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Trekking in Austria's Stubai Alps - Front Cover
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Trekking in Austria's Stubai Alps

Hiking and mountaineering on the Stubai Rucksack Route, Stubai Glacier Tour and Gschnitztaler Rundtour

Three hut-to-hut treks in Austria's Stubai Alps: the 79km Stubai Rucksack Route, the 60km Stubai Glacier Tour – with a South Tirol extension, and the 67km Gschnitztaler Rundtour, plus optional ascents of neighbouring peaks and a comprehensive hut directory.

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Quick facts

  • Trail name: Stubai Alps Hut-to-Hut Treks
  • Location: Stubai Alps, Tyrol, Austria
  • Designation: High-alpine hut-to-hut routes in the Eastern Alps
  • Distance: ~206 km / ~128 miles (combined across all three treks, including extension)
  • Typical duration: 7–11 days per trek (routes can be combined for longer itineraries)
  • Route format: Hut-to-hut alpine routes and high-mountain circuits
  • Stages: Stubai Rucksack Route: 9; Stubai Glacier Tour: 7 (11 with South Tyrol extension); Gschnitztal Rundtour: 7
  • Navigation: Waymarked alpine paths supported by detailed mapping and GPX files
  • Terrain: High-alpine valleys, mountain passes, rocky ridges, glaciers, and remote mountain basins
  • Difficulty: Moderate to challenging – suitable for fit, experienced mountain walkers; glacier crossings on the Stubai Glacier Tour require specialist skills and equipment
  • Best season: Mid-June to late September (depending on snow conditions and weather)
  • Accommodation: Mountain huts (rifugi and alpine huts) along all routes

Detailed overview

Explore the high alpine landscapes of Austria’s Stubai Alps with three classic hut-to-hut treks ranging from demanding mountain walking to serious glacier travel. This guidebook covers the 79km Stubai Rucksack Route, the 60km Stubai Glacier Tour (with an optional South Tyrol extension), and the 67km Gschnitztal Rundtour, offering a choice of unforgettable multi-day challenges in one of the Eastern Alps’ most dramatic regions.

Each route is designed for experienced walkers seeking a true alpine journey. The Stubai Rucksack Route is ideal for fit mountain walkers with good head for heights and navigation skills, while the Stubai Glacier Tour steps things up with high-level terrain and glacier crossings, requiring appropriate equipment and experience. The Gschnitztal Rundtour provides a quieter circuit through remote valleys and rugged peaks, showcasing the variety of landscapes within the Stubai Alps.
The treks are clearly broken down into manageable daily stages. The Stubai Rucksack Route is described in 9 stages, the Stubai Glacier Tour in 7 stages (extended to 11 with the South Tyrol option), and the Gschnitztal Rundtour in 7 stages. Optional ascents of neighbouring summits are included throughout, such as Habicht, Zuckerhütl, and Wilder Freiger, offering rewarding side trips for strong parties, with clear notes where specialist equipment or mountaineering skills may be required.

Full route descriptions for three classic hut-to-hut treks in the Stubai Alps, each broken down into clear daily stages, allowing walkers to understand distances, terrain, and progression across multi-day alpine routes.
Clear, easy-to-follow route descriptions illustrated with 1:50,000 mapping, helping you navigate confidently through high mountain terrain, valleys, passes, and remote alpine landscapes.
Elevation profiles for each trek, enabling you to assess daily ascent and descent in advance and plan stages that match your fitness, experience, and acclimatisation.
Detailed summaries of each day’s terrain, challenges, and potential hazards, including exposure, snowfields, glacier travel, and route-finding considerations in serious mountain environments.
A comprehensive directory of mountain huts along all routes, with essential information to help plan overnight stops, resupply points, and daily walking distances.
Optional summit ascents from the main routes, with clear guidance on technical difficulty, route seriousness, and where specialist equipment or mountaineering skills may be required.


Clear route guidance and practical planning information support confident decision-making in serious mountain terrain, whether tackling a single trek or combining routes for a longer adventure in the Stubai Alps. Choose your challenge and experience some of Austria’s most spectacular high mountain walking with confidence.

Where and when to go

Seasons

The summer alpine season starts when the huts open in mid June through to the end of September. Snow can linger on north facing slopes well into July. Mid July through to mid September is warmer and more settled.

Centres

From the charming village of Neustift in the Stubaital. It's the main village and centre of the Stubai and has the distinction of being the second largest village in the Tirol after Soelden. Easily accessed by regular bus service from Innsbruck.
Also accessible from the adjacent villages of Fulpmes, Telfes and Mieders.

Difficulty

All tracks and trails are waymarked and frequently signposted. Unless you intend to venture onto the glaciers no special equipment is needed nor additional climbing skills required.

Must See

The Stubai holds some of the best scenery in the Eastern Alps. The snow capped peaks of the Wilder Freiger and Zuckerhuetl chain stand proud along the Frontier Ridge in an area with over 100 peaks above 3000m.

Which format is best for me?

Printed book

A guidebook with detailed route descriptions, stage breakdowns, accommodation listings, profiles and maps — everything you need on the trail.

ISBN9781786310651
AvailabilityPublished
Published22 November 2024
Weight 290g

eBook

The complete digital edition of the guidebook, with full route descriptions, accommodation listings, profiles and maps, ready to use on any device.

Updates

Currently there are no updates for this book.

Meet the author


An engineer by profession, Allan Hartley spent the majority of his working life overseas engaged on major construction projects. Throughout this time, however, he maintained his close links with Austria, which he discovered totally by accident in the early 1970s while trying to avoid atrocious weather conditions in the higher mountains of the western Alps. He believes that Austria and the Dolomites of neighbouring Italy remain one of mountaineering's best-kept secrets, with their heady mix of superb scenery, good huts and first-class food, and that they are areas better suited to the average mountaineer than the higher mountains to the west.


In addition to Austria and the Alps, Allan has climbed in east Africa, the Falkland Islands and the Greater Ranges in Nepal and Pakistan, as well as in lesser-known areas such as the Zagros mountains of Iran and, more recently, the Hajr mountains of the Arabian peninsula. Allan is a long-term member of the Austrian Alpine Club, as well of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and a holder of the International Mountain Leaders Award. His home is on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.