Short Ötztal ski crossing | Three days of rustic huts, good snow and many kilometres of downhill skiing

Of course, you could also extend the whole thing to the Ötztal Tour, but due to the uncertain weather forecast and the more beautiful parts in terms of skiing, we focussed on the eastern part of the Ötztal.

After booking huts early (at the end of January) - which is highly recommended due to the crowds - we were looking forward to our little ski crossing at the beginning of April; however, a glance at the weather forecast diminished our motivation somewhat. "Never mind", we said to ourselves when only two hours of sunshine were forecast for the day (10th of April 2022). The next day should at least be nice.

Day 1: Relaxed start with a sick descent

And so we set off from Innsbruck at around 7.30 am and arrive in Obergurgl at around 9.00 am. We park the car at the last public car park near the parish church and pay €8 per day, which is reasonable considering the horrendous prices in the multi-story car park (€16 per day).

We set off across the empty pistes towards Schönwieshütte and, in view of the stationary gondolas and the lack of ski crowds on the pistes, we wonder whether it really is already the Easter holidays in various German states. The route to the Schönwieshütte is quite entertaining and only takes about an hour (350 metres in altitude, 3 km) despite our heavy luggage. There are now two options for the rest of the route to the Langtalereckhütte, our destination for today. Either directly on the tracked path to the hut (an additional 200 metres and 3 km) or climb one of the peaks that border the Rotmoostal valley to the west and ski down to the hut from above.

We decide in favour of the second option due to the improving weather situation and because we are not in a hurry. Our interim destination is the 3,228 metre-high Eiskögele, one of the first peaks in the Rotmoostal valley.

We walk approx. 1 km into the Rotmoostal valley and reach flatter terrain via a short steep ascent (approx. 200 m). We follow the already established trail up to an altitude of approx. 2,800 metres. Here we can decide again whether to continue in the direction of Eiskögele or head south round a rocky outcrop and climb up to the front Seelenkogel. The terrain in the direction of Eiskögele looks easy to walk on and we decide to stick to our original plan. The snow here still looks very powdery and unbound and we wonder whether this will also be the case in the Hochebenkar exposed to the west (our descent route to the Langtalereckhütte).

Day 2: Imposing glacier world

In view of the not-too-warm temperatures on day 2 and the good weather, we decide to set the alarm for 6.30 am. However, we are all awake by 5.30am at the latest, as the Langtalereckhütte can be very noisy. As we asked the hut owner the evening before, the path through the Gurgler Schlucht gorge is currently not very problematic, but there are one or two water holes that need to be negotiated. Over a cosy breakfast, we learn that a group of 10 people with a mountain guide are attempting the same route, so our first goal for the day is to stay ahead of this group.

At 7.30 am we are refreshed and ready for the 200 metre descent from the hut into the gorge. We arrive just in time, because a second large group, initially travelling the same route (this group probably climbed the Hochwilde via the Gurgler Ferner), is carrying out an avalanche transceiver check. The descent on the hard surface goes off without a hitch and after a short skinning up we are ready for the route through the gorge. After just five minutes, we reach the first waterhole, which can be overcome quite easily with a little teamwork. We continue on and realise once again why we want to stay ahead of the large groups: Almost 15 people are queuing at the waterhole while the mountain guide secures his group across the narrow passage. A little stress in the morning is sometimes worth it!

The gorge is impressive and makes the path to Gurgler Ferner an entertaining and quick pleasure. After just under 1.5 hours from the hut, we arrive at the former glacier gate, which unfortunately no longer deserves its name. The first discussion of the day centres on two topics in view of what feels like 15 degrees plus in the shade: Is the SPF 30 sun cream enough? Should we put on the harness now or later?

