Stubai Hut To Hut 2007- Austrian Alps -- Zuckerhutl

When we got to Innsbruck and checked into the hotel, we want for a walk around town.  We strolled around a bit, and had traditional Tyrolean fare in a sidewalk restaurant.

Solsteinhaus was pretty full, but not crowded.  Our room had another group in it, but there were still had several empty beds.  Every other party seemed to have young children, but the hut was very quiet at night.

Looking through the guest book, I located by entry from two years previous.  I could only find a single other party from the US in the intervening time.

We continued on to the station, hiking in the rain the last 10 minutes.  We were too close to stop and put on rain gear, but by the time we got there, we were pretty wet and cold.  When we got back down to Innsbruck it was much warmer.  We met Roy and Donald at the hotel.  We took another walk around Innsbruck, had another meal at the same restaurant, and went home for a good night's sleep.

I got up at 6:00 AM, saw that it was raining lightly, and went back to bed.  We are not going to the peak if the weather is bad.  At 8:00 it was snowing, and we are definitely staying put.  Most of the people here are going down, or back to the lift.  By 11:00 the weather has cleared, but it is too late to go for the peak, so we head over to the glacier for some practice.  Everyone gets to practice walking in crampons, walking up and down the steep ice, chopping steps, rappelling, etc.  

While we were out it snowed  most of the time.  

We made a circuit, hiking to the glacier by one route, crossing it, and hiking back by the other.  We will return to the glacier tomorrow by the way back, which involved less descent and ascent, but which had one very steep traverse across the top of a very high cliff.

Each of us took a short turn wading in the lake, which was very cold.  I stepped wrong on a rock, and fell into the water, to everyone's amusement.

While we had been gone, the hut had filled with new parties, including a group of 20 on a one-week hike across the alps.  Another party consisted of a guide, parents, and three extremely cute little girls, 9, 12, and 15.  We heard they were also planning to climb Zuckerhutl the next day.  Martin and I discussed our options, and although it would be most desirable to descend to Sulzenau or Nurnberger, that will not be possible so we will descend to Dresdner and go on from there.  That puts us three days behind, but that's life.

There is also another party, the family that had passed us earlier , on the ridge.   I have blown up the photo above, and you can just barely see them on the ridgeline.

We could see them crawling slowly up the steep slope, and it seemed impossible that we could actually climb up something that steep.

My blister is no worse than yesterday, even after this grueling day, so I am confident for the rest of the trip.  I have a sunburn on my neck and ears, but that's all.  We are all looking forward to a light hiking day tomorrow.  It would be nice to catch up by skipping Sulzenau and going all the way to Nurnberger, but that seems unlikely.

The trail descended along the canyon wall, with spectacular views the whole way down.  We could see Blau Lake, where Roy later went for a swim.  We passed the Klettersteig, where there were several groups of climbers on the wall.  Finally we reached Sulzenau after 6 hours (the route was listed as 3).  Luckily there were still a few places left in the lager -- we got some of the last places there.  Roy and Donald disappeared, but I washed my socks, relaxed on the patio, observed workmen building new foundations for the lift (and riding back down at the end of the day), and generally being lazy.  

Many people headed back down the trail, but more arrived from high above on the glaciers.  At dinner time approached, Roy and Donald were still missing, but I claimed one of the last tables.  I shared it with some other hikers, but saved space for Roy and Donald, who showed up by and by.  We had a wonderful time talking with our table mates, who were from Germany.  Two of them were traveling together, with another who they had met on the trail.  We stayed and talked until lights out at 10:00.  Fortunately I had set my stuff out and was able to get into bed in the dark.

We had breakfast with our new friends from the night before.  I learned from them that tomorrow's weather is predicted to be rainy and cold.  Although I would like to make it to Dresdner hut today, Roy and Donald are moving slowly, and with the weather it looks like we might not make it.

Since tomorrow is predicted to be wet, we will stay put tomorrow and descend from here the next day.  The clouds have enveloped everything, and we cannot even see the lift building ten feet away.

We were joined at the dinner table again by yesterday's friends Hans and Bernard.  In addition, we were joined by a younger couple (in their 20s) from Liepzig.  They just walked up today, and plan to go around to Innsbrucker.  Hans and Bernard are going down tomorrow.

I think Nurnberger hut has the best food we had eaten on this trip.  Lunch of coldcuts was spectacular, but also the deserts were exceptional. 

It was raining when I woke up.  Only the dining room was warm.  Rain is predicted all day today.  I spent the morning watching the people. I see several parties each day traveling with dogs.  One had been on the glacier, and had on a climbing harness and was clipped into the rope.  Mostly I see medium sized dogs, very well behaved.  No yappy toy breeds.

People here all seem to come prepared with very serious gear -- full rain gear, heavy boots, parkas, and gloves, huge packs stuffed full. We shared our room with a pair of hikers who had each filled their 70 liter packs -- with clothes, not even climbing gear.

Back at the hut, everything is warm and convivial, with people playing board games, visiting, coming and going.  The hut is even more packed tonight than yesterday, and we find two additional blankets and pillows have been squeezed into our room.  It turns out we are sharing with a group of hikers from the Czech Republic -- apparently a family of six.  We all squeezed tight and I fell asleep quickly after the giggling and whispering stopped.

Seven of us squeezed in to a space about six feet wide.  The parents had there own corner of the room.

Returning to Innsbruck, we were surprised by how much warmer it was.  We said goodbye to Donald, got cleaned up, and went to bed early in anticipation of a very long day tomorrow.