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Ötztal Alps 2013 The organiser's view .... |
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Ötztal Alps 2013 The organiser's view .... |
Group: James Anderson, Allan Boyd, Allan Hutcheon, Gordon King, Andrew King, Bob MacDonald, Mark Setford, Richard Charnock-Smith (Organiser)
Highlights: Two 3000m summits visited; six high level huts visited; 80-100kms walked; 5000 to 5500 metres of ascent and descent; one glacier crossing.
Location map of the area | Back to 2013 stories | Home
Day1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10
Travel to Munich
We had an easy drive across to Edinburgh Airport with all the team present and correct by the agreed 16:00 meeting time. The Easyjet Bag Drop facility seems to be open all day as the first arrivals (Mark and I) were able to check-in at just after 15:00. We then passed through security for a quick meal at Weatherspoons before boarding. The flight ran to schedule and the transfer into Munich by S-Bahn was OK, but finding our way out of the station was complicated by the engineering work under way on the S-Bahn. The normal exit that we used on the last Stubai trip was nowhere to be seen and we ended up asking a local for directions .. he had to use Google on his phone to find our route so what chance did we have!?
The Wombats Hostel was its usual noisy self and our designated room was directly above the bar, so even noisier. The air temperature in Munich was pushing 25° so opening the windows was desirable but impossible for the noise! We did manage to fit in a few beers before finally turning in at about 01:30, leaving the Irish band to the younger element.
Travel to Innsbruck and the village of Vent
A short stroll took us across to the station and our reserved seats on a very busy train to Innsbruck, where our connecting train was sitting waiting just along from the arrival platform, making for a very easy transfer. On arrival at Ötztal Bahnhof our onward transport .. Taxi-Quaxi .. was waiting for us with the pleasing sight of a lady with a card bearing the name "Richard Charnock-Smith", obviously an indication that all the arrangements had worked. We finally arrived at the apartment at about 14:30 after a supermarket stop in Solden for essential supplies, such as milk, coffee and a few bottles.
After sorting out the room allocation and the minimum of unpacking we adjourned to the nearest café for a very late lunch and our first Austrian cuisine. A stroll around the village in the afternoon sunshine followed and we found enough restaurants for a different one every night. We finally settled on the “Alte-Vent-Tirol” for our first evening meal .. it was a good choice and a great success. Hazelnut Schnapps can be recommended! Unfortunately, while we were enjoying our meal the weather had broken and we had a quick sprint back to the apartment in pouring rain.
First Walking Day
The day dawned in typical Scottish style .. low cloud and drizzle. Some signs of improvement were noted by the optimists and we duly set off up the chairlift to Stablein, where we were the only clients, then a walk up to a very quiet Breslauer Hut for lunch.
At this height, the overnight rain had been falling as snow so any thoughts of a summit were shelved and a route up and down to a small lake 200 metres above the hut path was followed. At the highest point (~2800 metres) we were rewarded by some short breaks in the cloud and got brief views of the surrounding peaks before the clag returned and we descended to the Stablein for further refreshment and the chair back down to Vent. After prolonged discussion, Berni’s Bar was selected as our evening meal venue .. rustic but good was the verdict.
Second Walking Day
In the morning we again had very low level cloud but much less rain and just a very light drizzle. There were signs of an earlier clearance in the weather than on Sunday so we were able to set out with an ascent of the Wildes Mannle in mind. The route was clear for most of the way but for some surface snow approaching the summit. The occasional snow or sleet shower made it seem quite familiar! There were a few breaks in the cloud at summit level and some very brief spectacular views of adjacent peaks. The wet rock and partially frozen mud on the route made for a careful descent particularly over a couple of short scramble pitches, one of which had wire rope protection. Return to the village was again by way of a refreshment stop at Stablein.
I made enquiries about the weather forecast at a couple of the hotels and the prospects for the next day or two did not look great. I also enquired about Hut booking and occupancy, and discovered that the Martin Busch Hut was very busy for Wednesday and Thursday nights, but the Hochjoch Hospice was not at all busy.
An excellent evening meal at the Hotel Similaun followed where I got into earnest conversation with the proprietor about the weather forecast. The prospects now were for a steady improvement beginning during Tuesday with fine weather establishing for Wednesday through to Saturday or Sunday. This called for a rethink and a plan was formed around going up to a hut on Wednesday for an overnight followed by an ascent of one of the local peaks. Options for a second overnight and a high level panorama walk-out were added.
