GLACIAL PEAKS AT RIESENFENER HUTTE
VIA ALPINA DAY 20 – SATURDAY 11 JULY 2026
BY RIVER KARBACH – GELLTAL ALM
DISTANCE HIKED: 26.0 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 2,420 m
TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 502.9 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 27,720m
We left our campsite around 6am. It was a great spot by a rushing creek and very little traffic on on the nearby dirt road.
The morning started with a gradual climb on a dirt road through farmland and by the creek.
As we ascended we had views of the jagged Dolomite peaks behind us. Hard to be believe that we were travesering there only a few days ago.
We passed a farmhouse just as the friendly farmer was driving away. From the farmhouse the trail got steeper as we ascended along a series of switchbacks. We hiked to the sound of cowbells. Pleased the air was cool and we were in the shade as we had to ascend around 900 m over 7 km to reach the summit of Mt Grublaralm.
Hammer well and trully had his trail legs this morning, forging ahead. I was labouring behind and the only sound in the morning stillness was my laboured breathing and the tingling of cowbells.
The serenity was soon broken by two very loud hikers coming up behind us. The leader talked continuously and loudly and did not draw breath. As they drew near, I stopped to let them pass and said good morning when they passed. The loud leader who has been speaking in very loud German responded in Spanish – holla!. As they summited Mt Grublaralm we could still hear the running commentar. So pleased to see them move in another direction and disappear.
We stopped at the summit to take in the fabulous view of the Dolomites and lesser peaks in between. We were really enjoying the morning stillness with these fantastic views. We were soon joined by another hiker. She was moving fast and looked more like a trail runner. She stopped for a chat. She is a New Zealand native living in Andorra and and is attempting to set a Fastest Known Time on this new Via Alpina Red Route. She’s aiming to finish in 30 days and she started in Trieste 8 days ago.
We wished her well and will follow her progress. She soon disappeared down the slope and as we started to descend she was half way down.
Its been hard to predict how the trail might go. We had hoped for a straight down descent but instead there were two narrow and steep dropoff sections of trail, hanging like a balcony over-the- valley below. We were happy to reach a dirt road for part of the descent into Antholz Mitteral. We realised that we had only half hour to reach the town before the store closed for the weekend. So we had to speed up. Made it to the store with 10 minutes to spare. The town looks like a holidaying destination. Some new accomodation up on the hill. I wondered if they hosted some of the winter Olympics events , judging by the proud display of the Olympic rings. It was hot and the town felt deserted. It felt like almost everyone was having a siesta. We found a shady spot, had lunch and delayed setting off because of the heat and the climbing ahead.
The eventuslly left town and started the climb, on a sealed road at first then a dirt road and exposed to the sun. It was a slow grind.
We were being passed by dozens of walkers came back downhill from a waterfall which was along the way. I was envious we had
1,400 m of elevation gain over the next 7km till we reach the Riesenferner hutte.
Slowly we made progress, losing track of time . It was a very slow last two km inching our way up the final climb. It took us 90 minutes to climb the last 2km. The last kilometre to the hutte was almost vertical on stairs and ladders and a boardwalk with steel cables for handhols. We made it to the hutte just on 5pm. What an amazing locations for a hutte, on a remnant glacier It stood desolate in this rugged rocky landscape with a howling cold wind blowing.
It was a real refuge from the harsh rocky surrounds. We had thoughts of staying at the hutte but decided that we still had plenty of daylight and good weather and didn’t want to cool down. It was freezing sitting outside and way to warm and stuffy inside. The hutte appeared to be full with a big group of boisterous Italians. We stayed for a refreshing drink and left soon after.
We knew the descent was going to be rocky but we were surprised by how long the rocky section lasted. It was very hard on the feet . The only sound on the descent was a distant tingle of bells. We knew this was not cow country. If course it was goats. They stopped grazing to watch us walk by. Hammer was worried they may approach to lick his skin.
They seemed happy just to stare from a distance. We continued to descend and at the first possible camp spot we stopped for the day. Stunning view from the Big Agnes Hilton. We are camped at the base of the rocky peaks we had just descended. Feet are feeling smashed.
