The Adlerweg. Mike Wells

      The Adlerweg crosses Gruba bowl from Rofanspitze, just visible right of centre, passing beneath Rosskopf (Stage 7)

      Oesterreichischer Alpenverein (AV) maps cover almost 90% of the route at 1:25,000. There is no coverage of the walk-in from St Johann, and the Brandenberger Stages 4, 5 and part of Stages 6 and U6, with Stage 13 covered only at 1:50,000. These maps give the most comprehensive coverage of the Adlerweg, but 14 sheets are required (13 AV plus one from another publisher for the Brandenberger Alpen). They have been revised from original OeAV maps to update land use, path networks and settlements, and do show the Adlerweg. Contours are at 20m intervals overlaid with black hairline depiction of rock features. The maps are GPS compatible with UTM grid. Sheets required are: 8, 6, 5/3, 5/2, 5/1, 4/3, 4/2, 4/1, 3/4, 3/3, 3/2 and 2/2 (all 1:25,000) and 31/5 (1:50,000) plus Kompass 28.

      A DVD is available of all OeAV maps. From this you can print your own strip maps of the route, at an enhanced scale (1:10,000), with considerable weight and space saving compared with carrying printed maps.

      Freytag and Berndt (FB) cover the route in six sheets at 1:50,000. In addition, there is a 1:25,000 map of Karwendel that can be used instead of the 1:50,000. Maps come with an enclosed booklet (in German) of tourist information, path and walking routes, mountain refuges and guesthouses, and GPS details of key points shown on the maps. All sheets are updated regularly, using satellite photography plus information from tourist offices and alpine clubs, and are reissued at three-year intervals. Contours are at 100m intervals. Maps are GPS compatible with UTM grid. Sheets required are: 301, 321, 322, 241, 352 and 351. Sheet 5322 (1:25,000) can be used instead of 322.

      Kompass (K) cover the route, either with two maps at 1:25,000, two maps at 1:35,000 and three maps at 1:50,000; or with six maps all at 1:50,000. The maps come with a booklet giving details of towns, villages, mountain paths and accommodation. Contours are at 40m intervals, and the maps are GPS compatible with UTM grid. Details and path markings are clearer than on Freytag and Berndt maps. The larger scale maps are simply enlargements of the 1:50,000, making them easier to read but with no greater detail. The Adlerweg is shown on all sheets. Sheets required are: 9, 28, 26, 36, 5 and 24 (all 1:50,000); or 09 and 026 (1:25,000), 027 and 036 (1:35,000) and 28, 5 and 24 (1:50,000).

      Tourist office maps: in addition to the published maps, Kompass have produced maps for some of the local tourist organisations, with a 1:50,000 map on one side and a local map or panorama on the reverse. These are available free from local tourist offices. Kompass maps are also used by Tirol Werbung for their strip maps of each stage, and these can be downloaded free from www.adlerweg.tirol.at. Local tourist offices also produce street maps of the towns and villages passed through.

      All the maps are available from leading map shops, including Stanfords in London and The Map Shop in Upton upon Severn, and are widely available in Austria. OeAV maps and the DVD can also be obtained from either OeAV in Innsbruck or OeAV Britannia Section at www.aacuk.org.uk at a discounted price for AV members.

      RECOMMENDED MAPS TO COVER THE ENTIRE ADLERWEG ROUTE

      1:25,000

      1:50,000

Accommodation

      Places to stay overnight on the Adlerweg vary from basic mountain refuges to five star hotels. In general you will need to stay in refuges when in the mountains, while on evenings when the path leads down into the valleys, you will find a variety of bed & breakfasts, guesthouses, inns and hotels. Such a network of accommodation means that the need to camp is rare and there are very few official camping sites. However, a tent is not needed as you are never more than a day’s walk from accommodation, and usually only half a day.

      Mountain refuges

      Austrian mountains are well provided with a huge network of serviced mountain walkers’ refuges, called in German hutte (pl hutten). Refuges are either operated by the Austrian (OeAV) or German (DAV) Alpenverein (alpine clubs), or are privately run. On or near to the Adlerweg and its variants there are 23 Alpenverein refuges and 14 private ones.

      Alpine club refuges are owned and managed by individual sections of Alpenverein and this is often reflected in their names, such as Bayreutherhutte and Stuttgarterhutte. The UK section has no refuges of its own, but members are encouraged to contribute to a fund that helps maintain some of the less well funded refuges. On the Adlerweg, Steinseehutte in the Lechtaler Alpen has been a beneficiary of this fund, contributing to the installation of solar heating and warm showers.

      Refuges are graded according to their facilities, and this is reflected in the overnight price. Accommodation can be in individual rooms sleeping from two to eight, or in the slightly cheaper lager, a mixed-sex dormitory often in the roof space. Most refuges have hot water and many have hot showers for which there is a small charge. Blankets and pillows are provided, but guests are expected to provide their own sheets. Advance booking can be made, and this is required for large groups. At weekends in high season, some refuges, particularly those in the Karwendel, can be very full. However, AV members are guaranteed somewhere to sleep and a proportion of places are kept back for this purpose. At very busy times, spare mattresses and put-me-up beds can fill the dining rooms and corridors. Discounts of 30% to 50% on accommodation (not food) are made for AV members and for members of other national alpine clubs. Self-catering is not usually possible, except for Loreahutte (Stage A17), which is unserviced. Overall, AV refuges offer a warm, welcoming and good value place to eat and sleep.

      Most private refuges offer similar facilities and services to AV refuges. Rooms may be a little less spartan, prices slightly higher with no discounts available to AV members and there are no guaranteed places. In some locations (at the top of Rofan cablecar or at Hallerangeralm, for instance) private and AV refuges stand in close proximity to each other, giving walkers a choice. It is recommended that AV members use the AV refuge while non-members should take the private option.