Third Walking Day
More low cloud started the day but this rapidly dispersed only to reveal a bank of further cloud at about 2800 to 3000 metres .. so a high route was out of the question. We really needed to be able to see how much snow was now lying at the 3000 to 3200 metre level before attempting a further summit. Instead, a walk up to the Martin Busch Hut was proposed and this worked out very well with the whole party having refreshments there before exploring even higher. Eventually, 7 out of the 8 made it as far as the Similaun Hut at 3019 metres .. I returned to the Martin Busch from about 2850 metres. Return to Vent was by the ascent route and the whole excursion was about 28kms and 1100 metres of ascent .. a big day by any standards.
I continued on the hut booking trail and happened to meet the Hutkeeper of the Hochjoch Hospiz who had detailed information about conditions on the hill .. 20cms snow at 3000 metres and 40cms+ at 3200 metres. A brief chat about our proposed plans met with the view that any ascent higher than 3200 would be unwise for the next few days because of snow cover making route finding very difficult.
An excellent evening at the “Alte-Vent-Tirol” followed with much discussion of the plans for the remaining days. Finally, a booking was proposed for 6 at the Hochjoch Hospiz for the Wednesday night .. Gordon and Andrew had decided not to hut. Allan H and I decided on a two-night stay as the forecast looked so good.
Bob’s Joke Of The Day: Bloke goes into butchers and is shown meat from a 1st prize-winning bull. Says “ the meat from that should be pretty good”. Butcher replies “Aye, but a steak will cost you an arm and a leg” !!! Ho Ho Ho.
Fourth Walking Day
The day dawned overcast as usual but dry and calm although quite cold. It looked as if the optimistic forecast was right after all.
I took an early walk up to the Hotel Post .. the Agents in Vent for the Hochjoch Hospiz .. and booked 6 matratzenlager places. As the cost difference between matratzenlager and beds was found to be only €3 per night we hastily upgraded! We all made our own plans for the walk up to the hut, some preferring a morning start .. James and I leaving after a leisurely lunch.
The route took us up alongside the spectacular gorge of the Rofental, extremely steep-sided and really narrow. The path clung to the north side of the gorge and a couple of short sections needed wire protection because of the sheer drop. The final climb up to the hut was the only steep section but coming right at the end it was quite noticeable.
On arrival we discovered that the hut warden had done us proud with one room for two and a second room for four (with 2 single beds and a bunk bed!). We quickly settled in and made ourselves at home in a corner of the Gaststube where a few beers were enjoyed. The evening meal was really excellent and there was some discussion of plans for the rest of the week. Two had already decided to stay two nights at the hut while the rest were looking to descend to the valley after only one. After the odd glass or two, an early night followed with the sky still cloud covered. We later learned that Gordon and Andrew had spent the day and evening enjoying the delights of Solden .. of which a little more later ....
Fifth Walking Day
06:15. Someone looked out of the window .. clear blue sky and the prospect of a stunning day! The whole team leapt into action and breakfast was on the table by about 06:45!! We had already decided that the nearby summit of the “Guslarspitze” would be a good objective and the brilliant weather confirmed this, although there was still some lying snow at about 2800 metres. A very brief chat, and all six of us decided that the two-night hut stay was the best plan so I booked us in for the same two rooms for the second night.
It was a cool start, but the first 200 metres from the hut took us up to the sunshine from where a good track led to the start of the steeper ground. The ascent was quite straightforward with a couple of very short scrambles and no snow until just about 200 metres below the top. The summit was reached in only 1hr50min which was well under the signpost time of 2˝hrs .. so we must be getting used to the altitude. The views from the summit defied description and hopefully the pictures will give some idea of the vista.
After a busy photo session it was becoming very cold and the wind had freshened, so an initially careful and then easy descent took us down to about 2600 metres. It was still very early in the day so we headed out along an exposed traversing path (The Deloretteweg) towards the glacier and the route to the Brandenburgerhaus. The glacier was in very good condition with a well trodden trail across to the Brandenburger (3272 metres) which was reached by five of the group .. I turned back from about 2850 metres.
All returned to the Hochjoch suitably impressed and enthused. In the meantime, Gordon and Andrew had walked up to the Hochjoch for lunch and were just about to leave for the valley as I returned there. After another good hut meal there was a real struggle to stay awake long enough to enjoy a schnapps before a really early night after a great day on the hill.
