This Article first appeared in
AAC(UK) Newsletter 176
published Winter 2007
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Last updated 13 December 2007
Return to the Ötztal
by Chris Marshall
The approach of my significant birthday * prompted my son, James, to suggest a little 'expedition' to mark the event, a trip to my favourite mountain hut, the Rauhekopf. I first visited this hut 16 years ago with a climbing friend, sadly now dead, and was last there 3 years ago. Every visit has been pleasurable and so I readily agreed.
There were three of us in the party, James, Giles Morley and myself. We flew from Stansted to Munich and then used train and taxi to arrive at the Gepatschhaus by about 5pm. The hut was very full, the Frankfurt am Main summer school being in full swing, not to mention the German Army in residence on a course for military mountain guides. After a good supper and beer we were ready for an early night.
The following morning we set off on the 800m plus ascent to the Rauhekopfhütte in perfect weather. On such occasions why do our rucksacks seem to be so much larger and heavier than those of everyone else? After about an hour Giles decided to return to the Gepatschhaus and 'take it easy' for a day while James and I would continue to the Rauherkopf for 2 nights.
The day grew hotter as James and I ascended the thickly snow covered Gepatsch glacier. A final rocky scramble led to the hut, lemon tea and a warm welcome from the warden. We sat in the sun, enjoyed the mountain view and had a very refreshing 'al fresco' shower. One of the charms of this hut is the 'facilities'; the washing arrangements are unisex and outdoors and the 'loo' is very reminiscent of Lem Putt of 'The Specialist'. I hope very much that these will never have the smart 'makeovers' that have befallen so many English pubs. There were just seven of us for the excellent evening meal, three from the summer school, the warden, his assistant and us. Incidentally this is a hut that the English seldom seem to visit. Judging by the hut book, we were the last there, and that was 3 years ago! Its atmosphere, location and warm homeliness make it well worth a visit.
The next morning we set off for the first of our easy peaks, the Grosser Rauherkopf 2990m. This gave us a pleasant morning's scramble to the summit cross and then iced lemon tea on our return and a snack lunch. Unknown to me, James had some champagne chilling in the snow and later in the afternoon this was produced and all present marked our visit with a toast to 'the mountains and our absent friend, Giles'. That evening there was a gorgeous sunset, and so ended a perfect day.
On the warden's advice, the following morning we descended to the Gepatschhaus via the glacier and met up with the reinvigorated Giles. There are only 2 buses a day down the Kaunertal and we took the late after-noon one to Landeck, where we enjoyed a pleasant evening and night in the Schwarzer Adler Hotel. Sunday morning saw us not going to church but en route to Vent and the easy path to the Martin Busch Hut.
Our plan was to go to the Similaun Hut 3019m the next day, stay a night and climb Similaun itself, thus making the ascent in 2 stages. Sadly it didn't work out like that. On arriving at the hut we were told it was fully booked, the need to book having not entered our heads. We asked if we could sleep on the floor but that apparently was not possible. So there was only one thing for it, a return to the welcoming arms of the Martin Busch.
However, all was not lost because over the next 2 days we enjoyed the hospitality of the hut and climbed 2 easy peaks, Saykogel 3360m and Kreuzspitze 3457m.
Two sightseeing days in Munich ended our little 'expedition', but for me the highlight was the return to the Rauhekopfhütte, a visit that lived up to my expectations. If you find yourself in the Ötztal, go and savour the 'Rauher Kopf experience', but don't all rush at once or this article will have 'killed the goose that lays the golden egg'.
* 75th
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Last updated: 13 December 2007