In this third and final series about crossing the Alps from Germany through Austria towards Italy (or I should rather say Südtirol to respect the locals), we’ll cover going the final stretches in the Südtirol region, from Austria until the Pfitsch pass towards St. Jakob in Italy and ending in Sterzing.
Fifth day: visiting the clouds
I was already past the first half of this long journey. The day before, I didn’t leave the premises of the Almhof hotel in Hochfügen because there was so much water falling from the sky that it felt like a biblical flood. The hotel is really comfortable and the breakfast was a great way to start the day full of energy, so I definitely recommend it. During these days, and depending on what was offered at the hotels, my breakfast consisted of müsli with yoghurt or milk, plus fruits, all next to coffee with some cheese or egg sandwich.
The next day, after the persistent rain throughout the night, everything was muddy and slippery. Unsurprisingly, this day also had a storm warning that would come even earlier than the day before so it was important to start very early again.
The trail this day goes up and up almost until the end so you definitely need a nice breakfast. It goes next to the Finsingbach river up the mountains that surround the Zillertal valley of Austria, from where you’ll have a great view from above.
At some point you leave the river and go all the way up to the Sidanjoch at 2171 meters.
But.
Here’s where the clouds caught me and while thankfully there was no rain and the cloud wasn’t terribly moist, the visibility was zero. This prevented any view from the Sidanjoch and it’s a pity because from what I saw in photos with sunny days, the view is really fantastic. For example, if you look east–northeast, your view opens up toward the ridge that runs over three peaks: Pfundsjoch (2313 m), Kleiner Gilfert (2388), and Roßkopf. The Roßkopf rises with 2576 meters prominently above that ridge, so on a clear day it’s definitely visible from the Sidanjoch.
I continued down the path passing by the Rastkogelhütte, which again, I could barely see but it offers a lovely viewpoint. I had considered going up the Kreuzjoch at 2338 meters because there’s a path that takes you there and it’s all in the same direction to Mayrhofen. However, the lack of visibility due to the fog rendered it pointless, as can be seen in the photo below: everything behind the Rastkogelhütte is a great panoramic view of the Zillertal and it was completely white.
Eventually I got to the bus station that would take me down to Mayrhofen, in the Zillertal once again. It was great to be able to see in the distance again as soon as I got down a bit under the clouds. Mayrhofen is a bubbling town and thankfully I stayed a bit on the side. I can recommend La Cucina Café & Restaurant where I had some an excellent pasta with mushrooms.
For those into Trail Running, I stumbled upon some signaling referencing a trail running route called 3-Gipfel-Runde, or 3 summits round, that goes from the Spieljoch mountain (where the hike of the day before started) to Hochfügen. It’s only 17.9 km but has an ascend of 1194 m and a similar descend. Here’s the map of the 3-Gipfel-Runde trail.
Sixth day: crossing borders again
The next day we took a shuttle to the Schlegeisspeicher, a water reservoir in Südtirol at around 1800 meters. Sadly, unlike a previous day hiking next to the Achensee, there was no visibility at all. This day we would be going through the Zamser valley, hiking next to the Zemmbach. This valley had such a raw nature that I hadn’t seen so far in Germany or Austria. Truly otherworldly.
Along the Zamser valley you’ll have a great view of many waterfalls, which, even if they don’t fall on the air like in Switzerland (I don’t buy that’s natural, it’s like swiss tampered with the mountain), they are still absolutely impressive because of the size, like the Unterschrammachwasserfall.
Now, the temperature started dropping here. If next to the water reservoir I was only with a light rain jacket, here I had to put on a thick merino layer and the rain jacket on top to try to insulate me from the cold weather. When I got to the Lavitz Alm at 2095 meters, I went in to warm myself up a bit and have a hot chocolate. The big minus point of this Alm, is that you have to pay to access the toilet. Even if you’re a customer. I fortunately didn’t need to but I heard other people asking about it. I would avoid it next time because not far from it, there’s a larger and better Alm, already on the side of Italy.
At the top of the Pfitscherjoch at 2246 meters it was so, so cold. In addition, the persistent wind made it feel extra cold. So after crossing the border to Italy, I immediately went into the Pfitscherjoch-Haus refuge that sits right there where Austria meets Italy, to have a nice warm lunch. And also, the first tiramisú since I was already in Italy. Although it didn’t feel like it because everything was written in German. Also, unlike at the Lavitz Alm, in the Pfitscherjoch Haus using the toilet is free.
