| pg15. 09. 2020 11:40:17 |
11.9.: Sulzenauhütte car park (1590 m) - Sulzenauhütte (2191 m)
12.9.: Sulzenauhütte - (Blaue Lacke) - Gamsspitzl (3051 m) - Wilder Freiger (3418 m) - Becherhaus (3195 m)
13.9.: Becherhaus - Wilder Pfaff (east ridge, II+/I-II) - Zuckerhütl (II, crumbly) - Pfaffenjoch - Dresdner Hütte (2302 m) - Sulzenauhütte car park
Finally, the opportunity and time for it arrived, the great tour of the Stubai Alps. Those of you who at least casually follow my posts about wanderings in the Tyrolean hills may have noticed that this tour was one of the main goals of this year's mountaineering season. It seemed like it wouldn't happen for me, as both high alpine huts above 3000 m that condition this undertaking (Müllerhütte on the Austrian side and Becherhaus on the Italian side) closed last weekend, but at the last moment I managed to persuade a colleague from Germany, who despite previous glacier innocence contributed excellent company and without whom the tour wouldn't have been feasible to this extent.
It could have ended after conquering Wilder Freiger, because the huts were apparently fully booked for the last weekend, which was also blessed with excellent weather conditions - only in the middle of the second day did we get a spot in Becherhaus and set plans for the traverse to Zuckerhütl, and I completed my collection of "7 peaks of Stubai".
The ambitious connection of the impressive Wilder Freiger and Zuckerhütl, the highest peak of the Stubai Alps, marked by a wonderful ascent along the east ridge of Wilder Pfaff, is considered one of the main high alpine classics in Tyrol. On it we climb three of the 7 highest peaks of the Stubai Alps, cross massive glaciers, climb over sharp ridges above them via easier climbing routes and enjoy the exceptional surroundings, whose composition consists of numerous high alpine lakes, snowy plateaus and sharp rocky spires. The climbing difficulty revolves around grade II at key points (depending on conditions maybe up to II+), and regardless of almost all previous descriptions, we didn't encounter any problematic glacier crevasse directly on the route (except for the clearly visible and marked crevasses below Muellerhütte).
On Friday, in the late afternoon after work, we drove from Innsbruck and in unexpected rain in the evening with a headlamp climbed up to Sulzenauhütte (2191 m). Sleeping in the crowded hut was extremely uncomfortable and a real potential breeding ground for corona, so I got up at 3:30 a.m. and used the time until my colleague woke up with the light to visit the well-known lake Blaue Lacke, 20 minutes away, in an exceptional location. The lake is considered one of the most attractive in the area, but in the pitch dark it could only be guessed...
After deciding between the usual somewhat longer approach to Wilder Freiger via Seescharte saddle and the somewhat steeper variant via Freiger glacier, at my colleague's urging we chose the first option - given the planned itinerary we had more than enough time, and it promised a visit to another three-thousander right on the path, Gamsspitzl. Along the pleasant and well-marked path we went past the attractive lake Grünausee, above which Wilder Freiger shows perhaps its most inviting side (note that you need to be careful observing the marks around the lake - we started a bit too early towards the east and had to cross back to the path briefly over steep slopes). At Seescharte saddle a nice view to the south opens up; there we found ourselves in a bunch of hikers taking advantage of one of the last opportunities to visit Freiger. A little above the saddle we followed the marks towards the summit of Gamsspitzl (3051 m) - the path to the summit is short and undemanding, but I spiced up the return to the junction below the summit with a more demanding descent directly along the ridge. The summit offers a unique view of Wilder Freiger above vast glaciers and the southern expanses of the high part of the Stubai Alps - if you don't have time or opportunity for Wilder Freiger, a fairly undemanding trip to Gamsspitzl is a pleasant tour.
Soon after the junction we step onto the side ridge above the two parts of Freiger glacier and climb quite a long way along it towards the summit ridge of Wilder Freiger. In the lower part we have to use some easy scrambling, later steel cables and pieces of rope help over some slightly trickier sections (in dry fairly non-technical). At the end of the gully we cross a not too steep snowfield and via the summit ridge, steeper only at the end, climb to the small but panoramic summit of Wilder Freiger (3418 m; Italian Cima Libera).
Ascent to Wilder Freiger via Seescharte is not particularly demanding, but it's a quite long and strenuous path with almost 2000 m elevation gain (for me additionally hampered by an insanely heavy backpack with a long rope and bulky sleeping bag), where overnighting at Sulzenauhütte or Nürnberger Hütte is more than welcome. Although descriptions warn that full (glacier) gear is needed for the ascent, at least at this time the path except for short snowfields actually doesn't cross any glacier and solo ascent is a fully realistic option. But we had much more in plan...
After a long break at the summit, in good conditions that dispelled concerns about potential weather deterioration forecast for the afternoon, we descended via Signalgipfel (3392 m) along the narrow side ridge above the large Übertalferner glacier towards Becherhaus hut, which stands on a quite dramatic, high nest-like precipitous rise above the glacier. The path to the hut is technically much more demanding than the ascent path (similarly for the bold ridge approach to Wilder Freiger directly from Muellerhütte on the other side), in places exposed but well secured with numerous steel cables, steps and ropes. On the final ascent to the hut, carved steps help along with the cables.
