A wild peak in a stunning position.

Statistics

4 - 5

hrs

1,000

m

1,000

m

44

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Moderate

Description

A long journey which feels very peaceful and wild despite its proximity to the Kühtai ski area.

Park just before the long tunnel east of Kühtai and skin up the steep sided valley to the north.

The line here is on the skinner's left hand side of the valley but avalanche conditions may dictate that skinning on the other side of the valley is better.

Whichever side of the valley you ascend, you will end up in a bowl to the north of the Kleiner Mugkogel, where this route separates from the tour up the Mitterzeigelkogel.

Go off to the right and make a short climb up a long, almost flat valley, from where you have a perfect view of the upper section of the route.

Skin up the valley to the obvious ramp which takes you out and left to join the Rietzer Grieskogel west ridge, where you take your skis off.

Plenty of people turn around at the ridge and ski straight back down but for those with the requisite head for heights, scrambling up to the summit is a great little adventure.

The scrambling isn't hard but it's a little exposed in places so you need to be confident and have some mountaineering experience before tackling it.

Regardless of whether you go to the summit or not, the views from the ski depot on the ridge (and of course from the summit itself) are stunning.

The peaks of the Ötztal and the Sellraintail are laid out before you, as is your descent route. On the way down the skiing feels fast and flowy, without ever getting steep or stressful.

Once you get back into the valley you began the day by skinning up you can either reverse the ascent route, or head skier's left onto the opposite side of the valley.

Following the descent route involves some sidestepping/poling but it does give you a nice pitch back down to the road.

Skier's left meanwhile is very mellow all the way but (provided you hold onto your height) doesn't require you to push or sidestep. Once back at the road either head up to Kühtai for a blast around on the lifts or drive back to Innsbruck, via a stop at the nearby Schärmer Alm mountain restaurant to toast your day!