> The first half of the Stubaier Höhenweg on light feet
> Top out on the Grawagrubennieder at around 2,850 metres
> Two hut nights booked, zero admin for you
Afternoon, day two. Your pack is on a bunk at the Neue Regensburger Hütte, the Schrimmennieder is done, and you are flying down to the Falbesoner Ochsenalm with nothing on your back but a soft flask. Four hundred and fifty metres down, a cold drink at the alm, the same back up. Necessary? Not at all. The best hour of the trip? Quite possibly.
The Stubaier Höhenweg is one of the big hut routes of Tyrol. We took its first half and made it run-sized. Day one follows the Oberbergtal to the Franz-Senn-Hütte, named after the Neustift priest who co-founded the German Alpine Club. Day two is the Schrimmennieder plus that lunch run. Day three goes over the Grawagrubennieder, along the high balcony to the Dresdner Hütte and down to the Mutterbergalm. Fancy a bigger dose? Pick the long day one over the Starkenburger Hütte and the Seejöchl, the long day three over the Peiljoch, or both, right in the booking.
Built for trail runners who are at ease in alpine terrain. Expect stone, steep pitches and a few steel cables; on the climbs the power-hike is your best friend. Snow can hang around on the cols early in the season. Travel light but complete, 25 to 30 litres: hut sheet, shell, headlamp, snacks. We book the huts, you bring the legs. Deal?
A warm-up with a sting in the tail. Fifteen kilometres up the Oberbergtal, roughly 1,100 metres of gain, hardly a metre of descent all day, and most of the work saved for the end.
From the village centre you pick up the Oberbergbach and follow it deep into the valley on quiet lanes and trails. The first eight kilometres climb less than 500 metres, so this is where you actually run. Then the valley closes in, the meadows tilt, and the last six kilometres pile on around 600 metres to the hut.
The Franz-Senn-Hütte sits at about 2,150 metres, a big, busy house of the Austrian Alpine Club with the Schrimmennieder waiting behind it for tomorrow. Plan on three hours and 45 minutes.
Too tame? The long version climbs out of Neustift to the Starkenburger Hütte, crosses the Seejöchl and comes in on the high trail: 21 kilometres and some 1,750 metres up. Select it when you book.
One col, one hut and a bonus lap. Just under 14 kilometres and about 1,000 metres of climbing in total, which leaves time to put your feet up before the big one tomorrow.
Leaving the Franz-Senn-Hütte, the first two kilometres are gentle. Then the trail gets to work: roughly 550 metres up to the Schrimmennieder, around 2,700 metres and reached after six kilometres. The far side is steep and stony, so mind your feet on the way down to the Neue Regensburger Hütte at about 2,290 metres.
Leave your gear at the hut and take the access trail down the Falbesontal to the Ochsenalm at 1,822 metres. Refuel at the alm, turn around and climb back to the hut on legs that suddenly feel a lot lighter. Three hours and 45 minutes of moving time, give or take, and a whole afternoon on the terrace.
The crux comes first. Within four kilometres of the hut you stand on the Grawagrubennieder at around 2,850 metres, the high point of the trip, after a climb of some 550 metres.
The top section is steep and rocky, with cables on the hardest bits. Take it slowly here; the running comes later. Beyond the col the path drops and settles into a long balcony between 2,300 and 2,700 metres, up and down and rarely flat, all the way to the Dresdner Hütte at kilometre twelve.
Then gravity takes over. Around 550 metres of descent bring you to the Mutterbergalm, the valley station of the Stubai Glacier, with buses back to Neustift and Innsbruck. Fifteen kilometres and three hours and 45 minutes, more or less. Beer o'clock.
Not done yet? Add the Peiljoch and the Sulzenau Hütte and finish at the Grawa Alm instead: 22 kilometres and close to 1,200 metres of climbing. You can switch to it in the booking.
