The Stubai Runde Tour

We stepped out of the twin prop, Tyrolean Airways plane and looked around us. We were surrounded by huge rocky peaks. In almost every direction there was a wall of rock lit up by glorious sunshine. It was so fantastic to be back in the Alps again.

Armed with Allan Hartley's Cicerone Guide, we planned to spend over two weeks walking, and occasionally scambling, from hut to hut around the head of the Stubai Valley. We had booked a night at the Serles Hotel so we caught the bus into Innsbruck and then another to Mieders. From the hotel balcony you could look up at rocky Serles as it towered not just over Mieders, but over the whole of Innsbruck. It seemed amazing to think that we might be standing there the very next day!

Serles from Mieders

We enjoyed the first of many Knödel Suppen (Dumpling Soups) as our starter in the evening and for breakfast the first of many bowls of Muesli and plates of Ham and Cheese.

Next day we walked a few hundred metres to the Serlesbahn Cable Car and watched the valley disappear as we sped upwards. Many people use the Serlesbahn to get to the top of the Rodelbahn, a single track Roller Coaster that takes one person at a time back to the valley in a hurry. In our cabin was a family of four. It looked like Gran, Mum, Dad and Daughter.

"Gehen sie auf der Rodelbahn?" I said jokingly, but Dad and Daughter were. Although Dad did look a bit apprehensive. My German isn't great. It's a long time since I narrowly passed my 'O' Level but I have been doing an Open University course this year so I was keen to practice and I was hoping it would be good enough to sort things out in the huts.

Tribulain  Peaks from Padasterjoch Haus

Following a suggestion in the guide book, we were tacking an extra couple of days onto the front of the traditional tour and it didn't take us too long to walk to the Maria Waldrast Monastery and Gasthof. We were hoping to be able to leave some of the contents of our rucksacks there and we were very pleased to be shown immediately to the room we had reserved by email.

We had splashed out on some lightweight kit and left a lot of gear at home to get our packs down to 10kg but we were still glad to be able to ascend Serles with much less. We were hoping our fitness would improve as the days went by.

Serles was steep near the top and a little exposed but the view over Innsbruck was superb. You could also see Habicht, the Zuckerhutl and most of the route we had before us. Nearly as good a starter as a Knödel Suppe!

Looking North from Bremer Hut

After an evening meal and breakfast served by a monk, we set off for the Padasterjoch Haus via the Kessel Spitze, having checked that the route was open. There is a tricky section just before you reach the hut where the path obviously keeps slipping away but it turned out to be easier than it looked from a distance.

The Hut Warden asked, in excellent English, if the path had been OK and when we said "yes", he seemed very pleased as he'd only been out repairing it the day before. The fact that he'd left his pickaxe up there suggested that this was an ongoing requirement. The Padasterjoch Haus is a small but delightful hut and we arrived just before a thunderstorm started. We only needed our umbrellas for the last ten minutes of the walk to protect us from the large drops of rain that precede a downpour in the Alps.

The next day we would walk to the Innsbrucker Hut, the start of the official Tour. We could have done this by climbing over the Kirchdach Spitze but the description in the guide book of a long steep descent 'over rocks, scree and steep, difficult broken ground fitted with wires and staples until it finally relents several hours later on the Pinnistal valley floor' didn't sound very attractive. A view endorsed by our hosts. Instead, we walked down to Trins and caught the bus to Gasthof Feuerstein. We know our limitations. However the climb up from there to the Innsbrucker Hut is still hard work. It's a good zig zag path but you do gain 900m in about 2 km.

The Innsbrucker Hut was quite busy but Dorothy and I had a comfortable night in the Matratzenlager (shared dormitory). The best policy is to get away as early as possible in the morning and it was a long walk to the Bremer hut so we were away by 7:30 am. A habit we managed to maintain. 

Kalkwand from Innsbrucker Hut

The route on to the Nuernburger Hut involves crossing the Simmingjochl (names of cols frequently end in jochl or nieder). This fine col still sports a police hut from the days when the Italian border was policed. From here you can make a diversion to the Aperer Feuerstein. We did try to ascend this without crossing the glacier but the scree became too unpleasant. Nevertheless it was great to be so close to this fascinating glacier with meandering snow patterns in it, set amongst such red rocks. The descent to the Nuernberger Hut included lots of fixed wires and metal staples as well as many fine views.

Panorama from Mair Spitze

Next day we climbed steeply up to the Mair Spitze (2781m). From here you get the most incredible panorama and there are even benches to sit on. Nirvana for Dorothy who will draw or paint with watercolours at every possible opportunity. This was perfect.

Then on to the Sulzenau Hut, having looked up at the imposing Wilder Freiger glacier above the very blue Grunau See. The Sulzenau Hut was rebuilt in the seventies following an avalanche and has a very laid back as well as cosy atmosphere as well as good hot showers. You can often get a shower in the huts but price and quality varies a lot. A short walk takes to the very green Blaue Lacke!

