King Mount
Isolated between the long valley furrows of the Riofreddo and Rio del Lago Valleys, Monte Re has a special royalty precisely because it stands so isolated and separated from other ranges. In reality, the oronym 'King' has nothing to do with crowned heads (although there is a symbolic crown at the summit), but derives from a corruption of its German name Kantenberg, in turn derived from the Slovenian Krajeska Hrib (lit. last or border mountain), later transformed into Köntenberg and in the 19th century into Königsberg (lit. King Mountain).
The hike is demanding due to the steep slope, which leaves few moments to catch one's breath over a modest development of around two kilometres. The interest of this peak is, above all, its exceptional panoramic view of the main groups of the Western Julian Alps - Mangart, Canin, Jôf Fuart and Jôf di Montasio - and then it is an interesting opportunity to learn about the history of the Cave del Predil (Raibl) mine and the village that grew up around it, which has now become an almost ghost town. The deposit in the bowels of Monte Re has been counted among the largest lead-zinc deposits in the Alpine chain.
A first glimpse
Some impressions of the tour
Directions
When you reach the village of Cave del Predil, go to its western end across the stream and climb up a cart track that enters the Vallone del Rio dei Combattenti. After a few hairpin bends, the dirt road ends near old mining buildings where there is some parking (1023 m). Behind the last mining building, we take a well-marked mule track that crosses a steep and narrow gully and, after another stretch on a slope, heads for the eastern slopes of the mountain. Taking care to intercept the trail marker 665 on the left, we immediately begin to climb steeply through a forest of beeches and firs on the ridge that forms the southern slopes of Little Monte Re. Once the first four hundred metres of difference in altitude have been overcome with difficulty, we arrive at a wooded plateau near the fence that delimits the area of the mining excavations. As we climb, the vegetation thins out and offers beautiful views of the massifs of the Julian Alps.
Continue up another steep ramp consisting of a meadow at the top of which is another plateau, which is the summit of the Piccolo Monte Re (1494m), where there is a cross dedicated to the miners of Cave del Predil, consisting of tools used by them in their work in the mines. Go down a few metres and cross a grassy saddle to re-enter a bright beech forest. After the wooded section, we climb yet another steep ramp between mountain pines and rocky crags until we reach the southern end of the mountain's summit ridge. After crossing a gully and moving between patches of mugho trees, the summit is reached (1912m).
Point of arrival
The Tarvisio tourist destination is located in Friuli Venezia Giulia, on the border with Austria and Slovenia
