Parking Sulzenauhütte - Gamsspitzl (via Sulzenauhütte and Seescharte)

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 we follow a comfortable road through the valley Stubaital to settlements Neustift im Stubaital, center of the valley Stubaital, and Volderau, where still a wide asphalt road starts ascending a little more in the direction of Mutterbergalm and ski slope Stubaier Gletscher. We soon on the left notice large waterfall Grawa and a parking lot at the eponymous mountain pasture; here is the first starting point for the ascent towards Sulzenauhütte. After few minutes of additional driving, we park on a quite spacious purposive parking lot, which offers the most comfortable approach towards the mountain hut, and where at the starting point we notice a lot of information boards with ascents towards Sulzenauhütte. 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 to 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:
From the starting point, we walk over a small bridge and following the signs for mountain hut Sulzenauhütte and mountain pasture Sulzenau, we continue on a narrow footpath which in zig-zags leads on the forested slope towards the south. To a moderately steep, not very difficult path, from which occasionally beautiful views opening up above Stubai valley, after approximately 45 minutes joins a little steeper variant of the path which on the forested terrain above Grawa Alm gets by the edge of a large waterfall Grawa. The footpath at this spot turns towards the east and after approximately 15 minutes brings us on a large plain, where below the cliffs, above which stands Sulzenauhütte, the view opens up towards the mountain pasture Sulzenau. Reliable signs lead us past the mountain pasture and point us on a narrow footpath which in zig-zags crosses a steep slope and after about two hours of walking from the starting point brings us to the hut Sulzenauhütte.

At the mountain hut, which is situated in the middle of attractive with water rich area of High Stubai, we look towards the signs for Nürnberger Hütte and Wilder Freiger, which from the hut lead towards the east (in the direction of Route Seescharte and Leo Schöpf’s Route; demanding and more direct Lübeckerweg soon branches off and turns steeply towards the south). At first, a quite gentle footpath soon brings us to the western edge above the lake Grünausee, where a beautiful view opens up towards Wilder Freiger and nearby peaks; here a demanding unmarked path branches off, which to the summit leads through Freiger glacier. After a short crossing north above the lake we find ourselves at the crossing: a wider footpath continues towards Nürnberger Hütte, and we go on a little less obvious path which leads us by the east edge above the lake Grünausee. Still quite undemanding path on a grassy slope leads on the more and more rocky terrain, where we move forward in the direction of next destination, saddle Seescharte between the peaks Urfallspitze (2805 meters) and Gamsspitzl (3051 meters). After a short slightly steeper ascent on rocky terrain after about two hours of walking from the hut we get on the saddle, where an ample view opens up towards the mountains and glaciers of the eastern part of the main group of High Stubai.

From the saddle, we continue on a footpath which on gravel terrain towards the south crosses below the massif of Gamsspitzl. We soon come to a crossing at the big rock, where we go steeply upwards (to the west, sign GSP. ); to the left, towards the south, the path continues towards Wilder Freiger.
Past an unpleasant crumbly gravel we ascend in the direction towards a quite sharp ridge, which we avoid on the eastern side and we cross below it. When the ridge becomes less steep and easier, signs point us on the ridge. From here to the top separates us only few minutes of undemanding walking on a wide upper ridge of Gamsspitzl. From the crossing to the top there is around 15-20 minutes of ascent.

Gamsspitzl is relatively easy accessible peak in the part of the mountain range Hochstubai, which otherwise usually attracts tourists with ambitions for more difficult mountain goals. Regardless the peak which offers a breathtaking view on the upper spaces of Wilder Freiger, lake Freiger See and surrounding mountains, can represent a nice spice at the ascent on Wilder Freiger, and when circumstances don't allow more ambitious goals, it can be also quite quaint individual destination.
The final ascent towards the summit otherwise technically isn't demanding, but in the view of crumbliness and occasional steepness it would maybe earned the mark "partly demanding"; this is for sure the case during the months when on slopes of Gamsspitzl is still snow.

On the way: Sulzenauhütte (2191m), Seescharte (2762m)