Oberissalm - Vordere Sommerwand (normal path)

Access to starting point:
From Ljubljana, we drive on the highway past Salzburg in the direction towards München. At the multilevel junction Dreieck Inntal we go on the road A93 in the direction of Innsbruck/Kufstein/Brenner. When we return to Austria we continue to the junction with the exit Innsbruck-Mitte. Here we don't turn towards Innsbruck, but we continue on the highway A13 in the direction towards the mountain pass Brenner. We leave the highway at the exit 10-Schönberg and a comfortable road through the valley Stubaital we follow to the settlement Neustift im Stubaital, where at the roundabout in the middle of the town we choose the first exit and the ascending road we follow to the village Milders. In Milders we follow the road Mühlenweg and signposts for Oberissalm. To the mountain pasture follows approx. 8 km of narrower asphalt road, on which there is often a livestock, so the possible waiting time must be included in the estimated driving time. On the mountain pasture Oberiss we park on the settled parking lot, where the parking fee is 5 euros per day.

Alternatively we can drive through northern Italy: in this case from the main Slovenia on the highway A2 we drive to one of the border crossings with Austria and we continue towards Lienz. Here we continue on the road 100 and past the passage Prato alla Drava we drive into Italy. In Italy we follow the road SS49 all the way to the juncture with highway A22 in the direction towards the mountain pass Brenner. After the mountain pass, we continue in the direction towards Innsbruck to the exit Schönberg. From there we continue as described above.

Path description:
On the mountain pasture at the signpost above the parking lot we go on a wide macadam road which in few minutes of easy walking towards the southwest brings us to a well-marked turn-off of a narrower footpath which with nice views on the eastern part of the mountain range Alpeiner Berge and mountain pasture Oberiss below us in zig-zags relatively gently leads through thin high mountain forest. A little higher we pass on a grassy slope covered with high mountain vegetation by the edge of the upper part of the valley Obergbach, where we have nice views towards the mountain hut Franz Senn and Vordere Sommerwand, and the steepness then starts to decrease. On a pleasant and panoramic footpath which we follow in the last part of the path to the hut, past the mountain dairy on the mountain pasture Alpeiner on attractive watery landscape in good fifteen minutes we ascend to popular Franz-Senn-Hütte; from the starting point to the hut there is approximately hour and a half of walking.

At the mountain hut, we notice a signpost, which points us firmly towards the south on the path which leads towards the glacier Sommerwandferner and Vordere Sommerwand. At first, a quite easy path is winding on a grassy slope and a little higher it runs parallel with a torrent from the glacier Sommerwandferner. Through a partly rocky edge we get closer to the northern ridge of Sommerwand and we continue on rocky terrain below the eastern slope of Vordere Sommerwand. After about an hour of walking from the hut we get to the signpost, which points us sharply to the right. On in parts a precipitous, but technically undemanding path in we zig-zags ascend to the upper ridge of Sommerwand, where we get to big cairns; one of them marks the survey point 2676, which according to most of the maps shows the peak Vordere Sommerwand, which is located right on the edge of the upper ridge, high above the mountain hut Franz-Senn-Hütte.
To the top, marked with a cross, from here separates us approx. 10 minutes of walking on a demanding and exposed ridge. From the survey point 2676 to the top, the path isn't marked anymore, but the direction of the ascent is clear. But already the entrance on the sharp ridge causes the initial problem, and we have two options available: first one, from the platform where the marked path ends, we can ascend directly on the ridge, in doing so we have to cross few easy to climb rocks (I). And the second, technically easier option shows up at the descent below the sharp ridge on the eastern side of the ridge, where soon a relatively easy passage shows up which leads higher. The continuation on the ridge goes straight, but in parts, it is quite exposed. On some spots, we get help from fixed safety gear (steel cables and footholds), and occasionally we also have to climb a little (I). A relatively short final ridge a little below the summit with the cross widens a little and it takes us on a very panoramic peak, on which by the cross there is only a little space.

Vordere Sommerwand is among the easiest peaks in quite a wild surrounding, but the ascent to the point with a large cross still demands a reliable stride and some mountaineering experiences, although all the difficult spots are situated on a relatively short final ridge. The view from the peak is attractive and we can make the tour on the way at the ascent on Innere Sommerwand or by spending the night in mountain hut Franz Senna.

On the way: Franz-Senn-Hütte (2147m)