Axamer Lizum - Ampferstein (Lustige Bergler Steig)

Access to starting point:
From Ljubljana, we drive on the highway past Salzburg towards Munich. At the multi-level interchange Dreieck Inntal, we turn onto road A93 towards Innsbruck/Kufstein/Brenner. Upon returning to Austria, we continue to the junction with exit Innsbruck-West. There we continue on Egger-Lienz-Straße and turn towards Axams in the direction of Axamer Lizum/Lizum. We continue driving to Axams, where a sign directs us to a steeply ascending but comfortable asphalt road, which we follow to the free parking lot at the Axamer Lizum ski area. From the center of Innsbruck to Axamer Lizum is approximately half an hour of driving.

Alternatively, driving through northern Italy: in this case, from central Slovenia on highway A2 we drive to one of the border crossings with Austria and continue to Lienz. There we continue on road 100 and past the passage Prato alla Drava we drive into Italy. In Italy we follow road SS49 all the way to the junction with highway A22 towards Brenner Pass. After the pass, we continue towards Innsbruck to exit Innsbruck-Süd. At the junction, we turn onto road B182 and continue driving to Axams. From there we follow the above description.

Route description:
From the parking lot, past the center of the ski center Axamer Lizum on the macadam road, we head towards the rear of the valley below the rocky peaks of Kalkkögel. Following the signposts for Marchreisenspitze, after a few minutes of walking on the road we turn left onto a narrower path that first crosses the meadow. Soon the path turns right and begins gradually ascending through sparse forest on the southern slope of Schneiderspitze. A little higher the forest thins out, the path horizontally crosses the pasture slope and ascends to the saddle Halsl, where numerous paths intersect, including the alternative path to Marchreisenspitze that leads to the saddle from Stubaital valley. From the parking lot at Axamer Lizum to the saddle is a little more than an hour of walking.

From Halsl we continue towards Ampferstein and Marchreisenspitze or the "Lustige Bergler" path - the signpost warns that it is suitable only for experienced mountaineers. In the initial section, the path moderately steeply ascends in switchbacks on the grassy slope of an unnamed elevation in Kalkkögel, but remains technically undemanding. After about 30 minutes of walking from Halsl we reach a gully that drops deeply towards Axamer Lizum, and along its edge we ascend to the wide ridge of one of Ampferstein's subpeaks. Continuing, the path easily leads us for some time through panoramic grassy-scree terrain until, after approx. 45 minutes from Halsl, we arrive at the foot of the rocky structure of Ampferstein. Before descending into the hollow where the secured section to Ampferstein begins, we cross a slightly exposed passage above a steep gully, then with the help of the first fixed protections on the path (exceptionally some narrow tubes) we descend to a flat area in an extremely picturesque setting. From the hollow, with the help of a steel cable we ascend a path that leads across an exposed ledge and continues on a steep slope where fixed protections occasionally assist us. Somewhat later the path becomes a continuously secured route where, with the help of a steel cable, we climb over steep rocky steps. After a short traverse of a rib in the wall of Ampferstein follows an almost vertical ascent over a rocky threshold, where steps also assist us. After that the steepness eases slightly, and the secured path brings us to the top of the gully below the face of Ampferstein. To the summit of Ampferstein we continue on the path that crosses steep grassy slopes high above Stubaital valley. After approx. 15 minutes of further walking we reach a junction just below the summit of Ampferstein, from where it is only a few minutes' ascent to the summit with its traditional large cross.

The ascent to Ampferstein is usually done as part of the entire "Lustige Bergler" path, which ends at the summit of neighboring Marchreisenspitze. Continuing on the climbing path offers a sensible rounding-off of the trip; the only marked alternative descent option is to return the way we came. Although "Lustige Bergler Steig" is typically presented as part of modern via ferratas, its course and difficulty more closely resemble very demanding secured paths in the Slovenian high mountains. On the Austrian scale of secured paths it achieves a relatively modest grade B, nevertheless the use of a via ferrata set is recommended, and a helmet is ultimately mandatory due to the locally very crumbly terrain in the limestone range.

Along the route: sedlo Halsl (1992m)

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