Stubai Alps Peaks Traverse

Itinerary

Travel/Arrival Day:

Travel Day – arrive at our hotel in Neustift, Stubai Valley (Austria). Dinner is included at your hotel. Please have your daypack packed and ready to go for tomorrow morning!

Day 1: Neustift – Day Trip 
You will meet with your guide and the rest of the group in the morning after breakfast for a trip briefing and distribution of rental equipment.
Warm-up day trip. A chair lift takes us from the town center of Neustift to the Elferkofel hut. Traverse of the Elferkofel and Elfertuerme on partly on exposed trails with via ferrata sections. Return trail to the Elferkofel Hut and chairlift back into town. Dinner at the hotel with your group. Please have your overnight bags packed and ready to go for tomorrow.

Day 2: Neustift to Bremer Hut

Breakfast at your hotel followed by an 8.30AM trip briefing with the guide. we take a 40 min taxi ride to the Gschnitztal to the hamlet of Obertal. First, we hike along a paved road through forest and cow meadows before stopping for lunch at a nice mountain lodge. Finally, the trail turns narrower and leads steeply through a lush mountain forest to a high plateau with several lakes. From there a gentler trail leads us above the treeline to the rustic, but newly renovated Bremer Hut at 2413 m (7915ft). Usually, we can organize the transport of our backpacks with the supply lift of the Bremer Hut.

9 km, 5.5 mi distance with 915m, 3000ft uphill climb.

Day 3: Bremer Hut to Nuernberger Hut

Trail hike with some cable-protected sections across the steep pass of the Simmingjoechl 2764m (9070 ft.), where we can leave our backpacks behind for an optional ascent of the glaciated Eastern Feuerstein (3268 m = 10720 ft). Descent to the Nuernberger Hut (2280 m = 7480ft), a very comfortable and spacious lodge with showers available!

Day 4: Nuernberger Hut to Mueller Hut

Ascent of the wildly glaciated Wilder Freiger (3418m = 11211ft.) and descent to the Italian side of the range to spend the night in the spectacularly located and very high Mueller Hut (3140m = 10300ft).

Day 5: Mueller Hut to Neustift

The big summit day. We start with a roped scramble along an exciting rock ridge to the Wilder Pfaff (33460m = 11350ft). A quick descent on talus and glacier leads us to the Pfaffensattel (3330m = 10920 ft), where we can deposit the backpacks for the ascent of the Zuckerhuetl (3505 m = 11500 ft), the highest peak in the Stubai Alps. We Descend down the Sulzenau Glacier to the Cable Car station of the Stubai Glacier summer ski area and return to the valley. Transfer by bus or taxi back to our Hotel in Neustift. Dinner with the guide.

Departure/Travel  Day:

Departure after breakfast. Thank you for joining us in the Stubai mountains!

On a custom trip basis, we offer a 3-day extension for this itinerary:

Day 6 (Extension)
Instead of descending, we spend the evening of day 5 at the Hildesheimer Hut. From there, we traverse four glaciers and three passes: Via the Bildstoeckeljoch (3144m = 10310ft), Wuetenkarscharte (3187m = 10540ft) and the Wuetenkarsattel (3115 m = 10215 ft) to the Amberger Hut (2135m = 7000ft).

Day 7 (Extension)
Last big day: To the Wildgratscharte (3170m = 10400 ft) with the option to climb the majestic Schrankogel (3450m = 11320f ft) on the way. Descent to the Franz Senn Hut (2150 m = 7050ft), one of the largest and most comfortable mountain lodges in Austria. Showers available.

Day 8 (Extension)
Beautiful panoramic trail high above the Stubai Valley to the Starkenburger Hut for a late lunch and descent back to the Valley to lodge in our Hotel in Neustift. Dinner with the guide.

Departure/Travel Day
Your trip officially concludes after breakfast.

Detail and Logistics

Meeting Point

Meet your guide at 8AM on the first hiking day at our Hotel in Neustift in the Stubai Valley after breakfast.

Transport Options / Closest Airport

Neustift is located 30 min north of Innsbruck and 1.45 hrs north of Munich by car. If you arrive by air to Munich, we gladly arrange your airport shuttle directly to our hotel in Neustift for an additional cost of Euro 75. From Innsbruck, public buses leave every hour (even during the night) from the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) to Neustift. The bus takes about 50 min, cost are about 6 Euros and it stops right in front of our hotel.

