The Adlerweg. Mike Wells
via Innsbruck to Munich; or via Bregenz, Lindau, Ulm and connect for Frankfurt; then retrace your outward journey.
Tickets are available from DB or Rail Europe. Contact details are in Appendix D.
You can catch a tram from Bergisel to reach the start of Stage 13 in Igls (photo: Christine Gordon)
By road using Eurotunnel/car ferry via Calais. Autoroute/autobahn across Belgium and Germany to Munich and Kufstein, then local roads to St Johann via Elmau. Total distance Calais–St Johann 1100km. Driving time is at least 11hrs. Leaving your car in St Johann you can return by train from St Anton via Innsbruck and Worgl to pick it up.
Intermediate access
Hintersteinersee is reached by bus, four times a day from Scheffau, which is served by buses between St Anton and Worgl.
Kufstein: station on main line between Munich and Innsbruck. Bus services to St Johann and Innsbruck.
Kaiserhaus: bus from Kramsach/Rattenberg, which is served by local trains between Kufstein and Innsbruck.
Steinberg: bus from Achenkirk, which is served by bus from Jenbach changing at Maurach; or from Munich by BOB train to Tegernsee and bus to Achenkirk.
Achensee (Maurach/Pertisau): bus (hourly) or Achenseebahn train (four/five per day) from Jenbach main line. Also by train and bus from Munich via Achenkirk.
Absam: frequent local buses from Hall and Innsbruck.In high season a vintage bus runs between Pertisau and Gramaialm (Stage 8)
Innsbruck: airport with direct flights from the UK. Main line station with international trains to Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, Verona, Milan and Zurich. Many bus services.
Hochzirl/Seefeld/Geissenbach/Scharnitz: stations served by trains on Mittenwald line between Innsbruck and Garmish/Munich.
Leutasch: bus from Seefeld.
Ehrwald/Lermoos: trains from Innsbruck or Munich changing at Garmish.
Fernstein: bus service between Imst/Nassereith and Lermoos/Reutte.
Bschlabs/Boden: three buses per day from Elmen in Lechtal valley.
Lechtal valley: regular bus service between Reutte and Steeg calling at villages along the Lechtal valley. Reutte is served by trains from Innsbruck or Munich, changing at Garmish.
Kaisers: six buses per day from Steeg.
Steeg: buses from St Anton, changing at Lech.
Navigation
Path grading
Throughout the Tyrol a standard system is used to grade the level of experience, skills, fitness and equipment required to walk mountain paths. There are three grades: wanderweg, roter bergweg and schwarzer bergweg. The system is colour coded, with white (wanderweg), red (roter bergweg) or black (schwarzer bergweg), usually appearing in a small circle on signposts. The official grading appears in this guide in the introduction to each stage. The grade relates to the most difficult part you will encounter in a stage. There is one exception, in Stage 4, where despite the stage being classified red, the ridge walk section from Koglhorndl to Hundsalmjoch is graded black. An alternative route is signposted avoiding this section.
Wanderweg (white) are easily accessible footpaths, generally wide with only slight gradients. There is no exposure, and neither a head for heights nor mountain equipment is needed. Four stages are classified wanderweg.
Roter bergweg (red) are trails with a moderate level of difficulty, sometimes steep or narrow with short cable-aided sections possible. Surefootedness, a reasonable head for heights and appropriate physical condition are required. No specialist mountain equipment is needed, although a good pair of walking boots and appropriate clothing is essential. The majority of Adlerweg stages are roter bergweg.
Schwarzer bergweg (black) are steeper, more difficult stages, often narrow with aided scrambling sections and exposure to steep drops. Experience of mountain walking is essential, together with a reasonable level of physical fitness, surefootedness and a good head for heights. However, these stages are walks or scrambles, not climbs, so no specialist mountaineering equipment is needed. There are four schwarzer bergweg stages on the main Adlerweg, although these can be avoided with easier alternatives, plus four more on the Lechtaler Alpen Hohenweg.
Waymarking
The Adlerweg network is marked with a standard series of signs and signposts. At the beginning of most stages is a signboard showing the whole stage together with timing, distance and height difference. En route signposting using yellow fingerposts is almost universal and excellent. These fingerposts can be found at most path junctions, and even in remote locations they leave little doubt as to which path to take. They usually show the next few destinations together with estimated walking times and path grade (white/red/black). The Adlerweg is identified on these signs by an eagle silhouette motif, and often by name. Occasionally, older style black and white signboards are encountered, although these are steadily being replaced.
Yellow fingerposts showing the Adlerweg are found at almost every path junction
Between fingerposts, the path is identified by the use of red and white paint flashes on convenient surfaces such as rocks, trees, walls and buildings. These provide waymarking over difficult ground and are essential through forests, across scree and in open pasture where the path may sometimes be indistinct. Occasionally small cairns mark the route, but in misty conditions, paint flashes are considerably more visible. On some stages, where the Adlerweg uses another established path such as Wilder Kaiser Steig in Stage 2, other coloured paint flashes may be encountered. In Voralberg, Stage 22, yellow/white flashes are used for wanderweg, red/white for roter bergweg, and blue/white for schwarzer bergweg.
GPS
All maps listed are GPS compatible under WGS 84 with co-ordinates in both degrees/minutes and UTM. The OeAV CD/ROM maps can be downloaded to GPS. Most refuges publish their GPS co-ordinates on their websites and a complete list is published in OeAV hutten guide. An increasing number of signposts show GPS co-ordinates.
Guidebooks
Tirol tourist board in Innsbruck has produced a 96-page summary guide and accompanying map to all 128 main, alternative and regional stages. While this gives an overview of each stage, it is not suitable to take with you when walking. The first edition (2007) was published in English and German versions, but the second edition (2010) is available in German only. It is available from Tirol Werbung, Maria Theresien Strasse 55, Innsbruck 6010 (www.adlerweg.tirol.at).
Signs at the start and finish of each stage
Bruckmann have published a 144-page guide to all main, variant and regional paths, with a detailed description of the main stages with full colour mapping, plus variant and regional paths in summary form. It is available in German only: Der Adlerweg, Stefanie Holzer (2009) ISBN 978-3-7654-4796-9 Bruckmann Verlag, Postfach 40 02 09, D-80702 Munchen (www.bruckmann.de).
Alpenverein Hutte Book contains details of all alpine refuges in Austria, Germany and Sud Tirol. It is in German with an English key explaining symbols and is available from Austrian Alpine Club UK, 12a North St, Wareham, Dorset BH20 4AG (www.aacuk.org.uk).
Maps
This guide is not intended for use on its own. It is essential to have walking maps at a scale of 1:50,000 or 1:25,000. Maps from three publishers cover the route, and sheet numbers are shown for each stage. However, there are differences between