Vent - Fineilspitze (normal route over NE ridge)

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 turn onto the road A93 in the direction of Innsbruck/Kufstein/Brenner. Upon returning to Austria we continue on the highway A12 past Innsbruck, Telfs and Mötz, and then at exit 123 near Ötztal Bahnhof we turn towards B186/B171/Ötztal/Haiming. We follow road B186, which runs into the Ötztal valley, past the settlements Oetz, Längenfeld and the center of the valley, Sölden. Just a few kilometers ahead from Sölden at the village Zwieselstein we turn onto a rapidly ascending, but comfortable asphalt road towards Vent. In the tourist settlement Vent we park on one of the numerous (paid) parking lots. Parking fee in Vent in the year 2020 amounted to 5 euros/day.

Path description:
From one of the parking lots in Vent we head through the settlement to its southwestern edge, where we follow signs that over a small bridge lead towards Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte. We follow the considerably level path, which in the first part of the trip runs along the route of a poorer macadam road, to a smaller private hut, soon after which we turn onto a somewhat narrower trail towards the east, which leads us through a smaller canyon of the stream Niedertalbach. After approximately fifteen minutes of further walking we follow the trail over an iron bridge to the junction back to the mountain road. We follow the barely perceptibly ascending road, on which in the warm summer months we will often encounter cyclists, past the bend below the extreme northern slopes of the mountain Hintere Schwärze to the hut Martin-Busch-Hütte.

The path between the huts Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte mostly runs on a relatively level, open meadow slope below the expanses of glaciers Marzellferner and Niederjochferner. The easy and summer heat-exposed path first leads past a junction, where the direct approach to the Ötzi monument branches off (this variant represents a shorter, easier, but less scenic approach to the summit, which I definitely recommend at least on the return), later winding past smaller glacial lakes and ascending somewhat more steeply to the hut Similaunhütte. From Vent to the hut below Similaun is around 4 hours of walking, and the entire path is appropriately marked.

At the hut, following the signs towards Ötzi - Fundstelle and Fineilspitze we head northwest and ascend in zigzags onto the panoramic ridge connecting the massifs of Similaun and Fineilspitze. The ridge path, which leads us alongside and over numerous larger stone blocks, is mostly quite wide and undemanding, over a few more exposed and steeper sections reliable fixed protections help us.
After less than half an hour of walking from the hut, to avoid the sharp continuation with the aid of a steel cable and steps we descend below the ridge and in a gentle ascent over scree terrain continue towards the Ötzi monument. The winding and not too steep path with the help of occasional markers and individual cairns brings us to a larger year-round snowfield, over which we walk to the marker erected in memory of the discovery of the natural mummy Ötzi, which two German hikers accidentally found in the immediate vicinity of the monument.

From the marker we continue the path towards the shoulder west of the pass Hauslabjoch; it is possible to continue further right (east) along the better-marked path directly to the mentioned pass, but this lengthens the tour and requires a shorter glacier crossing of Hochjochferner.
Following the cairns and footprints of previous hikers we thus ascend over crumbly scree directly towards the edge of the summit structure of Fineilspitze to the plain below the NE ridge of the mountain. Here we continue along a somewhat less visible but geographically obvious ascent route over the eastern ridge of Fineilspitze; the terrain in the first part of the final ascent is locally quite crumbly, but unexposed and only moderately steep, with individual cairns aiding orientation. Higher up we gradually enter more demanding terrain, where when crossing the friable scree we must increasingly use our hands, but the climbing remains within the loose framework of grade I. After passing the technically more demanding jump (I+) the terrain temporarily flattens, and the path after a short traverse below the fore-summit leads to the connecting ridge between it and the main summit of Fineilspitze.
After crossing the airy but short ridge section we find ourselves right below the summit head of Fineilspitze. To the summit we can scramble with short but exposed climbing over the summit part of the rugged eastern wall (II) or, more recommended, continue the path to the highest point directly along the ridge. From the saddle below the NE ridge of Fineilspitze to the summit is less than 45 minutes of ascent.

The ascent to Fineilspitze until recently was considered a moderately demanding, entirely snowy tour whose character has drastically changed in recent years and serves as a direct indicator of the extent of climate change. Instead of a snowy ridge, in the final part during summer-autumn days of the high season we are most likely faced with a relatively strenuous ascent over quite crumbly terrain, which in the larger part dictates easier climbing over locally unreliable scree. Although the technical difficulty is not particularly high, the summit despite the immediate proximity of the popular Ötzi marker is less visited than neighboring Similaun - however, precisely the greater solitude and lesser accessibility can represent a nobler goal for the experienced mountaineer; a summit for which at the peak of the high mountain season we usually do not need winter equipment.

For the return I recommend the shorter and more direct path towards Vent, which from the Ötzi marker follows a well-marked trail that in a gentle descent safely leads us to the junction between the huts Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte, somewhat reducing the length and difficulty of the tour.

On the way: Martin-Busch-Hütte (2501m), Similaunhütte (3019m), Ötzi - Fundstelle (3210m)