Vent - Similaun (normal approach from Vent)

Access to starting point:
From Ljubljana, we drive on the highway past Salzburg in the direction towards Munich. 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 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. Just a few kilometers further from Sölden at the village Zwieselstein we turn onto a steeply 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 head through the settlement to its southwestern edge, where we follow signs that lead us over a small bridge in the direction towards Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte. We follow the fairly flat path, which in the first part of the trip runs along the route of a poorly maintained macadam road, to a smaller private hut, soon after which we turn onto a somewhat narrower trail towards the east, which leads us through a smaller canyon of the streamlet Niedertalbach. After approximately fifteen minutes of further walking we follow the trail over an iron bridge to the junction back to the mountain road. We follow 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 to the hut Martin-Busch-Hütte.

The path between the huts Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte mostly runs along a relatively flat, open meadow slope below the expanses of the glaciers Marzellferner and Niederjochferner. The easy path, exposed to summer heat, first leads past a junction where the direct approach to the Ötzi monument branches off, later winding past smaller glacial lakes and ascending somewhat more steeply to the hut Similaunhütte. From Vent to the hut below Similaun it is about 4 hours of walking, and the entire path is appropriately marked.

The path from Similaunhütte towards the summit is no longer marked, but due to numerous footprints and cairns it is relatively clearly indicated. First we descend over scree into a smaller hollow below the edge of the glacier Niederjochferner, then ascend to the glacier's outflow. Here two options for continuing the path are offered:
- the orientationally direct route continues directly over the glacier Niederjochferner, which in the lower part is quite steep and locally crevassed. The permanent glacial track first runs towards the east, then turns towards the south and crosses below the ridge over which the alternative described below runs to the joining of the paths in the early part of the glacier. I advise against ascent or descent on this variant in late summer afternoons;
- somewhat easier is the summer variant, which near the glacier's outflow with the help of individual cairns and tracks of predecessors leads us over locally inconvenient scree to an attractive little lake below the cliffs of the western ridge of Similaun, which are snow-free for most of the year. From the lake onwards we follow the obvious, undemanding and moderately steep path over part of the western ridge of the Similaun massif to the junction of the paths.

After returning to the glacier we cross it towards the east to the western foothills of the summit head of Similaun; the glacier in this part is gentler and without visible crevasses, and the crossing is thus relatively straightforward.
In the conclusion of the ascent we follow the unmarked but obvious ridge path over the rocky structure of Similaun. The moderately steep path is locally somewhat exposed, which is particularly tricky when snow patches remain on the path - in this case it is recommended to use full winter equipment also on the final ascent. The key part of the path reveals itself in the early part of the ridge ascent, where after crossing a smaller plain we aerially cross above the precipitous flanks of Similaun. After entering the summit level of the mountain we follow the relatively wide ridge without major difficulties to the spacious and panoramic summit with a large cross.

Despite the ascent to Similaun being a full-day high-alpine tour that in the final part runs in a serious glacial environment, the path due to its relative technical straightforwardness and favorably placed huts along the way is among the easiest of such endeavors. Even though part of the path runs over the glacier, for it in the high-alpine season due to clear tracks and lack of steepness and glacial crevasses we usually do not need winter equipment - but it is necessary if we decide for the ascent over the entire glacier and if conditions in the final part are not optimal.
Due to the above, the summit is frequently visited, to which the hut Similaunhütte also contributes, offering a comfortable overnight option above 3000 m altitude.
Nevertheless, it must be noted that the description refers to the approach during the peak of the high-alpine season, which usually lasts from August to mid-September; when the final ridge is still under snow, the difficulty of the tour increases.

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