Vent - Ötzi Memorial (via Similaunhütte)

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 on the highway A12 past Innsbruck, Telfs and Mötz, and then at exit 123 near the Ötztal Bahnhof we turn towards B186/B171/Ötztal/Haiming. The road B186, which runs to Ötztal valley, we follow past settlements Oetz, Längenfeld and the center of the valley, Sölden. Only few kilometers ahead from Sölden at village Zwieselstein we turn on a steep ascending, but comfortable asphalt road towards Vent. In the tourist settlement Vent we park on one of the numerous (payable) parking lots. Parking fee in Vent in the year 2020 was 5 euros/day.

Path description:
From one of the parking lots in Vent we go through the settlement to its southwestern edge, where we notice signs which over a small bridge lead in the direction towards Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte. A considerably gentle path, which in the first part of the trip runs on the route of a worse macadam road, we follow to a smaller private cottage, soon behind which we go on a little narrower footpath towards the east, which leads us through a smaller canyon of river Niedertalbach. After approximately fifteen minutes of additional walking, we follow the footpath through an iron bridge to the junction with the mountain road. Barely ascending road, on which we will in the warm summer months often meet cyclists, past the turn below the far northern slopes of the mountain Hintere Schwärze we follow to the mountain hut Martin-Busch-Hütte.

The path between the huts Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte mostly runs on a relatively gentle, open meadow slope below vastness of glaciers Marzellferner and Niederjochferner. An easy and to summer heat exposed path at first leads past a crossing, where a direct approach towards Ötzi memorial branches off (this variant represents a shorter, easier, but less scenic approach towards the memorial, which I definitely recommend at least when returning), and later leads past a smaller glacial lakes and ascends a little steeper to the hut Similaunhütte. From Vent to the hut below Similaun there is around 4 hours of walking, and the entire path is well marked.

At the mountain hut following the signs towards Ötzi - Fundstelle and Fineilspitze we go towards the northwest and in zig-zags we ascend on a panoramic ridge, which connects massif Similaun and Fineilspitze. The ridge path which leads us by and over numerous large rocky plates, is mostly pretty wide and undemanding, and past few exposed and steeper spots we get help from reliable fixed safety gear.
After a little less than half an hour of walking from the hut, avoiding a sharp continuation, we with the help of steel cables descend below the ridge and in a gentle ascent on gravel terrain we continue towards the Ötzi memorial. Winding and not too steep path with the help of occasional blazes and individual cairns brings us to a larger year-round snow field, over which we walk to the memorial in the memory of finding a natural mummy Ötzi, which German hikers accidentally discovered right next to the monument.

For returning I recommend a shorter and more direct, but less panoramic path towards Vent, which from the memorial follows a well-marked footpath which in a gentle descent safely takes us to a crossing between the huts Martin-Busch-Hütte and Similaunhütte.

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