Mountainhut Vorderkas - Refuge Stettiner Hütte

General description

Easy and magnificent path from the mountain hut Vorderkas/ inn Jägerrast to the mountain pasture Eishof, also suitable for children and elderly people. In the further course more and more surefootedness is required. 
Tips: the informational boards along the Alpine Pasture Experience Trail (Almerlebnisweg) are interesting. Not far from mountain pasture Rableid, there is a lime kiln, in which the limestone from the Hohe Weiße mountain was fired to make building lime, which was also presumably used to construct the monastery in Certosa/Karthaus.

Route description

Leaving the mountain hut Vorderkas/ inn Jägerrast, a wide trail takes us through a sparse forest into the Pfossental Valley. As we start to climb, we can admire the distinctive glacial polish seen through the forest to our left. There are frequently avalanches here in the spring, resulting in the valley being blocked off for weeks. If you take a close look over to the opposite side of the valley, you might see the first chamois; very often you’ll also see a golden eagle or two flying through the gorge, as this is where they build their nests in the mountain face. After a distinctive right turn on the trail, you will come to mountain pasture Mitterkaser (1,954 m a.s.l) and a bit further on to mountain pasture Rableid (2,004 m a.s.l). Above the tree line, we arrive at mountain pasture Eishof (2,071 m a.s.l), which was documented for the very first time in 1290. It was in operation all year round until 1897 and was back then the highest permanent settlement in the entire Eastern Alpine region. At the end of the valley we see the impressive Hohe Weiße that takes its name from the bright, limestone cliffs and to the left of the pass, the dark stone of the Hohe Wilde. The next part of our climb towards Eisjöchl is through pleasant grasslands. There is an interesting detour at this point via archaeological hiking trail A3: Near mountain pasture Grub (2,506 m a.s.l), you’ll come across a copper stela. Some flints were found at this spot which provide proof that there were people here about 8000 years ago. Built by the military in the 1920s, the old cart trail with the first hairpin bends starts soon after this. The path is moderately steep along its entire length. In the upper section, you should keep more to the left, and crossing quite an arid terrain, you take the final few bends to Eisjöchl (2,895 m a.s.l): literally, the highest point on the tour. The Stettiner hut (2,875 m a.s.l) is right behind that.

Description to arrive at destination

Naturno/Naturns - Schnalstal Valley - Pfossental Valley (crossway between Monte S. Caterina/Katharinaberg and Certosa/Karthaus)

Did you find this content helpful?
Thank you very much for your feedback!
Thank you!