Becherhaus hut (3195 m) is one of two huts standing above the glacier directly below the summit of Wilder Freiger, managed by the Italian alpine association. Although less suitable for continuing to Wilder Pfaff than the Austrian (well, both are (South) Tyrolean...) Muellerhütte just a few tens of meters lower, which lies about an hour's walk away below the east ridge of Wilder Pfaff, it offers better views over the glacier wilderness, and due to full occupancy of the Austrian hut we didn't risk and took the offer for overnight. Services at both huts are immensely expensive (and at Becherhaus you can't use ÖAV card), which is expected at this altitude, but... at least the food was good and the beds comfortable.
The next morning after a beautiful sunrise we set off towards the part of the path for which we came to Hochstubai. Although the day promised a relatively small amount of elevation gain on the ascent, with climbs to the highest peak of the Stubai Alps and its neighbor 50 m lower before that, we expected the bulk of technical difficulties and objective dangers when crossing glaciers.
After a longer glacier crossing, aided orientationally by individual wooden stakes, we approached below the east ridge of Wilder Pfaff and at over 3200 m started climbing it.
"Wilder Pfaff Ostgrat" is an easier climbing ridge and technically one of the key points of this route. It's excellently marked with red dots all the way, mostly offering pleasant I-II grade climbing. Although sharply cut off to the south all the time, it's seriously exposed only at individual points. Most people climb it without protection, as we did; still, using a rope in case of uncertainty is not a wrong choice, there are enough belay options on the ridge. Just below the summit, bolts and even a few meters of cable help over smooth and steep slabs.
Very quickly we crossed the ridge and stood on the very spacious and panoramic summit of Wilder Pfaff (3456 m; Italian Cima del Prete). After a longer break and meeting individual groups, we descended via easy walkable broken scree to the glacier, where we roped up for the first time (quite unnecessarily), and after another rocky section stepped onto the glacier slope that quickly brought us below the summit rocky head (tor) of Zuckerhütl. We were lucky that despite the considerable usual crowds (also that day) a group of Czechs had just descended upon our arrival - the path is very exposed to falling rocks, which is the main problem on the ascent.
Climbing to the summit of Zuckerhütl takes only about 15 minutes, but due to crumbly terrain and locally great exposure it's the most dangerous part of the tour. Technically perhaps a bit easier than the east ridge to Wilder Pfaff, but also reaches II grade in places, and requires crossing very precipitous slopes on friable rock. Like others, we of course left the heavy backpacks with rope, clothes and sleeping bags at the foot of the rocky head - with them the ascent would be risky. We didn't belay, but ample anchors are provided on the ascent, also serving as holds at key points.
At the summit we enjoyed the promised fantastic views on a clear day, and I punched the last column on the "7 peaks of Stubai" card - hard to conclude the circuit more appropriately than with the highest and hardest reachable peak. After well-deserved enjoyment at the summit we carefully descended to the backpacks, then stepped onto the long path across Sulzenauferner glacier. Afternoon walking on the glacier was actually quite pleasant, aided by suitable air temperature, wonderful views over the clean white glacier, and lack of crevasses or other annoyances along the well-trodden track.
At Pfaffenjoch saddle (3212 m) we had some orientation issues, as in purely Austrian style despite the quite visited path without any marks in a world of numerous options it was almost impossible to determine the continuation. With GPS help and a trio of young guys who came after us, we found the passage over the broken wall of Aperer Pfaff, where we occasionally found a cairn. Descent to the valley by cable car wasn't an option, so we followed the guys over a not overly airy but crumbly ridge to the upper station of Fernau cable car (3064 m), from there quickly down via locally icy sections of "Stubaier Gletscher" ski area to Dresdner hut (2302 m) and from there past Mutterbergalm to the car at the 1590 m parking.
At the end of this long journey came a shock that almost spoiled the impression of an otherwise extremely successful weekend - when starting the car we found the battery dead for some still unclear reason to me, and given the late hour and fairly isolated parking we had to sleep in the car. Fortunately in the morning we found help at Grawa alpine pasture a bit lower and with jumper cables managed to wake the old car.
Before returning almost directly to work on Monday morning we stopped in Neustift, where I received a nice wooden trophy and certificate for completing "7 peaks of Stubai" and thus fulfilled one of the goals of this year's mountaineering season. In the future I might make a longer report on this interesting point circuit.
The described route is without doubt one of the highlights of wanderings in the popular and attractive Stubai Alps, which contrast limestone towers and dizzy rocky walls to the north and east, idyllic meadows and numerous attractive lakes, and continuous high alpine glacier world to the south and west. Due to the beauty of nature, difficulty, which is still not excessive, and nice number of panoramic summits we step on, the route deserves the label of primary classic of the Stubai Alps.
Recommended, even though there's quite a drive from Slovenia - but not that far. Well, the increasingly tense atmosphere due to the new lightning-fast worsening of the COVID-19 crisis currently extends distances, but this year's summer high alpine season in this part of High Stubai is over.
Next year though...
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