Vent - Obeležje v bližini najdišča Ötzija (via Similaunhütte)

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. Upon returning to Austria we continue on the highway A12 past Innsbruck, Telfs and Mötz, and then at exit 123 near Ötztal Bahnhof we turn towards B186/B171/Ötztal/Haiming. We follow the road B186, which runs into the Ötztal valley, past the settlements Oetz, Längenfeld and the center of the valley, Sölden. Only a few kilometers further from Sölden at the village Zwieselstein we turn onto a rapidly ascending but comfortable asphalt road towards Vent. In the tourist settlement Vent we park on one of the numerous (paid) parking lots. The parking fee in Vent in the year 2020 was 5 euros/day.

Path description:
From one of the parking lots in Vent we go through the settlement to its southwestern edge, where we notice signs which over a small bridge lead in the direction towards Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte. A considerably flat path, which in the first part of the trip runs on the route of a poorer macadam road, we follow to a smaller private cottage, soon behind which we go on a somewhat narrower footpath towards the east, which leads us through a smaller canyon of the stream Niedertalbach. After approximately fifteen minutes of additional walking, we follow the footpath over an iron bridge to the junction back to the mountain road. The barely perceptibly ascending road, on which we will in the warm summer months often encounter cyclists, past the bend below the extreme northern slopes of the mountain Hintere Schwärze we follow to the hut Martin-Busch-Hütte.

The path between the huts Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte mostly runs on a relatively flat, open meadow slope below the expanses of glaciers Marzellferner and Niederjochferner. An easy and to summer heat exposed path first leads us past a junction, where the direct approach towards Ötzi's monument branches off (this variant represents a shorter, easier, but less scenic approach to the monument, which I definitely recommend at least on the return), later it winds past smaller glacial lakes and somewhat more steeply ascends to the hut Similaunhütte. From Vent to the hut below Similaun it is around 4 hours of walking, and the entire path is appropriately marked.

At the hut, following the signs towards Ötzi - Fundstelle and Fineilspitze we head towards the northwest and in zigzags ascend to a panoramic ridge which connects the massifs of Similaun and Fineilspitze. The ridge path, which leads us along and over numerous larger stone blocks, is mostly quite wide and undemanding, over a few more precipitous and steeper sections reliable safety gear helps us.
After less than half an hour of walking from the hut, to avoid the sharp continuation with the help of a steel cable and steps we descend below the ridge and in a gentle ascent over scree terrain continue the path towards Ötzi's monument. The winding and not too steep path with the help of occasional markings and individual cairns brings us to a larger year-round snowfield, across which we walk to the monument erected in memory of the discovery of the natural mummy Ötzi, which two German hikers accidentally found in the immediate vicinity of the monument.

For the return I recommend the shorter and more direct, but less panoramic path towards Vent, which from the monument follows a well-marked trail that in a gentle descent safely leads us to the junction between the huts Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte.

On the way: Martin-Busch-Hütte (2501m), Similaunhütte (3019m)