The Peter Habeler Runde
By Graham Jameson
The Peter Habeler Runde is a circuit in the western Zillertaler Alpen, named after the famous climber, who came from the Zillertal, in honour of his 70th birthday in 2012. It is a particularly satisfactory closed circuit in wonderful mountain scenery.
The hut-to-hut distances are mostly moderate. Nearly all the route is easy: there are just two points where steep scrambling is involved, both generously equipped with artificial aids. Two of us, with combined age 143, completed the route in August 2016, without excessive difficulty. For the younger and more daring, there are plenty of opportunities to include something more challenging on the way.
View from Tuxer Joch
Photos Graham Jameson
Only one of the possible starting points is accessible by bus. This is the lowest point of the circuit, at Touristenrast in the Valser Tal. The bus runs from Steinach, on the route to the Brenner, several times a day. Doing the round clockwise, we started with the ascent to the Geraer Hütte, made fairly gentle by ample zigzags. The next morning we woke to find the ground covered with two or three inches of snow (on 11 August!). However, we were assured that the path to the Tuxer-Joch-Haus was very good, and that the marking would be easy to spot even in the snow, so we set out bravely, and indeed found that these assurances were true.
However, the next stage after this goes over the Friesenberg Scharte, which is at 2910 metres and seriously steep on the eastern side. We were advised emphatically that it should not be attempted in the snow. To make our decision easier, drizzle and fog persisted for the whole of the next day, so we stayed an extra night at Tuxer Joch.
View down to Pfitscher Joch
The drizzle actually had the effect of melting a lot of the snow, and our patience was rewarded by brilliant sunshine on the following day. The next destination is the Friesenberg Haus, but a warning is in order here. The route passes the Spannagel Haus, which used to be a hut, but has now ceased to be one and is only the entrance to a show cave. However, it is still shown as a hut on most maps and it, rather than the Friesenberg Haus, is indicated on the sign posts, which are particularly important here because the early stages of the route pick their way through a muddle of roads and lifts serving the regrettable glacier skiing development higher up.
There was still snow above 2700 metres on the western side of the Scharte. However, this side is not too steep, though rocky, and it was quite manageable. Fortunately all the snow had melted on the eastern side, where the abrupt descent is made possible by fixed chains and steps. Further down, the path shown on maps past the Friesenberg See is again very steep, but it is being phased out in favour of a new path taking a gentler route via Peterskopf.
View from above Friesenberg Haus
From here to the Olperer Hütte is only a hike of about 2½ hours. But rising above the Friesenberg Haus is the Hoher Riffler, perhaps the easiest of the major peaks of the Zillertaler Alpen. The top is attained after about two hours of sustained, but not difficult, rocky clambering. So it's an obvious idea to claim this summit and move on to the Olperer Hütte the same day.
The Olperer Hütte is modern and strikingly placed with one end overhanging empty space. It commands a really spectacular view over the Schlegeis reservoir to the mountains beyond. For those with the appropriate skill and determination, the Olperer itself can be climbed from here, but this is a serious mountain climb.
A remark on the huts and their wardens is in place here. All the huts gave efficient and good-humoured service, even when under great pressure. It is remarkable that they offer main meals at such cheap prices, and we repeatedly were given portions that we could hardly finish. All except Tuxer Joch offered a buffet breakfast, typically for 9 or 10 euros, which seems quite expensive in comparison to the price of cooked meals. Decades ago, I used to bring my own breakfast ingredients, at the cost of a full pack, and just ask for Teewasser. Nobody seemed to be doing this now!
The next stage is to the Pfitscher-Joch-Haus, just across the border in South Tirol: it also has an Italian name, Rifugio Passo di Vizze. The route is a pleasant high-level contour, without major ascents or descents. The hut is accessible by car from the southern side, and has the character of an hotel rather than a hut. We decided to view this in a positive way, treating ourselves to a superb double room with its own shower, all for a bed-and-breakfast charge of 36 euros each.
The route from here to the Landshuter Europahütte, is entirely in South Tirol. The path is very well made and easy, and it took us only 3¬ hours. At 2693m, perched right on the boundary ridge, this is the highest hut in the circuit. We met some people who had come from the Olperer Hütte in one day, not indulging in the comforts of the Pfitscher Joch Haus. There is an inviting target to occupy some of the rest of the day: the Kraxentrager (2998m) is in plain view from the hut, and can be reached in about one hour of easy rocky scrambling.
The circuit is completed by descending to the starting point at Touristenrast. Though “only” a descent, this is actually one of the most challenging stages of the circuit. The morning dawned cold and overcast, and, having heard lurid descriptions of the route from people who had come up, I had been tempted by the easier descent to the Brenner. Fortunately, Bryon dismissed these wobbles, and we duly set off for Touristenrast. The route starts with an hour of very rocky territory and a climb to the Sumpfscharte before the descent begins. Further down, there is a vertiginous drop from the ridge, assisted by iron pegs and a ladder. Forcing the pace, we took four hours, just ten minutes before the midday bus. This final stage was, in fact, a very fine route, much superior to the tame descent to the Brenner. A great finish to a great circuit.
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