Oberissalm - Vordere Sommerwand (normal path)

Access to starting point:
From Ljubljana, we drive on the highway past Salzburg in the direction towards München. At the multilevel junction Dreieck Inntal we turn onto the road A93 in the direction of Innsbruck/Kufstein/Brenner. When we return to Austria we continue to the junction with the exit Innsbruck-Mitte. Here we don't turn towards Innsbruck, but we continue on the highway A13 in the direction towards the mountain pass Brenner. We leave the highway at the exit 10-Schönberg and follow the comfortable road through the Stubaital valley to the settlement Neustift im Stubaital, where at the roundabout in the middle of the town we choose the first exit and follow the ascending road to the village Milders. In Milders we follow the road Mühlenweg and signposts for Oberissalm. To the mountain pasture there follows approx. 8 km of narrower and narrower asphalt road, on which livestock often walks, so the possible waiting time must be included in the estimated driving time. On the mountain pasture Oberissalm we park on the arranged parking lot, where the parking fee is 5 euros per day.

Alternatively we can drive through northern Italy: in this case from central Slovenia on the highway A2 we drive to one of the border crossings with Austria and we continue towards Lienz. Here we continue on the road 100 and past the passage Prato alla Drava we drive into Italy. In Italy we follow the road SS49 all the way to the junction with highway A22 in the direction towards the mountain pass Brenner. After the mountain pass, we continue in the direction towards Innsbruck to the exit Schönberg. From there we continue as described above.

Path description:
On the mountain pasture at the signpost above the parking lot we go on a wide macadam road which in a few minutes of mostly level walking towards the southwest brings us to a well-marked turn-off of a narrower footpath which with nice views on the eastern part of the Alpine ridge and mountain pasture Oberiss below us in zig-zags relatively gently leads through thin high mountain forest. A little higher we pass on a grassy slope covered with high mountain vegetation by the edge of the upper part of the valley Obergbacha, where we have nice views towards the mountain hut Franz Senn and Vordere Sommerwand above it, and the steepness then gradually decreases. On a pleasant and panoramic footpath which we follow in the last part of the path to the hut, past the mountain dairy on the mountain pasture Alpeiner through an attractive watery landscape in good fifteen minutes we ascend to popular Franz-Senn-Hütte; from the starting point to the hut there is approximately an hour and a half of walking.

At the mountain hut, we notice a signpost, which points us firmly towards the south on the path which leads towards the Sommerwand glacier and Vordere Sommerwand. At first, a quite easy path winds over a grassy slope and a little higher it runs parallel with a torrent originating from the Sommerwand glacier. Through a partly rocky edge we get closer to the northern ridge of the Sommerwands and we continue on rocky terrain below the eastern slope of Vordere Sommerwand. After about an hour of walking from the hut we get to the signpost, which points us sharply to the right. On in parts precipitous, but technically undemanding path in zig-zags we ascend to the upper ridge of Sommerwands, where big cairns await us; one of them marks the survey point 2676, which according to most maps represents the peak Vordere Sommerwand, located right on the edge of the upper ridge high above Franz-Senn-Hütte.
To the top, marked with a cross, from here separates us approx. 10 minutes of walking on a demanding and airy ridge. From the point 2676 to the top, the previously impeccably marked path is no longer marked, but the direction of the ascent is clear. Nevertheless, already the entry onto the ridge edge presupposes an initial problem, for the solution of which we have two options: first, from the platform where the marked path ends, we can ascend directly to the ridge, whereby we must cross some easily climbable rocks (I). The second, technically easier option appears when descending below the ridge edge on the eastern side of the ridge, where a relatively easy passage to a higher level soon reveals itself. The continuation of the path along the ridge is orientationally straightforward, but in places quite exposed. At some points fixed protections help us (cables and pegs), occasionally we also have to climb a little freely (I). The relatively short final ridge a little below the summit with the cross widens somewhat and takes us to a very panoramic ridge elevation, where there is only a little space by the cross.

Vordere Sommerwand is among the easiest and quickest reachable peaks in quite a wild surroundings, but the ascent to the point with the large cross still requires a sure step and some mountaineering experience, even though all difficult spots are on the relatively short final ridge. The view from the top is attractive and the tour can be done incidentally on the ascent to Innere Sommerwand or when overnighting in the hut of Franz Senna.

On the way: Franz-Senn-Hütte (2147m)