Mountain hut in the Dolomites swarmed by tourists chasing a pastry, not the peaks

A scenic mountain hut in the Italian Dolomites is being overrun by crowds—not for the views, but for a sweet treat. Hundreds of visitors have flocked to the Friedrich August refuge, perched at 2,300 metres between Col Rodella and Passo Sella in Val di Fassa, hoping to buy a freshly baked krapfen, a traditional pastry similar to a doughnut, before they sell out.

Some travelers reportedly woke up at dawn or camped overnight to secure one, lured by food bloggers whose videos showed them eating the pastries—priced up to €4 each—against the mountain backdrop. The resulting queues along the narrow path only drew more people once images of the crowds spread online. One visitor told Rai News, "We only came for this," while another said an Instagram post with "heavenly music" had attracted them.

A refuge worker, speaking anonymously, said the pastries had been made there for 30 years without fuss, and blamed influencers for creating a "chaotic" situation. "We don't like it," they said. Mountain town associations agree, arguing that algorithms, not the pastries, are ruining the environment by funneling crowds into beauty spots. "The mountains are not a playground," said Marco Bussone, president of Uncem, the national union of mountain communities.

Francesco Abbruscato, president of the Veneto branch of the Italian Alpine Club, told Vita.it that image-driven tourism is eroding the true spirit of the mountains. "The main problem is those who visit the mountains without knowing or respecting them," he said, noting that overtourism in specific spots is a recent phenomenon. Similar scenes occurred in Roccaraso, Abruzzo, in January 2025, when a TikTok star's videos drew day trippers to the ski resort.