"The Stubai region of the Austrian Tyrol offers high quality touring, glacial scenery and reliable conditions, combined with comfortable huts. This is a great ‘ski focussed’ touring week taking in north facing descents which often hold powder, as well as various summits along the way."
6 days
Inter - Adv
6:1
Dates:
18 - 23 Mar '12
Price:
£625
Ski Ability:
2-3+
Fitness:
3+
Experience: You need some previous ski touring experience to join this tour.
Included:Guiding Fees and Expenses.
Other Costs:Hut nights, food, travel and uplift during the tour ~ £350
This is a classic touring area, offering numerous good quality north facing descents andattractive ski summits. The huts in the area are very comfortable with hot showers, bar and restaurant service each night.
The route is a part linear, part star hut to hut tour that can be completed in most conditions. Different objectives are possible, including steeper descents and more technical summits. Due to the uplift available at the start of the week, there is more skiing down than skinning up on this tour!
We start and finish the week in Innsbruck, which is easily reached by direct flights from several airports in the Uk.
Sample Itinerary
Subject to weather and snow conditions, the plan for the week is as follows:-
Day 0 - Sat
PM, meet in Innsbruck - discuss plans, sort food and kit, overnight in valley.
Day 1 - Sun
AM Travel to Stubai Valley, lift assisted day tour and glacier skiing around the Stubai Gletscher. Overnight at the extremely comfortable Dresdener Hut. 500-700m ascent, a lot more of descent! ~5-6hrs
(If conditions are good, we may even be able to climb Zuckerhutl (3563m), the highest peak in the Stubai).
Day 2 - Mon
AM morning uplift, then traverse the Daunjoch (optional ascent of Daunkopf 3225m) before skiing a great north facing descent to the Amberger Hut. 400-500m ascent, 1400m descent ~4-5hrs.
Day 3 - Tue
Day tour from the Amberger Hut, climbing the Kuhscheibenspitze (3189m). This is a fine viewpoint with a short climb on foot to the highest point – the reward is another long north facing descent back to the hut. 1000m ascent and descent ~5hrs.
Day 4 - Wed
Traverse east, crossing the Wildgratscharte to make a north facing descent down the Alpeiner glacier to the Franz Senn Hut. 1050m ascent and descent ~5-6hrs.
Day 5 - Thur
Day tour from Franz Senn Hut, climbing Wildes Hinterbergel (3288m) – one of the best tours in the range. 1150m ascent and descent ~5-6hrs.
Day 6 - Fri
On the final day we climb Kraulscharte (3069m) – a good north facing itinerary - before skiing back down to the road. PM Taxi back to the valley and return to Innsbruck. 900m ascent, 1600m descent ~5hrs.
NB Starting at the Stubai Gletscher gives a far better weeks skiing than the similarly named tour in the Cicerone guidebooks - hence the reason for doing it this way around (several of the huts used in the Cicerone Guide have actually been closed for years!)
Food and Accommodation
We run all of our tours on a guiding and instruction only basis. Details of our recommended (ie sensibly priced!) hotel in Innsbruck is provided with your joining instructions. The guide will book all hut accommodation for the tour, which you pay for direct as we go along.
Travel
We start and finish in Innsbruck, which is easily reached by direct flights from several Uk airports. From the airport, a bus or taxi ride takes you quickly into town.
Ability and Experience
You need to be a good off piste skier (see ski ability level 3), with previous touring experience to enjoy this tour. Typically there will be 500-1000m of climb a day, with options to take in extra summits along the way, so you can expect to be skinning for 3-4 hours a day (see fitness level 3).
Equipment
We will supply you with a full kit list. You are responsible for bringing personal clothing, a rucsac and ski mountaineering skis, boots and kit (local hire is available). We are delighted to be working on this tour with Backcountry UK, who provide excellent service and advice as a leading retailer of ski mountaineering equipment in the UK.
