Passo Principe - Grasleitenpass refuge

Situated on the pass of the same name, under a rocky overhang, this little refuge is located at an important crossroads in the Catinaccio Group, between the South Tyrol and Trento and at the bottom of the highest summit in the range, the Catinaccio d'Antermoia – Kesselkogel 3,004 m in altitude.

Its names in Italian and German have different meanings. It is said that it is located between two areas, one that speaks German and one that speaks Ladin (a Romance language) and that they share the same history.

In fact, sometime between 1500 and 1600, Daniele Zen, the Prince-Bishop of Bressanone (Brixen) passed through here to visit the Val di Fassa. Indeed, the Val di Fassa belonged to said principality and, there was a time when the subjects found themselves in a tight financial situation. Daniele Zen helped them to pay the taxes to the commanders of the empire, appointed for the purposes of tax collection. From then on, the residents of Val di Fassa would call the pass the “Passo Principe” (The Prince’s Pass) in recognition of their governor who, incidentally, was the only Bishop-Prince from the Val di Fassa area.

On the other hand, the German name Grasleitenpasshütte, has a meaning that is connected to the environment and pastoralism. The underlying Rifugio Bergamo, the name given during the period when the fascists were in government, was called Grasleitenhütte, or the “Rifugio degli ultimi pascoli” (Refuge of the Last Meadows), in other words, the Rifugio Passo Principe is the refuge (hütte, or hut) to the pass (pass in German) under the last meadows (Grasleiten).

The first refuge was built by Franz Kofler di Campitello, in 1952 and renovated in 2006/2007 by the mountain guides Daniele and Sergio Rosi.

Nowadays, in order to ensure the traditional purpose of a mountain refuge, it is equipped with creature comforts, such as showers, an area for drying clothes and boots, a small but well-stocked bar and a wonderful Tyrolean kitchen, as well as comfortable wood-clad dorms.

Around 25 beds are available.

Local information offered directly by the managers, mountain guides Sergio and Daniele.

Winter opening for ski mountaineering and snowshoeing.

Departure point for the Catinaccio d'Antermoia via ferrata (iron rope path), 3.004 m in altitude, just five minutes from the refuge.

From the Fassa valley:

From Vigo di Fassa you can take the cable car all the way to Ciampedie, from where an easy, semi-flat path leads to Gardeccia (45 minutes).

From Gardeccia climb up the gravel road until you reach the Rifugio Preuss and Rifugio Vajolet 2,245 m in altitude (1 hour).

Continue along the wide vallone (footpath) for an easy route on your orographic right, until you reach the Passo Principe – Grasleitenpasshütte, 2,600 m in altitude, and refuge of the same name (1 hour, 15 minutes).

From the Altoatesino slope:

Leaving from Bagni di Lavina Bianca – Weisslahnbad near the village of Tires: you will reach the Rifugio Bergamo - Grasleitenhütte, 2,165 m in altitude (journey time, 3.5 hours) via the pretty Val Ciamin, then along the steep gravel path until you reach the Rifugio Passo Principe – Grasleitenpasshütten (1.5 hours).