Stubaier Höhenweg 1

The Stubaier Alpen cabin to cabin hike is known as one of the most beautiful high alpine hikes in Austria. I was able to hike the first three days with my son Robert and the rest of the days I hiked on my own. The weather was gorgeous all the time and made it possible to have fantastic views of glaciers and distant mountain tops.

Hiking in the High Alps is always a meditation for me. I focus on my breath, my body and especially on every step I do. In order to keep my mind in the here and now and not wander around, I try to capture my experience by creating haikus in my mind.

Robert and I in Innsbruck before our hike

After a one hour bus ride from Innsbruck to the Stubaier Valley, we started our hike to the first cabin, the Regensburger Hütte (2285m). It was an about 1000 meter climb and I often ran out of breath. Whenever I stopped, I was bathing my eyes in the deep green moss covering ground and stones.

Coming up to highter ground soon revealed the beauty of the High Alps – waterfalls and rivers running through the landscape like silver threats. Glaciers and snow fields high above touched the blue, distant sky with floating clouds.

On exposed, sun lit slopes, we found wild rasberries and blueberries

Vital, fresh, and clear, the water is rushing down into the high valley

With the Regensburger Hütte on the top of the steep rock formation, my tiredness vanished. We listend to the thundering sound of water filling the entire valley.

Full of vibrant life

the fresh water does not know

where it will end up

The stay in the Regensburger Hütte was a delight. The newly renovated cabin serves only vegetarian food, which was delicious. The cabin was fully booked and we only could get a sleeping place in the Lager, where one sleeps side by side with other people. Robert had booked the place weeks in advance and the only place left was in the Lager.

This Lager has 36 beds. Pillows and blankets are provided, but one has to bring her/his own liner (inner bedding) in which to sleep. My sleeping place was at the far right beside the wooden wall. This gave me some advantages.

It took us nearly 10 hours to get to the next cabin, the Dresdner Hütte. Robert offered to carry some of my heavy things, like the water bottle. This was a big help. The path leads through beautiful upland moor with lots of glittering waterways and up to an area consisting only of rocks and stones.

Glittering waterways in the upper moor

We passed a former glacier gorge nestled underneath a snow field where water was rushing into it – it looked to me like a big, black eye.

We climbed up to the highest point of the Höhenweg, the Grawagrubennieder (2881 m). The name of this passage is Tyrolian dialect and I have no idea what it means.

In between stones and rocks, sometimes moss and flowers find a shelter

Little ponds and alpine lakes capture the surroundings

In bad weather, this climb would have been treacherous

Sometimes we took a selfie to capture our good time together

A view down into the valley where we had to walk before hiking up again to the saddle on the opposite side

We arrived in the Dresdner Hütte in the evening. This cabin is in the center of a large ski area and the entire high valley is defaced by the many ski slopes and lifts. Also, the cabin was a place for masses of people – but we were happy to have a place to sleep.