Sixth Walking Day
After another 06:30/07:00 breakfast, we set out for a high level traversing route back to Vent via the Vernagt Hut, the Breslauer Hut and the now familiar descent from there back to the village. The first 200 metres of steep ascent from the hut soon got us warmed up and the track around the base of the Guslarspitze to the Vernagt was really enjoyable, alternately gaining and losing a few dozen metres every now and again. Views along the Rofental in both NE and SW directions were extensive and around every corner a new panorama would unfold. A short steep final ascent of 130 metres took us up to the impressive Vernagt Hut .. one of the bigger ÖAV huts in the area. It was still only 09:30 so a bit early for lunch so we made do with coffees or hot chocolate and the amazing view from the hut balcony while basking in the sun.
From the Vernagt Hut, the path continues (The Seuffertweg) along the mountain side within +/- 50 metres of the 2700 contour for most of the route with a few minor variations resulting from quite recent landslips or rockfalls. Again the views were amazing and around one of the later corners, the full extent of the Wildspitze appeared. The effect was truly dramatic and was compared to a Himalayan vista by Mark who is not normally one for exaggeration.
Once at the Breslauer, we paused for a well earned lunch and the odd glass or two. The five fit men (AB, AH, JA, MS and BMcD) then carried on for a re-ascent in good weather of our original peak, Wildes Mannle while I strolled down to the village via the chairlift.
When all had returned to the apartment, it was unanimously agreed that the two hut days had been really good with excellent walks in the best of weather, although a degree of exhaustion was becoming apparent! With this in mind we chose the Kellerhof as the venue for our evening meal as it was easily the nearest to the apartment.
There was some brief consternation when Andrew mislaid his phone, but eventually it was tracked down to a “venue” in Solden and successfully recovered to his enormous relief. The food was very good at the Kellerhof, but after the Alte-Vent-Tirol and the huts, it seemed to lack a bit of atmosphere. Anyway .. the beer was good and it was only a very short walk back to bed.
Final day
Yet another fine morning dawned, so we all headed down to Solden .. Andrew to hire a mountain bike to sample some of the Solden downhill trails; AB, JA, MS, BMcD and GK to take a bus up to the glacier above Solden to walk the panorama track back to Vent; and AH and I to stroll along Solden’s busy main street in a convincing attempt at being tourists for the day. It was very relaxing, and just enough gentle exercise to free off the knees from the previous six days. It was also really warm down in the valley, but the walkers reported cool and windy conditions up at the level of the Panoramaweg.
We returned to Vent at various times to spend a bit of time preparing for our journey home, then headed out for a last night dinner at our favourite .. the Alte-Vent-Tirol .. where we were again enthusiastically greeted by our regular waiter who, by now, knew the drinks order as soon as he saw us come in. Another good meal was enlivened by the team presenting me with a pair of Edelweiss Braces as a reward for the organisation efforts .. much appreciated by me and an enjoyable and entertaining time was had by all. The Schnapps was pretty good too !!
Travel Home
After an early breakfast, tidied up and sorted out all the bits and pieces we had used in the two apartments before final packing for the journey home. Taxi-Quaxi arrived on the dot of 09:00 and soon had us back at Ötztal Bahnhof after witnessing some seriously stupid driving by one or two bikers and two really dangerous car drivers. The train to Innsbruck arrived and that was the last view we had of the Ötztal. Changing trains at Innsbruck was altogether more entertaining as our reserved seats were well and truly occupied in an extremely busy train. A little bit of negotiation with the rather disgruntled occupants soon had us sitting down but I was very glad that the nuns had reserved their seats as moving them out was obviously not an option.
Further entertainment was provided at Rosenheim where we had a close up view of plain clothed armed police escorting a couple of likely lads off the train and into the custody of the uniformed branch.
After dumping the bags at Munich station, we took a stroll down the pedestrianised main street to the river Isar and back in time to watch the famous striking clock at the Altes Rathaus. Then it was back to the station via a little café before heading out to the airport. For any future organiser, it is well to remember that, once through security, there is very little in the way of refreshments at Munich Airport but we were able to get basic snack meals before the flight. Our departure was delayed by about 30 minutes so we eventually got back to our various homes between 01:30 and 02:30 on the Monday morning (just in time for work for some !!).
Richard Charnock-Smith