Alpine Climbing Adventures in the Ötztal

3 big days out in one of Austria's most legendary mountain valleys!

Charlie Boscoe

Images

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The Stablein restaurant at the top of the chairlift

by Charlie Boscoe

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Encountering the locals on the way to the hut!

by Charlie Boscoe

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Epic views from the Taschachferner glacier.

by Charlie Boscoe

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Scrambling across to the northern summit of the Wildspitze

by Charlie Boscoe

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Looking down onto the Rofenkarferner Glacier from the summit

by Charlie Boscoe

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On the Mitterkarjoch Col

by Charlie Boscoe

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Heading up the moraine field at the start of the day

by Charlie Boscoe

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Beautiful views from the summit ridge on a snowy October day

by Charlie Boscoe

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High on the ridge with some snow making life tricky

by Charlie Boscoe

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Looking down on Kühtai from the foot of the ridge

by Charlie Boscoe

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Looking up at the ridge in profile from the far side of the Finstertalspeicher Lake.

by Charlie Boscoe

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High on the ridge and looking forward to some sunshine on the summit!

by Charlie Boscoe

Description

The Ötztal valley, 50 kilometres west of Innsbruck, is a rightly famous mountain destination, home to epic skiing, rock climbing, hiking, biking and mountaineering. The valley has produced a string of strong and talented climbers so hopefully by doing these 3 routes a little of their stardust will rub off on you!

All of these routes can be reached easily from the Ötztal valley itself, but it's so long (around 50 kilometres top to bottom) that basing yourself in the middle (somewhere between Längenfeld and Sölden) makes the most sense. From there you can easily drive north to Kühtai to reach the Zwölferkogel (the lowest of the 3 peaks described here), nip up to the Polleskogel mountains and then finish your trip on Tirol's highest mountain, the Wildspitze.

The Wildspitze can be climbed in one huge day but we've described it as a 2 day adventure, split by a night in the lovely Breslauer Hut. The other 2 routes in here are day routes, albeit - in the case of the Zwölferkogel - long ones.

So if you're keen to escape the crowds in the Alpine honey pots, get to the Ötztal and enjoy some epic views, fun routes and solitude!

Adventures

Polleskogel Peaks

Two superb peaks in the Oetztal Alps, offering an easy tick for two 3000m summits in one day.

Zwölferkogel North Ridge

A spectacular 380 metre scramble up the north ridge of the Zwölferkogel, a peak just under 3000m in Austria’s highest ski resort.