Zuckerhutl from Grosser Troegler (Artist at Work)

The next day took us to the top of the Grosser Troegler. It gets a bit exposed near the top but we just managed. Then a couple of ten year old girls with their families followed us. The swirling clouds and blue skies treated us to a slideshow with an amazing view of the Zuckerhutl and the Sulzenau Ferner Glacier as well as Habicht, the Stubai Wildspitze and back to the Simmingjochl police hut.

The next hut, the Dresdner is part of a ski lift development and is a bit commercial with a self service counter like a motorway service station but you soon get used to it and the food is good.

We stayed there for two nights so that we could climb the Schaufel Spitze (3333m). Initially, this involves walking up through what seems like an attempt to build a space station on Mars with chair lifts, restaurants and other facilities under construction. Once you get above that you reach the Eisgrat cable car station. Anyone can get a cable car to here from the valley and then continue in another cabin over the glacier but you can walk up the Schaufel Ferner Glacier without roping up as the way is marked for day trippers.

Day Trippers' Viewing Platform from Schaufel Spitze

At the top is a strange metal viewing platform with views across the Italian Alps. It's a little surreal up there mixing with the people who have come up in the cable car. After a noodle soup with sausage, we carried on walking to the top of the rather unstable looking Shaufel Spitze.

Pete and Zuckerhutl from Schaufel Spitze

Nearly 30 years ago, when I was 16, I had been guided to the top of the Zuckerhutl as part of a family holiday. I'm pretty sure there was a lot more snow on it then but it was wonderful to be so close to it again and I wished the rest of the family could be here.

Looking forward to getting away from the noise and clutter, we set off the next day for the Neue Regensberger Hut. This involves crossing the highest and most difficult to pronounce, col of the tour, the Grawagrubennnieder. 

We saw some marmots on the way before struggling down from the col over large, loose boulders. Some of these still have the glacier beneath them so it's no wonder that they are constantly moving and scattering attempts to waymark and add fixed wires to the route.

In general the way is marked all round the Tour by a red and a white stripe painted next to each other on the rocks, making navigation very straightforward. It can also be exciting/worrying to see these markers disappear up a rock face until you get there and find a 'Klettersteig' of fixed wires and metal pins have been provided to help you across.

At many huts a more technically difficult 'Klettersteig Garten' is provided for people to play on, leading them high up rocky buttresses. Harnesses, helmets and slings can be borrowed from the Hut.

Eidelweiss

My confidence in talking to other guests grew substantially at the Neue Regensberger Hut. My attempts to communicate in German were rewarded by several people from Austria and Germany meeting me halfway, allowing us to have a conversation using both languages. This is what staying in the Huts is all about. The 'gumutlichkeit' tradition where everyone is friendly and equal. it was pointed out to me that I shouldn't worry too much about getting exactly the right vocabulary and grammar. If I could make myself understood no-one minded.

It was very rare to find any British people at these huts. We looked back fruitlessly through pages in the hut guest books for people from the UK. It's a shame because there is a warm welcome especially if you are prepared to try to speak some German.

As we were generally not booking ahead we found ourselves in the Murmelbau (Marmot Building) bunkhouse but it was very cosy. One of the things that strikes you is how different one hut is from the next from commercial to quite basic, but always very friendly.

The walk to the Franz Senn Hut was fairly straightforward and we ended up staying there for three nights. We got to know a couple from Bautzen in what was once East Germany, near the polish border. It was fascinating to get Uli and Barbara's perspective on Europe and German reunification. We discussed the political situation in Austria with a young couple who spoke fluent English. I even climbed one of the Klettersteig with Uli saving Barbara from having to do it.

Licenser Ferner Glacier

During our two days there we visited the Rinnensee lake and, we climbed the Vorderer Sommerwand and continued on to inspect the Sommerwand Ferne Glacier. We even saw some wild Eidelweiss!

Finally we were on our way to the last hut, the Starkenburger. This is a long day on beautiful paths that takes you past the awesome Kalkkogel with its limestone towers. From the Starkenburger hut you see the Franz Senn hut, an unbelievable distance away. Maybe we really had got fitter? You can also see much of the tour you have now almost completed which looks especially good at sunrise.

Morning view of Runde Tour from Starkenenburger Hut

We'd had incredible weather. Our waterproofs never left our rucksacks and we only needed our umbrellas on three short occasions. Dorothy was amazed at how much time she'd had for painting and drawing. The trip had exceeded both of our expectations.

The next day we set off back to the valley floor that we'd been away from so long. Normally on walking holidays you have this descent with the equivalent ascent every day, but on a hut to hut tour like this you stay high up. Of course it's a little less luxurious than staying in a hotel every night but well worth that small sacrifice.

We spent a day visiting museums, art galleries and the Alpine Zoo in Innsbruck. The Austrian Alpine Club (Alpenverein) Museum is well worth a visit. It looks at the history of the way people have experienced the Alps and includes many examples of the way paintings of the Alps have developed alongside attitudes to the mountains. All displayed in a very modernist way.

A few more Weissbeers and a final Wiener Schnitzel with Apfel Strudel in the Beer Garden were a fitting way to say goodbye to an incredible visit to the Stubai Valley and its mountains.

Photos and Text: Pete Thomasson
Paintings: Dorothy Ann Simister (www.dorothyannsimister.com)