Climate, Weather, Temperatures:

High season for all mountaineering in the Austrian Alps is July through mid-September, mainly due to the stable weather that time of the year. Day time temperatures can vary between 30C (86F) in the valleys to -10C (14F) on clear mornings, when we start our day from a high level hut. Snow is possible at any time in the higher elevations.

Services Included in the Total Price

5 days guiding by an internationally (UIAGM/IFMGA) certified, multilingual, mountain guide or guide aspirant under supervision. All lodging: Double rooms in 2 to 3 star hotel in Neustift, Stubai Valley, bunk bed rooms in huts of the Austrian or German Alpine Club. All dinners & breakfasts: 3 – course dinner (soup, meat entree and dessert) in the huts. All ground transport by taxi van, local bus or guide’s vehicle from the hotel to the trail heads and back, all fees for gondolas, parking fees and road tolls. Use of technical equipment: Harnesses, crampons, ice axes, rope, carabiners

Not Included Are

Air fares, lunch (Sandwiches, snacks can be purchased in the huts or in the valley), drinks (beer is about US$ 4 / pint glass, wine US$ 10 – 20 bottle), single room supplement for all lodging in the valleys, any additional cost related to itinerary changes.

Can I Do It?

Stubai Alps Peaks Traverser requires up to 8 hrs/day of strenuous trekking with passages of roped glacier travel and some easy scrambling, at times secured with cables to hold onto. The trek can be considered a bit less demanding than our Haute Route Trek in terms of cardio-vascular endurance but has some short passages, that are a bit more technical. Our Via Ferrata Trek “Best around Cortina” requires less endurance but more technical “scrambling”. The use of crampons might sometimes be required (Introduction and training session during the trek!)

Stubai Alps Mountaineering Equipment List as Downloadable .PDF

Stubai Alps Peaks Traverse

Considerations

Packing for a mountaineering trip is a balancing act. You want your pack to be as light as possible so you can truly enjoy the week. But you also need to have enough gear to be warm (or cool), comfortable, and well-fed and watered. When buying, renting, or borrowing gear for the trip, please keep weight, performance, and function in mind.

Technical Equipment

Bring the following:

 High-quality summer mountaineering boots with rigid soles
 Lightweight, collapsible hiking poles (optional, but at least one is recommended)
 Gaiters, unless your pants lock tightly to your boots
 40-50 litre backpack with rain cover for transporting your things plus group gear
 Crampons with anti-snowballing plates, fitted to your boots

Bring the following or ask us (in advance) to provide the items:

 Ice axe for glacier travel (50-75 cm, classic pick)
 Climbing helmet
 Harness for glacier travel
 Two conventional locking carabiners or one triple-action locking carabiner

Your guide will bring the following:

 Rope
 Crevasse rescue equipment
 Group first aid kit and general repair kit

Clothing

Temperatures on this traverse can vary hugely. We might experience +30°C (85°F) temperatures walking up the glaciers on windless, sunny days and then be exposed to 0°C / 32°F temperatures with strong winds on the summit ridges. Somewhere in between is normal and having several clothing layering options is important. Bring light, technical clothing that doesn’t take much space in your backpack and dries quickly when sweaty or wet.

 Wind and waterproof shell jacket with hood (Gore-Tex or similar)
 Wind and water-proof over pants with side zippers (Gore-Tex or similar)
 Synthetic mountaineering pants (eg. lightly lined Schoeller fabric or similar)
 Medium weight Primaloft jacket with hood
 Medium weight fleece sweater
 Synthetic or wool base layers – top and bottom
 Synthetic t-shirt and lightweight shorts
 Quick-drying sports bra
 2-3 pairs of good quality trekking or mountaineering socks
 Thin liner socks
 Warm hat, covering your ears
 Two pairs of gloves (one pair lightweight and one pair waterproof and heavier weight – made for summer mountaineering conditions)
 Sun hat, preferably with a wide rim
 Bandana or Buff (optional)

At the Huts

 Spare socks and underwear
 Light down jacket or vest (optional)
 Sleeping bag liner – silk is the lightest. Blankets are provided.
 Light hut slippers (optional – they are almost always provided at the huts)
 Toiletries and a small towel (keep to a bare minimum)
 Alpine Club membership card (if you hold membership)
 Earplugs (optional, but recommended)

