ROUTE 22

Hut to Hut in the northwest Stubai Alps

Start	Kühtai (2017m)
Finish	Gries im Sellrain (1187m)
Distance	36km
Grade	3
Time	4 days
Location	A counter-clockwise tour starting from Kühtai
Highest point	Zwiselbachjoch (2868m)

Although the majority of hut-to-hut interest in the Stubai Alps focuses on the Stubaier Höhenweg (see Route 28 below), the following tour was described by the late Cecil Davies as ‘one of the best round walks in the Stubai Alps, full of interest, variety and beauty, yet without serious difficulties’ (Mountain Walking in Austria).

Day 1 The tour begins on the south side of the road opposite the Dortmunder Hut at the western end of Kühtai, and soon comes to the Finstertalbach which it follows upstream to the Finstertal reservoir. The way continues along the eastern side of the lake, and at its southern end climbs to the Finstertaler Scharte at 2719m (the Kompass map gives the height of this pass as 2777m). On the south side of the scharte the descent is on scree, then grass through the Weites Kar, following the Gubener Weg all the way to the Gubener Schweinfurter Hut (2028m) in 4–5hrs.

Day 2 Another 4–5hr stage, the route continues along the cairned Gubener Weg which extends through the gently curving Zwiselbachtal, and climbs the headwall to the right (west) of the last remnants of a glacier plastered just below the summit ridge. Arriving at the 2868m Zwiselbachjoch, you’re suddenly confronted by the snowy Breiter Grieskogel (3287m) which looms a short distance away to the southwest. Waymarks guide the descent down steep scree, heading roughly south then southeast, before aiming round the west shore of a tiny lake to reach the Winnebachsee Hut at 2361m.

Day 3 A shorter stage than the previous two, the Westfalenhaus can be reached in 3½hrs, given reasonable conditions. It begins by retracing the last part of yesterday’s route, to a point beyond the lake where the trail forks. The path to the Winnebachjoch takes the right branch, heading north then northeast to make a laborious climb through a wild, boulder-strewn hanging valley below the Winnebacher Weisskogel. The 2782m joch lies below and southeast of this peak, and is reached in a little under 3hrs. Once across, a short, easy and uncomplicated descent leads to the Westfalenhaus (2276m).

Day 4 In his guide, Cecil Davies was rather dismissive of the final stage of this tour, apart from the initial section which takes an easy, pleasant path down the Längental to Alpengasthof Lüsens at the Lüsener Alm, from where an infrequent minibus service carries passengers through the Lüsenstal to Gries im Sellrain. He says the 2–2½hr walk down the road would be tedious. He may be correct, but this can be avoided by remaining above Lüsens and following a footpath to the hamlet of Praxmar, then walking north along the road for about 2km where a panoramaweg then offers an alternative almost all the way to Gries im Sellrain. Should you need to return to Kühtai, catch the postbus in Gries.

WALKS IN THE SELLRAINTAL

East of Kühtai the Sellraintal is fed by five tributary valleys draining the block of mountains on its south side. Reading from west to east, these tributaries are the Kraspestal, with Haggen at its entrance; the Gleirschtal cutting back from St Sigmund; then the longest of the five, the Lüsenstal which spills out at Gries; followed by the Fotschertal, south of Sellrain; and finally the Senderstal above Grinzens. Making a traverse of the region, a variante of the Zentralalpenweg links all but the first of these, and other than the Kraspestal each tributary has a hut to visit, or to use as a base for further explorations.

• The most obvious walk in the Kraspestal leads to the little Kraspessee lying at 2549m in the head of the valley below converging ridges. An alternative, cairned route breaks to the west about halfway through the valley, rises through the Steintal to cross the ridge below the Pockkogel, and descends to Kühtai.
• St Sigmund has plenty of parking space for walkers heading into the Gleirschtal. Among its tempting routes, one leaves the valley floor near Gleirschalm and climbs the west slope to make the ascent of the 2420m Mutenkogel, but the main interest here lies in the 2½hr approach to the Neue Pforzheimer Hut which stands at 2310m a short distance inside the upper, westerly stem of the valley. A 4hr extension of this walk crosses the Gleischjöchl (2751m) southwest of the hut, and continues on the far side of the ridge to the Gubener Schweinfurter Hut in the Horlachtal (see above).
• A more demanding, and less well-defined route heads east from the Neue Pforzheimer Hut, crosses the 2735m Satteljoch and descends to Praxmar in the Lüsenstal.
• A minibus service feeds the steeply walled, V-shaped Lüsenstal from Gries im Sellrain. North of Praxmar the road divides. The main route rises along the west slope to Praxmar at 1689m, while the other stem continues in the valley to the Lüsener Alm (1634m), where there’s an Alpengasthof with rooms and dormitory accommodation. From here a 2hr walk leads to the Westfalenhaus, while an extension of that route continues south through the upper valley towards the Längentalferner.
• The roadhead by Alpengasthof Lüsens is also the start of a route to the Lüsener glacier, but arguably the finest route here is the 5hr crossing of the 2812m Horntaler Joch which leads to the Franz Senn Hut at the head of the Oberbergtal.
• About 9km south of Sellrain, and 1100m higher than the village, the Potsdamer Hut stands at 2009m towards the head of the Fotschertal, and may be reached by a walk of 3½hrs. Strong walkers could make the ascent, and a crossing, of the 2832m Roter Kogel with a steep descent into the Lüsenstal in 5hrs from the hut. On the east side of the valley above the Potsdamer Hut, it’s feasible to climb the Schwarzhorn (2812m) in 3hrs to gain a splendid overview of the district.
• And finally, in this selection of routes in and around the Sellraintal, mention must be made of the 3hr walk from Grinzens to the Adolf Pichler Hut (1960m) deep inside the Senderstal. This hut nestles below the lovely limestone Kalkkogel peaks which form a section of the Stubaital’s west flank, and a linking route with that valley goes from the Adolf Pichler Hut over the Seejöchl hard against the Schlicker Seespitze, then cuts across screes on the way to the Starkenburger Hut in a little over 2hrs.