The energy in this big refuge was great, since it’s a point where many hikers from many backgrounds converge. There were not many tables available but we sat with an old couple who were doing the Alps Crossing with their ages of 77 and 83 years old! I found it hilarious that as soon as we sat, the woman told me: “ah I have seen you, you’re the one who’s running!” because I was running for brief portions of the trail and I did run by her in one of the previous days, from Fügen to Hochfügen.
After a long lunch and the aforementioned tiramisu, I started going down the Pfitsch pass, and the view of mountains there was absolutely amazing. All the mountains you see as soon as you start going down are more than 3000 meters, with the Hochferner being the tallest visible, with 3470 meters, even if behind it the Hochfeiler with 3509 meters is a bit taller. If you look at the Hochferner in detail, you’ll notice its glacier at the top.
The descend of 820 meters was really hard because of the terrain. At the same time, it was great to not be in the extreme cold at the top of the mountains. At the Pfitschertal valley there was even sun shining and it was all very green, a striking contrast from the mountains. I continued hiking through this valley until St. Jakob, which was the destination.
Südtirol is a particular area. When asking people whether they’re austrian or italians, they claim to be from Südtirol. That’s it. Similar to the people of Reit im Winkl, in Bavaria, Germany, who claim to be from Oberbayern (High Bavaria) and not from Bavaria.
Seventh day: the final walk
The last day was sunny, the landscape was green and hiking from St Jakob to Sterzing next to the incredible mountains on each side is beautiful. And yet, this was my least favorite hike. Maybe it was because it was the goodbye walk. Maybe because compared to the other valleys, spotting glaciers on mountains, hiking on the high ridges of the previous days, or under the pouring rain, or engulfed by clouds… this loooooooong valley walk felt monotonous. The drawback was also the distance: this was the longest stage of the trip, stretching about 20 kilometers.
Despite the monotony, the hike is beautiful. You go through a small lake, lots of farmhouses, rumbling alpine rivers, and even some… mysterious doors in a mountain.
And all the time next to mountains that rise quickly from your position like the Viedspitz with 2583 meters or the Torwand with 2639 meters.
However, the true highlight of this hike was stopping at a small hotel called Laimbruchhof and sip a housemade brewed beer and eat an Apfelstrudel. The colorful note is that the place is run by a guy whose daughter, Eva, maybe around 8 years old, was enthusiastically helping around and talking to everyone in an amazing display of conversational skills. Once you leave it and head through the path, you’ll find a cabinet, Eva’s Store, with some additional things for the journey.
Now a bit of history about Südtirol because I kept being fascinated about the fact that I was in Italy but it felt much more like Austria. And for a good reason: the whole Südtirol region belonged to the Astro-Hungarian empire, including all these towns like St Jakob or Sterzing. After the First World War though, Südtirol was forcefully annexed by Italy, even though its history, culture, and language had always been Austrian. Mussolini later even tried to force an “italianization” (is that a word?), banning German in schools and renaming some towns. Some like Sterzing are referred also by an italian name: Vipiteno in its case. Thankfully, the people resisted and never gave up their traditions and customs. Today, most of the population still speaks German in daily life, and you can feel that alpine Südtirol spirit everywhere. It’s much closer in soul to Austria than to Rome.
After arriving to Sterzing absolutely hungry after the 20 km hike, I went to eat what you should eat in Italy, pizza! But the pizza from Zur Traube exceeded all expectations. I have never ate in Italy such a fantastic pizza. Probably because like the locals say, it’s not Austria, it’s not Italy, it’s Südtirol. Sterzing is a beautiful town and there’s a lot of possibilities for hiking and other sports here.
The end of it all
After 7 days and more than 120 km, crossing 3 countries, more than 2300 meters, and crossing uncountable rivers, traversing many valleys, the Alpenüberquerung or Alps Crossing is a fantastic adventure. It’s not only the landscape: it’s about the small moments: a Buttermilch mixed with berries marmalade next to an emerald lake, a cow that greets hikers with a lick, a hot chocolate in a remote Alm while drying your clothes, a table shared with strangers with interesting conversations, catching sight of a glacier through the clouds, or even being engulfed by the clouds at the top of a mountain.
These are the memories that stay long after the sore muscles are gone.
So rest, remember the mountains, the wind, the lake. Just process all, savor it. The Alpenüberquerung is a one in a lifetime experience.
Read all the posts of this series crossing the Alps!
