Difficult decisions on the Stubaier Höhenweg Tour 2015
by Jeremy Robbins
On what was one of the hottest days of the summer, 6 members of the ÖAV Sektion Britannia met in Neustift on 21 July 2015, drawn by the prospect of an 8 day trip based on the Stubaier Höhenweg, a classic tour around the head of the Stubaital. The aim was to deviate off the path and ascend some of the local peaks, including Habicht, Wilder Freiger and Zuckerhütl, involving mixed mountain terrain including glaciers, scrambles and Klettersteige.
Day one was a gentle acclimatisation in which the Gondelbahn took 900m of the strain! A break at the summer farm at Karalm included a pint of fresh local milk: no food miles here. The first snow field was used to refresh rope work and crevasse rescue drills before a final pull up to the Innsbrucker Hütte. Dumping kit, we made a quick scamper up the Kalkwand (2564m), returning just before the early evening thunder-storm. The next day involved a straightforward but breath-taking (in both senses of the word) walk and wire assisted scramble up Habicht (3,277m). From there we could view most of the route for the next 6 days, and there was time for a short Klettersteig on returning to the hut.
Day three involved a long but scenic walk from the Innsbrucker Hütte to the Bremer Hütte. The next day was a shorter route from the Bremer Hütte to the Nürnberger Hütte via the Simmingjöchl (2,754m), which allowed time for a short detour over the shrunken ice of the Aperer Feuerstein glacier and a ridge line scramble to the eponymous peak (2,967m). The descent to the Nürnberger Hütte included a late lunch-break in the appropriately named valley of Paradies.
The next day saw us move up with the cloud to the Seescharte pass (2,762m) and, with the sky clearing, we decided that half the party would summit the Wilder Freiger (3,418m) whilst the remainder headed for the Sulzenau Hütte and Trögler. So good was this that the next day we again split the team, with a second ascent of the Wilder Freiger and a meeting between the 2 parties on the Fernerstüber glacier.
After 2 nights at the Sulzenau Hütte, a straightforward but steep walk with cables in places took us over the Grosser Trögler (2,902m) to the Dresdner Hütte, set amongst the temporary building site of the ski area. With what could best be called mixed messages on the weather forecast (ranging from nicht so gut to furchtbar or terrible), the party split, 4 pressing on to the Hildesheimer Hütte, hoping optimistically for an attempt on the Zuckerhütl on the last day, whilst the others overnighted at the Dresdner before returning down the valley to Neustift.
An early start in light rain saw us move up the glacier just below a lifting cloud-base to the Pfaffenjoch and onto the Sulzenau glacier. But with threatening skies and a summit shrouded in cloud, we decided to leave the last 250m of the Zuckerhütl for another trip, and returned reluctantly to the valley for a final team dinner.
It would be invidious to pick a favourite hut - all provided a warm welcome, plenty of great food and very reasonable prices - but the father and son harp duo at the Nürnberger, and the spectacular setting of the Hildesheimer were highlights. It is equally difficult to have neither the time nor space to record the many noteworthy moments: wildlife including marmots, chamois and choughs; alpine flowers aplenty underfoot; the companionship and banter within our party; how we managed to make my wife's flapjack last the whole trip; and an ever changing international medley of companions in the huts, including a number from Sektion Britannia. All combine to make such trips truly memorable, for which many thanks indeed from us all to Alistair Moffat, our ÔAV Übungsleiter Hochtouren.
Finally our answer to the Apfelschorle / Weissbier decision? Have both! As regards the Austrian Alps, well, in the words of another Austrian (Arnie), we all agreed: 'I'll be back'.
On way to the Bremer Hütte
Photo by Alistair Moffat
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