Mt Sassolungo - Saslonch in Ladin and Langkofel in German - is with its 3,181 m the highest peak of the eponymous mountain group
Image gallery: Sassolungo
The Italian and Ladin terms Sassolungo and Saslonch mean "long stone" and refer to the approx. 1 km wide mountain which stretches from north-west to south-east and dominates the scenery of the Val Gardena. Together with the Spallone Sassolungo (3,081 m a.s.l.), the south-east peak of the mountain, it covers half of the entire Sassolungo Group.
The mountain was climbed for the first time in 1869 by Paul Grohmann. Today there is a bivouac box as an emergency shelter and a 3 m high carved wooden Madonna located in the east wall, done by the sculptor Flavio Pancheri in the 1950s.
Together with Mt Sasso Piatto, Mt Sassolungo is a popular destination in summer. Both mountains can be rounded in 6 hours, with gorgeous views on the Sella Group, Mt Marmolada, the highest peak of the Dolomites, and Alpe di Siusi, the largest high alp of Europe. The summit is accessible via the normal route across the south-west wall but the hike is quite long.
