Across the Eastern Alps: The E5 - A Walker's Guidebook

From Lake Constance in Germany, the E5 runs 600km through a remarkable kaleidoscope of landscapes and culture in Switzerland, Austria and Italy, to its destination at Verona. It traverses the Allgauer, Lechtaler and Ötztaler Alps. There is a good network of alpine refuges and guesthouses along the route.

View Sample Route Map

Stage 8 Memmingerhütte to Zams

---

Time     5hr 15min
Distance     13km/8 miles
Ascent/Descent     357m/1832m
Grade     2–3

---

Easily one of the most spectacular stages on the E5 so far, Stage 8 is incredibly varied, with brilliant Alpine scenery and wild valleys. A strenuous climb to a scenic high-altitude pass is followed by a steady and problem-free descent down a forested pasture valley, which narrows to a deep, intriguing ravine. Make sure you have an abundant supply of food and drinking water, and take your time, as this stage is too beautiful to rush. Only the initial section is steep and a little tricky. The day’s destination is Zams, a welcoming small town on the River Inn in Austria, with a full range of services, and excellent accommodation, food and transport options.

From the Memmingerhütte (2242m) and its generator head SE across the magnificent amphitheatre, taking care to follow the signs for Zams. This involves a swing L along the lower Seewi lake’s marshy NE edge for a broad gully climb E across rubble and mud, covered by inevitable tongues of snow. Where the grass runs out, lilac penny cress and glacier crowfoot provide colour.
Half an hour up, watch out for a junction where you keep L (SE) for the final tiring scree slope, high above ice-bound tarns. A short hands-on clamber via an easy chimney brings you out at panoramic

1hr 15min – Seescharte (2599m), a cleft pass between Seescharten Spitze and a curious jagged ridge that goes by the name of Schweinrücken (hog back), home to a sizeable herd of ibex which apparently find relaxation on the most arduous crags.

At your feet a clear path heads down a vast valley that extends due E, backed by the Venetberg. (Ignore the fork L for Wurttemberger Haus.) The upper section is a magnificent rugged amphitheatre streaked with snow. Take care, as the loose scree makes for a knee-jarring descent, the going relentless to say the least. Dwarf mountain pines anchor the terrain, and grassy flanks are soon approached, studded with gentians, striated daphne and clumps of pretty pink alpenrose, well watered by numerous streams.

The valley floor is finally gained, and a little further along is Oberloch Alm (1799m), with a drinking fountain. The gradient has eased considerably now, and the path continues on flat ground along the L side of the Lochbach and into conifer woods. The stream is crossed several times and a modest farm (with wildly overpriced refreshments) passed.

After a brief uphill stretch over a lip, the landscape changes dramatically as the E5 bears S to enter a dramatic ravine, the Zammer Loch. A clear though somewhat narrow cliff-hugging path is cut into the limestone flank, and wends its way carefully down this dizzily steep-sided valley, with the stream crashing along hundreds of metres below. (Spare a thought for the farmers who herd their cows up here!) Arolla pines with red trunks cling to the cliffs.

The main Inn valley can soon be seen ahead, with the transport hub of Landeck. However, you gradually round a corner bearing E and slowly but surely descend in zigzags. At last Zams comes into view, surrounded by a photogenic patchwork of green fields and the sparkling meanders of the River Inn, backed by the Venet massif, tomorrow’s route. A dirt track on the valley floor is finally gained, and a sign points you R to cross the motorway (in a tunnel here) and reach a chapel. Continue along the road and across the River Inn towards the church at

4hr – Zams (775m) on the Via Claudia Augusta, an ancient Roman way. i (43) 05442/63395, buses and trains, ATM, shops. Restaurants, hotels and guesthouses including bed and breakfast Haus Kurz ( (43) 05442/62841 and Postgasthaus Gemse ( (43) 05442/62478 www.gasthof-gemse-haueis.at.