The Adlerweg. Mike Wells
Stage U11 Absam to Pfeishutte
SECTION 4 Innsbruck and Patscherkofel
Stage 12a Innsbruck city tour
Stage 13 Patscherkofelhaus to Tulfeinalm
Stage 14 Hochzirl to Solsteinhaus
SECTION 5 Wettersteingebirge and Miemingergebirge
Stage 15 Solsteinhaus to Leutasch
Stage 16 Leutasch to Ehrwald
Stage 17 Ehrwald to Schloss Fernstein castle
Stage 18 Schloss Fernstein castle to Anhalterhutte
Stage 19 Anhalterhutte to Haselgehr
Stage 20 Haselgehr to Steeg
Stage 21 Steeg to Stuttgarterhutte
Stage 22 Stuttgarterhutte to Ulmerhutte
Stage 23 Ulmerhutte to St Anton am Arlberg
Stage U22 Steeg to Leutkircherhutte
SECTION 7 Lechtaler Alpen Hohenweg
Stage A17 Schloss Fernstein castle to Loreahutte
Stage A18 Loreahutte to Anhalterhutte
Stage A19 Anhalterhutte to Hanauerhutte
Stage A20 Hanauerhutte to Wurttembergerhaus
Stage A21 Wurttembergerhaus to Memmingerhutte
Stage A22 Memmingerhutte to Ansbacherhutte
Stage A23 Ansbacherhutte to Kaiserjochhaus
Stage A24 Kaiserjochhaus to St Anton am Arlberg
APPENDIX A Distances and timings
APPENDIX B Suggested 15-day and 21-day schedules
APPENDIX C Tourist offices
APPENDIX D Useful contacts
APPENDIX E Glossary of German geographic terms
Looking back to Birkkarspitze from Birkkarklamm gorge (Stage 11) (photo: Christine Gordon)
INTRODUCTION
There are two ways to soar among the magnificent peaks of the Tyrolean Alps. One is in an aeroplane as you fly into Innsbruck. The other, more challenging and exciting, is to follow the Adlerweg as it crosses the entire length of the Tyrol from St. Johann in Tirol in the east, to St. Anton am Arlberg in the west. Not only will you experience the Wilder Kaiser, Brandenberg, Rofan, Karwendel, and Lechtaler Alps close up, but you should also have spectacular distant views of Austria’s other principal mountain ranges including Grossglockner, Grossvenediger, and the Tuxer and Stubai Alps. As a bonus, you will pass immediately below the towering south face of Zugspitze, Bavaria’s (and Germany’s) highest mountain.
Eagle motif found at key points along the Adlerweg
The main route of the Adlerweg is a 300km (188-mile) long-distance path traversing the Austrian Tyrol, keeping mostly to the mountains that form the northern side of Inntal, the Inn valley. It is made up of 23 principal stages, with a total height gain of nearly 17,000m. In addition, there are six easier variant stages that avoid the more airy parts, and eight more difficult ‘Alpine’ stages that provide an alternative high-level route through the Lechtaler Alps. Well maintained and waymarked throughout, the Adlerweg follows established mountain and valley tracks and allows you to reach the tops of two mountains, Rofanspitze (2259m) and Birkkarspitze (2749m). Accessible to walkers of all abilities, it can be completed by a fit walker in 15 days, although if you wish to take things more gently, and allow time to visit attractions en route, it would be best to allow three weeks. Most of the stages are well connected by public transport (train, postbus, cablecar and chairlift), making it possible to tackle shorter trips as day excursions or weekend overnight breaks.
The path was conceived and implemented by the Tyrol regional tourist organisation, who named it the Eagle’s Way (adler being German for ‘eagle’) as, when overlaid on the map, its silhouette appears in the shape of an eagle, the outspread wings of which reach from one end of the Tyrol to the other, with Innsbruck, in the middle, as its head. The proud eagle is said to represent the feelings of freedom and independence, power and wisdom, grandeur and dignity, which you can experience by hiking the Eagle’s Way. Since the introduction of the main route, the project has grown as offshoots from the path have spread right across the Tyrol: the eagle has grown legs. There is even a separate ‘Eaglet’ path of eight stages in Ost Tirol. The complete Adlerweg network now includes 126 stages with a vertical rise of about 87,000m. This guide concentrates on the 23-stage main route, plus the six ‘easier’ variant stages and eight ‘harder’ Alpine high-level stages.
Hiking in the Tyrol would not be complete without Austria’s legendary hospitality and native cuisine. Since overnight accommodation in the form of serviced mountain hutten, inns, guesthouses or hotels can be found at the end of each day’s walk, all you will need to carry is a sheet sleeping bag. Everywhere along the way there are convenient places to eat and drink. These range from simple alpine pasture huts in the mountains, offering locally produced fare, to award-winning restaurants in the towns and valleys. Indeed the accommodation and refreshment opportunities are so well spaced that, with a little forward planning, it is possible to walk the whole route without once needing to take a picnic lunch. On most stages, frequent water fountains and springs provide a safe source of drinking water.
A wide variety of animals and plants can be found. The lower meadows are carpeted with wild flowers in late spring, while once the snow disappears the upper slopes come alive with alpine plants, including edelweiss and gentian. Chamois, ibex and marmots can be seen throughout the route. However, as you are walking the Eagle’s Way, the creature you will most want to find is likely to be the eponymous golden eagle. Keep a good lookout and you may see one soaring around the highest peaks. If, however, wild eagles prove illusive, the route passes Innsbruck’s Alpine zoo, where there are two captive golden eagles.
Golden eagle in Innsbruck Alpen zoo (Stage 12a)
The Tyrol tourist organisation describes the Adlerweg as ‘arguably the most beautiful long-distance trail in Austria’. Does it live up to this claim? That is for you to decide. Walk it and see!
Background
Austria
Located in the centre of the continent straddling the Alps, Austria is Europe’s 17th largest country by size, and, with 8.3 million inhabitants, its 18th by population. It shares borders with Germany (with which it also shares a common language), the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Its position with the Danube, one of Europe’s most important waterways, to the north, and the Brenner, the most accessible alpine pass, to the south, has made Austria the crossroads of central Europe.
Portrait of Hapsburg Empress Maria Theresa in Hofburg gallery, Innsbruck (Stage 12a)
During the 18th and