Other items

 Your favourite lunch items and hiking snacks – candy bars, dried fruit, nuts, etc.
 Sunglasses with high UV protection – glacier-specific sunglasses are best
 Sunscreen and lip protection with high SPF. Consider zinc-based.
 One or two one-litre water bottles. Water bladders are not recommended.
 Headlamp with spare battery
 Personal first aid kit and other needs (eg. blister kit, prescription medicine, anti-inflammatory, contact lenses, prescription glasses, etc.)
 Pocket knife (optional)
 Passport, health and travel insurance documents
 One or two lightweight garbage bags for extra waterproofing (optional)
 Light stuff sacs or Ziploc bags to keep your backpack organized and important items dry (optional)
 Camera, spare batteries (optional)
 Maps, GPS, altimeter watch (optional)
 Hand sanitizer or sanitary hand wipes (small personal amount)
 Feminine hygiene supplies
 Toilet paper – small amount for daytime emergencies
 Telephone with charging cable (optional)
 Adaptor for European charging system (optional)

Transport Options:

Our Stubai Alps Peaks Traverse begins from Neustift im Stubaital which is reachable from either Munich International Airport (closest Airport, about 3 hrs drive, mostly on highway, airport shuttle available) or from the main train station in Innsbruck (30 min drive).

If you arrive by Air to Munich, Innsbruck, Zurich there are regular shuttle services to our preferred hotel in Neustift which you can book online with Four Seasons Travel. Cost is approx 50 euro / person one way from Munich airport, prices vary from other airports.

If you arrive by Train to Innsbruck, you can book private shuttle with Four Seasons Travel

If you’d prefer Public Bus transport: From Innsbruck, public buses leave every hour (even during the night) from the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) to Neustift. The bus takes about 50 min, cost are about 6 Euros and it stops right in front of our preferred hotel.

If you have a car: Neustift is located 30 min south of Innsbruck and 1.45 hrs south of Munich by car.

We gladly can help you arrange any of these transfers and pre or post hotel accommodations.

We will gladly put potential clients in touch with previous participants of each trip in order for interested guests to get more personalized references and their questions answered from a more objective point of view than what our office could provide.

Guest Feedback

“Excellent! Kurt is a professional. Felt very secure the best guide I had. Excellent organization and timely communication. Itinerary: Excellent! Fulfilled my expectations.” Veronia Q.,  Italy

“We found Moritz to be a very competent guide. This was our first time using a guide so we weren’t sure what to expect and have no standard to compare him with. He was a very skilled mountaineer and was able after the first couple days of hiking at the lower elevations to read our abilities and needs and adjust accordingly. For example my somewhat difficulty with heights was managed by him expertly. When he thought that we needed various forms of protection he employed them. He was also a good hiking companion and fun to be with. His English was a bit rough but we were able to communicate fine. At times he could be not clearly communicative as to what we were going to do and the route we were going to take. This was more the case on the last day when we were on our way back down from Muller Hut back down to the valley via Wilder Pfaff. This was exacerbated by bad weather namely freezing temperatures with blowing snow and slippery rocks and footing. He was hampered a bit by never having hiked in the area we travelled on the first three days but he dealt with it fine. He was familiar somewhat with the summit ridge on the last day although I’m not sure he had ever taken that exact route down off of the ridge to the ski area. I would use him again but it would be preferable that he be a bit more familiar with the high terrain. Overall I would give him a B+.
The itinerary was great. The high stuff especially on the last day in the less than good weather was a bit beyond our comfort zone but there isn’t anything wrong with stretching our limits and abilities.
The huts were fantastic! The only complaint was that the first 2 nights we seemed to have been given large bunk rooms with other people and Moritz had rooms to himself although for some reason at Bremer he would up in a spare bed in a utility closet. The food there was great.  I would give the trip a 9 and would recommend it to others.” John N., USA

FAQ

Do I need to sign a Release of Liability & Assumption of Risk Agreement (a.ka. liability waiver)?

Yes, you do. Mountaineering, skiing, climbing, hiking, via ferrata and all other wilderness and adventure travel activities are inherently risky with potential for injuries or even death.
It is very important to us that you are aware of those risks before you start the booking process, which includes filling out a booking form and paying a deposit.
With signing the liability waiver, you confirm that you understand the potential risks and hazards, and are willing to accept the risks, which includes giving up legal rights you may have.
This would also be the time to ask questions or address concerns before you book.
For your reference here is a link to our Liability Waiver. Our booking terms & cancellation policy with more details can be found here