Obertal – Bremer Hutte.

Actually this isn’t the first on the route but because of booking logistics  we had to bypass the Innsbrucker Hut. This meant catching the train to Steinach and then the waiting post bus up the Gschnitzbach valley to Obertal.All went smoothly and we were soon sipping coffee and eating Apple Strudel in the small Laponesalm Cafe further up the lane. That was a stroke of luck because these were the people who load the material cable box up to the Bremer, 1200m higher. Our packs were soon loaded and would be up at the hut long before us. We picked up the red and white waymarks which were to be followed religiously for the rest of the trip. A steep hillside followed by a traverse brought us into a perfect hanging valley with its dried up glacial lake, Simmingsee, time for an apple and then steeper climbing again up glacier smoothed granite to the hut.

looking back down the valley with the Habicht up left.

People were sitting about drinking beer and snacking on the terrace of the traditional wooden hut, most seemed to be walkers rather than climbers. It is great to be up at 2411m surrounded by unknown mountains. We had booked ahead and were able to have the luxury of a four bedded room, this is so much better than those large chaotic dormitories. Life in the huts has improved over the years and the Austrian ones are becoming more like hotels. For supper we went for the Bergsteigeressen, [mountain climbers meal] a cheap calorie filled dish, tonight it was pork, rice and salad. An early night, 9pm, set the pattern for the trip.