We decide to apply the 50 sun cream and put on the harness straight away, but continue without being roped in. This will make rescue much easier in an emergency. The Gurgler Ferner is well snow-covered and has been travelled frequently, so we trust the track that has been made. We follow the Gurgler Ferner southwards until we reach a steep step (along the old summer path, which is now closed due to falling rocks) at around 2,800 metres on the western side. We quickly overcome this steep step with many kickturns and short stomping passages and are glad to arrive at the flatter part of the Kleinleitenferner. Slipping in the steep section would be fatal, as you would fall over quite high rocks onto the Gurgler Ferner. In two wide turns (first to the right, then to the left), the route continues relaxed on the Kleinleitenferner towards the Schalfkogeljoch (3,373 m, approx. 4.5 hours from the Langtalereckhütte). Both the Kleinleitenspitze (3,445 m) and the Schalfkogel (3,540 m) can be climbed from the mountain pass, whereby the Schalfkogel can be reached via its south ridge on easy scrambles when there is little snow. The panorama from the summit is overwhelming and offers a perfect view of some well-known mountains (Wildspitze, Hintere Schwärze, Ortler, Königsspitze, Zuckerhütl, Schrankogel and many more).

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However, we don't linger too long at the summit, as we still want to get to the Martin-Busch-Hütte and know that we still have the ascent to the hut ahead of us. From the Schalfkogeljoch we head down the west side of the Schalfferner. The first hundred metres are secured with iron poles and we descend quickly in a combination of lowering, climbing down and abseiling to the terrain that can be skied again. The descent over the Schalfferner is spectacular and firny to powdery in the upper section, but the lower section quickly becomes arduous due to the rotten snow. It is important that you always keep riders left in order to really get to the bottom of the valley, as the south-facing slopes quickly snow out and descending here is unpleasant. We ski down to the Schalfbach (a short 10 metre carry) and follow it to the junction with the Nedertal. Looking back down into the valley, it is unimaginable to us that in 1925 the Schalfferner still flowed as far as the end of the valley and that 20 years earlier there was still a continuous connection with the Marzellferner, so that the Martin-Busch-Hütte could be reached almost without a counter-climb ...

Back in the present, it's now time to put on your skins for the 200 metre ascent to the Martin-Busch-Hütte, probably the most mentally and physically demanding part of this day. The moment when you see the hut for the first time after the kickturns is particularly demotivating, as there is no direct connection to it, so you first have to walk a good distance southwards to the bridge. We arrive at the hut, exhausted but happy and, above all, just in time for the afternoon beer.

Compared to the Langtalereckhütte, the Langtalereckhütte has more modern facilities and a fantastic view of the Mutmalspitze hanging glacier, but in terms of food, we liked the Langtalereckhütte a little better. Nevertheless, you can definitely get seconds at both huts (just ask).

Summary day 2:

• Trail: Langtalereckhütte - Gurgler gorge - Schalfkogeljoch - Schalfkogel - descent into the Nedertal valley - Martin-Busch-Hütte

• Altitude metres: approx. 1,500 m uphill and 1,400 m downhill

• Trail distance on the ascent: 8 km

• Planned time to the summit: 5 hours

A few tips and tricks for the tour

• Bringing glacier equipment, crampons and ice axe is obligatory for the tour and also opens up many other descent and ascent options

• The Martin-Busch-Hütte offers great terrain in spring, so if you want to stay here longer, you will easily find tours for a whole week. According to the hut landlord, Tuesday and Wednesday are the quietest days at the hut and it is also possible to get a place spontaneously.

• You should expect to pay around €50 - €60 per day for a place to sleep and half board, plus drinks and other food. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Alpine Club Youth for supporting us financially! This is a really worthwhile and cool initiative for people under 30 who plan and organise their own alpine tours. So definitely check it out.

• The time frames we give are usually very generous, as a rule we were a little quicker

• The huts should also be booked early, as there is a lot of ski touring traffic on some sections due to the Venter Runde

• Ohropax ensure a good night's sleep

• Travelling to Obergurgl by public transport is easy and it is a good idea to leave the car in Zwieselstein, for example. If you get on the bus in Vent on the way back, you can save yourself the 20-minute bus journey from Zwieselstein to Obergurgl

• Sun cream with SPF 50+ is definitely advisable. A little tip on the side: applying sun cream to your thighs is essential on a skiing tour (probably the worst sunburn I've ever had)

• The Alpine Club maps AV 30/1 Gurgl and AV 30/2 Weißkugel actually contain a lot of the information you need for planning. We also used Google Earth and Fatmap for planning

• A Fatmap plan of our tour is available here.