ROUTE 18

Langtalereck Hut (2430m) – Hochwilde Haus (2866m)

Start	Langtalereck Hut (2430m)
Valley base	Obergurgl
Distance	3km
Height gain	429m
Height loss	83m
Grade	3
Time	2hrs
Location	South of the Langtalereck Hut

Like the Langtalereck Hut, the Hochwilde Haus is owned by the Karlsruhe section of the DAV, and has an outstanding location overlooking the Gurgler Ferner from the well-named Steinerner Tisch (Stone Table) below the Schwärzenkamm ridge. A small pool lies beside it. The hut is unquestionably a magnificent place in which to spend the night, whether or not you have plans to climb any of the peaks above it.

From the Langtalereck Hut take the path directly ahead and branch right when it forks shortly after. It now descends frustratingly into the narrow ravine-like Langental to cross the glacial stream flowing through it. Across this the path now climbs the steep and in places exposed northern end of the Schwärzenkamm ridge – a fixed cable safeguards the most exposed section.

After turning the Schwärzenkamm spur the gradient slackens as the outlook grows in drama, and you rise along the lateral moraine wall to reach the group of four buildings that includes the Hochwilde Haus. Allow 3–3½hrs for the return to Obergurgl.

Built in 1938–39 the Hochwilde Haus (2866m) enjoys a wonderful vista of mountain and glacier from its platform of stone. It has 30 beds and 60 dormitory places, and is manned from the end of June to mid-September (tel 0664 4245824).

Other routes from Obergurgl

• The grassy knoll of Hohe Mut (east of the Schönwies Hut) is a much-favoured vantage point easily reached in 2½hrs from the village, or by gondola all the way to the summit. The Hohe Mut Haus restaurant exploits a view said to include 21 peaks of 3000m. Many visitors use the gondola to gain the top, then walk back down by a direct path. But there’s also a route which goes southeast down the broad ridge where another breaks left to descend into the Gaisbergtal for a longer return to Obergurgl. But the trail which continues along the ridge soon slips down the south side into the Rotmoostal, where you gain close views of the Rotmoosferner before cutting back to the Schönwies Hut and thence to Obergurgl.
• Upvalley from Obergurgl on the west side of the Gurgler Ache is Beilstein (2117m), reached by a reasonably short walk on a path branching from the Ramolhaus trail. Studies of the site show that it was frequented more than 9500 years ago, and its pastures cultivated as long ago as 4300bc.
• A 4hr walk along the west side of the Gurglertal leads to the Ramolhaus at 3005m. Despite the 1000m of height gain and some steep sections, the walk is not too demanding, and the view from the hut of the Hochwilde above the Gurgler Ferner is ample reward for getting there.
• For strong walkers, crossing the 3186m Ramoljoch above the Ramolhaus gives an opportunity to make a recommended over-the-mountains walk to either Vent (in 3hrs) or the Martin-Busch Hut in 5–6hrs. On the Gurglertal side of the pass there’s a short metal ladder to ascend, and on the Ventertal side, remnants of a small glacier to descend.

WALKS IN THE VENERTAL

Cutting into the mountains south-west of Zwieselstein, the Ventertal is a sparsely-populated valley whose only real village, and that a very small one, is Vent at 1896m. The village has a modest amount of hotel accommodation and limited shopping facilities, but makes a good walking centre (www.vent.at). The valley forks just beyond Vent, with the Niedertal extending to the south, and the Rofental to the west. A steep road climbs briefly into the latter valley to reach the hamlet of Rofenhöfe (2014m), with footpaths that continue from it.

• One of the nicest walks from Vent is the 2½hr approach to the 2412m Hochjoch Hospiz. The path initially goes along the south bank of the Rofen Ache, then crosses to the north bank at Rofenhöfe. The most notable section is where it goes through a gorge (fixed cable safeguards) north-east of the valley of the Vernagtbach. Several other routes pan out from the hut, including a popular link with the Schöne Aussicht Hut on the Italian side of the border.
• The route to the Schöne Aussicht Hut (Gasthof Schöne Aussicht or Albergo Bella Vista: 2842m) leads along the west side of the Hochjochferner and crosses the Hochjoch on the Austro–Italian border about 20m above the hut. It’s an uncomplicated 2½hr walk from the Hochjoch Hospiz, with a height gain of less than 600m. Sadly its former beauty has been marred by ski lifts on the nearby glacier.
• Closer to Vent, but high above Rofenhöfe and set below the Wildspitze, a path climbs steep pastures to gain the Breslauer Hut (2840m) in 3hrs, but this could be reduced to about 2hrs by use of a chairlift to Stablein Alm.
• Above and to the east of the Breslauer Hut, an easy ascent of the 3019m Wildes Mannle can be made by footpath from either the Stablein Alm (3hrs) or the Breslauer Hut itself. Views are said to be very fine.
• Near the head of the Niedertal at 2501m, the Martin-Busch Hut is the destination for many visitors to Vent, for it’s an easy walk of just 2½hrs along a track, with the attractive 3606m Similaun rising above its glaciers to the south. The privately owned Similaun Hut on the Italian border at the Niederjoch may be reached in 1½hrs by a straightforward route. It was near this latter hut that ‘Ötzi the Ice Man’ was found in 1991 (see box opposite).
• Above and to the northwest of the Martin-Busch Hut rises the 3457m Kreuzspitze, an easy but steep summit and a noted viewpoint, reached by a 2½hr ascent. Could be problematic or even dangerous in snowy conditions, but not unduly difficult otherwise. The little Samoarsee (also known as the Brizzisee: 2920m) lies between the hut and the summit and may be reached by a recommended diversion. It makes a superb foreground to photographs of the Similaun.

Lichen patterned rocks brighten many trails

ÖTZI THE ICE MAN

In September 1991 two German walkers discovered a body protruding from the Similaun glacier. Although it was found on the Italian side of the border, the corpse was removed from the ice and taken to Innsbruck University for examination. At first thought to be a walker who’d perished after being overtaken by a storm, speculation then focused on a Viennese music professor who had disappeared in 1939. However, carbon dating later revealed the body to be around 5500 years old! The tools and clothing found with him confirmed that Ötzi belonged to the late Stone Age, his diet consisting of ibex meat and cereals. He would have weighed around 45kgs, and died at the age of about 45. With worldwide interest aroused, Ötzi became the subject of an ownership dispute between the Austrian and Italian authorities, but since it was proven that the body was found 90m inside the Italian border, he was eventually taken to the Museo Archeologico in Bolzano where he has become the prize attraction. Not to be outdone, at Umhausen in the lower Ötztal, there’s now an ‘Ötzi Dorf’ – a replica village based on Ötzi’s period in history.

The lovely Sulztal on the way to the Amberger Hut