We took the local train west for 27 minutes from Innsbruck to Otztal and then a bus south to Langenfeld in the Stubai. There is also a direct bus from Innsbruck train station to Langenfeld but the times when it left were not convenient for us. At Langenfeld we did some last minute shopping for food at the Spar Supermarket, and one person bought hiking poles. Hiking poles are commonly used by hikers in the Alps and offer one considerable assistance on the steep terrain and snow covered slopes. I use one only but most people seem to use two.
After a quick "coffee and kunchen" at the Gasthof Edelweiss, we took the minicab which is run by the Gasthof to the start of the hike at Gries bei Langenfeld.
You will find a section at the end of this article on the logistics of hut-to-hut hiking in Austria. All of the "Huts" and "Hause's" that we stayed in are part of the Austrian Alpine Club's (OAV) hut system which is described below.
Gries bei Langenfeld (1569 m)
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In the train from Innsbruck to Otztal,
Orval, Eleanor and Peggy
We started hiking from Gries just before noon in nice weather and took about 2 1/2 hours to do the 700 metres vertical on an easy but steep path to our first nights stop at the Winnebachsee Hutte (2362 m). On the way to the hut way there was a nice bench from where we could sit and relax and admire the great view.
The Winnebachsee Hutte hut has hot water but no showers. Accommodation was in a small Matratzenlager which we had to ourselves. The food was good.
View on the way up to the Winnebachsee Hutte
(click on picture for enlarged version)
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At about 3 p.m., four out of the nine of us set off to climb the Gansekragen 2914 metres. The Gansekragen is rated as "mittel=medium" by the guidebook that came with my map ( Kompass Wanderkarte, Nr. 83 Stubai Alpen) and as taking two hours one way. Aside from some steep drop offs and a bit of easy scrambling there were no difficulties although two of the four dropped out after a while as they were tired from the strenuous first days activity . The climb took us 1 1/2 hrs up. The weather was deteriorating but views were still good. On the Gansekragen there was no snow and the trail was well marked with red paint splashes on the rocks. The little guide books that one gets with the Kompass Wanderkarte as well as with the Freytag and Berndt hiking maps, lists all the OAV huts in the area covered, hiking times between valley and hut, between huts and also the peaks accessible from each hut together with time and degree of difficulty from a hiker/walker/scrambler's point of view.
Winnebachsee Hutte (2362 m) and directly behind the hut the
Gansekragen which we climbed (2914 m) in the afternoon.