Retirement Rambling in the Ratikon Alps

by David Bradbury

What could be better - sun out, a beer in my hand, soaking in the views from the terrace of the Tübinger Hütte. Briefly my mind wandered –it was the first day of the school term back home. The same time last year I was greeting 39 year 6 children; preparing them for the slog to the SATs in May. What a difference a year makes! This year I was on a hütte to hütte walk with my 21 year old son in Vorarlberg, Austria along the North Rätikon Höhenweg.

Vorarlberg is not a well known area to British visitors with no big name resorts. It has some excellent walks for families and challenging walks for the more experienced. By road it is the closest part of Austria to the UK (about 560 miles from Dover). We flew courtesy of an efficient and cheap Ryanair flight from Stansted to Friedrichshafen and then rail to Bludenz for an overnight B and B.

Our first overnight hütte was the Totalp. A regular post bus service took us to the head of Brandner Tal. It was a very wet morning so we took the cable car up to the Lünersee, but there is a narrow track (the Böser-Tritt-Steig (Nur für Geübte!)) which winds steeply up the valley head. One and a half hours will take you from the Lünersee, a picturesque lake [reservoir actually] up fairly steeply to the Totalphütte.

Six days of walking took us along the North Rätikon Höhenweg via the Totalphütte, Lindauer Hütte, Tilisuna Hütte , a B and B in Gargellen, and the Tübinger Hütte finishing with a bus journey down the Montafon valley back to Bludenz. The route was relatively straight forward with no tricky bits. We used the 1: 35000 Alpenpark Montafon map by Kompass which had a good, large scale. The most arduous part was up the Bilkengrat on route to the Tilisuna Hütte, which was rather a slog.

Most of the days were reasonably short which give the opportunity for diversions or a spot of peak bagging. We went from the Totalp up the Schesaplana, 2965m, the highest peak in the Rätikon Alps (allow 3-3 1/2 hours up and back). A well marked, rocky path leads up to a col and a right turn leads via a, at times, shaley track to the summit cross. Unfortunately visibility was rather poor. The tingling of static electricity when I touched my walking poles should have been a clue as I posed for the traditional photograph by the cross. A flash of lightning and instantaneous thunder and the following blizzard curtailed any further loitering on the top. The highest peak around is not the place to be in a thunderstorm!

Sulzfluh, 2818m is a peak within easy reach from the Tilisuna Hütte. A delightful path over bare limestone rock for much of the way makes for an unusual walk. The views from the top were stunning in all directions.

As a hütte to hütte virgin I did not quite know what to expect. The bergsteigereressen (walker`s meals) on offer –spaghetti bolognaise, mince and rice – were tasty and good value. We did not book, but had no problem. However, I was surprised how busy the hütten were for the first week in September. The matrazenlager are not necessarily for the fussy - mixed sleeping arrangements, the sounds and smells of sleeping in close proximity to rather a lot of other human beings is not perhaps for everyone. We had a super week of walking, helped by brilliant weather and convivial company. I’m already planning for next year.

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Last Updated 10 June 2010

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