the steel cable. We keep the full clothing and footwear breakdown in the trekking guide so this page stays focused on safety. See the full trekking gear guide →
Emergency numbers and calling for help
In an emergency, call 112, the single European emergency number (NUE). A single operations centre locates the call and dispatches the right service — including the mountain rescue, the Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS). The call is free and works even with no credit, no SIM or a locked phone. When you call, stay calm and give: what happened and how many people are involved, the condition of any injured person, your exact location (trail name or number, nearest hut, GPS coordinates), and the weather on the spot. Do not hang up until the operator tells you to, and keep the line free for the rescue team to call back.
Mobile coverage in the Dolomites has gaps: if you have no signal, move a few metres towards a higher or more open spot, and try a text or the dedicated apps. The free GeoResQ app, promoted by the CAI and run by the CNSAS, can track your route and send an alarm with your exact position; the "112 Where ARE U" app transmits your coordinates when you call 112. If you have no phone at all, use the international alpine distress signal: 6 signals — sound or light — per minute, one every 10 seconds, then a one-minute pause, repeated until answered (the reply is 3 signals per minute). To a helicopter, raise both arms into a Y to mean "I need help".
Winter: avalanche risk and the bulletin
Off the groomed, controlled slopes — ski touring, off-piste and snowshoeing — fresh snow means avalanche risk, and it is the single most serious winter hazard. Before every outing read the avalanche bulletin, published by AINEVA and the avalanche services of Trento, Bolzano and the Veneto and updated daily through the winter (usually by 5 pm). It rates the hazard on the 5-level European danger scale.
| Level | Danger |
|---|---|
| 1 | Low (Debole) |
| 2 | Moderate (Moderato) |
| 3 | Considerable (Marcato) |
| 4 | High (Forte) |
| 5 | Very high (Molto forte) |
The scale is not linear: level 3 (Considerable) is already a serious danger, not "medium", and accounts for a large share of accidents. Since 1 January 2022 Italian law requires anyone moving on snow outside controlled slopes — including snowshoers, where avalanche conditions exist — to carry the self-rescue kit: a transceiver (ARTVA), a shovel and a probe. But carrying it is not enough — a buried companion has only minutes, so you must train to use the kit fluently. Take an avalanche-awareness course, and when in doubt, hire a mountain guide who can read the snowpack and the terrain.
Common mountain hazards
Afternoon storms and lightning. In summer, thunderstorms build over the Dolomites in the afternoon — warning signs are towering anvil-shaped clouds, sudden cool gusts and a buzzing in the air. If one catches you, descend at once and get off ridges, summits and pointed features; on a via ferrata, leave the metal cable as it attracts lightning.
Altitude, sun and UV. At altitude the sun and UV are far stronger than in the valley and reflect off rock and snow, causing sunburn, heatstroke and snow-blindness — cover up and use cream and good sunglasses. Cold and hypothermia. Temperatures drop sharply with height and after a weather change; wet, wind and exhaustion bring on hypothermia even in summer, so always carry warm and waterproof layers. Fatigue, exposure and vertigo. Tiredness erodes concentration exactly where the ground is most exposed; pace yourself, eat and drink regularly, and on exposed terrain keep three points of contact and do not let vertigo rush your steps.
When to hire a mountain guide — and the golden rules
Hire a qualified mountain guide whenever the route is above your experience, for your first via ferrata, for any glacier travel, and for ski touring or off-piste in winter — a guide reads the snowpack, the terrain and the weather for you and turns a serious objective into a manageable one. The golden rules are simple: plan your route and tell someone; check the forecast and the avalanche bulletin; start early and respect the turnaround time; match the route to the weakest in the group; carry the right gear and know how to use it; and never be ashamed to turn back. The mountains reward humility.