Hochwilde (Hohe Wilde) / l'Altissima

The Normal route from the South side, from Italy, starts from Rifugio Petrarca all' Altissima/Stettiner Hütte, the mountain refuge at its base (info 2020: currently under reconstruction, there are temporary prefabricated structures). If staying overnight here, the route is relatively short. As a result, those on the Meraner Höhenweg, a long distance trail in the Texel Group, can easily add it to their itinerary. If climbing directly from Plan it's instead a long itinerary (about 23 km) combined with the important difference in height. The final rocky part is in some sections aided with metal cables that facilitate the climb. It is not essential to have the via ferrata set, even if for those who do not feel safe it could be useful.
Not recommended in the presence of snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hochwilde has two distinct summits, connected by a rocky ridge (UIAA grade II), secured by steel cables along some more difficult sections. The Südliche Hochwilde (3482m) is the main summit. The Nördliche Hochwilde (3461m), which actually lies almost 400m to the northwest, is harder to reach, because either you have to climb the ridge, or cross the Gurgler Ferner, which, although rapidly retreating, is still one of the biggest glaciers in the eastern Alps.

The border between Italy and Austria follows the ridge between both summits. The Hochwilde marks the place where the main ridge of the Ötztaler Alps sharply changes direction, with one branch extending to the west from the northern summit, towards Hintere Schwärze and Similaun, and the other to the north from the southern summit, towards Hinterer Seelenkogel.


First Ascent

 

South summit
J. Ganahl, with farmers and shepherds, from the Schnalstal valley for the military survey 1858
First tourist: J.J. Weilemann 1862.

North summit
H. Lutze von Wurmb, P.P. Gstrein and R. Schreiber via the Gurgler Ferner, 1871

 

Getting There

The nearest village is Pfelders / Plan (Italy) (1628m) to the east. About the same distance and elevation, but to the west, is the Vorderkaser parking lot (1673m). From either of these trailheads, the mountain can be climbed in a long day.

In addition to these two options, there are several alternatives if you have more than a day - and the area is well worth a longer visit.

The village of Obergurgl (Austria) is the best if you want lots of glacier scenery. There are many possibilities for multi day trips from there that include the Hochwilde.

Alternatively, to explore more of the Texel group, the village of Partschins / Parcines (Italy) (680m) to the south is conveniently located. Although very low, the Texelbahn cable car can quickly whisk you up to 1544m. From there you can hike to the Stettiner Hütte via the Johannisscharte in a day, or choose one of several routes to the Lodnerhütte (2262m), from where you can ascend the Hochwilde the next day.

Obergurgl

From the north

About 50km west of Innsbruck lies the small village of Ötz, the gateway to the Ötztal valley. Obergurgl lies at the end of the Gurgler valley, which in turn is at the southernmost end of the Ötztal valley. Just before Obergurgl, the main road turns sharply left and ascends over a series of turns to the Timmelsjoch, a high mountain pass to Italy. The nearest major city over the border in Italy is Meran / Merano.

From the south

Coming from Italy, go from over the Timmelsjoch and take a left to Obergurgl at the next junction, where the main road turns sharply to the right. When the pass is closed, the much longer alternative is to take the Brenner highway to Innsbruck, and come from the north.

Plan / Pfelders

From the south

Plan/Pfelders lies in the Val di Plan/Pfelderer valley. This is a side valley of the larger Val Passiria/Passeier valley. From Italy, head for the Passo del Rombo/Timmelsjoch, which lies at the end of the Val Passiria, but before crossing the pass, go left to Plan in the village of Moso in Passiria/Moos in Passeier.

From the north

Coming from the north, there are two options. Either enter Italy on the Brenner highway and then at Sterzing, just over the border, go west to the Passo del Rombo. Alternatively, take the scenic route down the Ötztal and over the Timmelsjoch and, after crossing the pass, go right to Pfelders / Plan in the village of Moos in Passeier.

Partschins / Parcines

Partschins / Parcines is a small village in the Vinschgau valley, a few kilometers west of the pleasant town of Meran / Merano, which can be reached by train from all directions. There is a bus stop at the Texelbahn valley station, or you can take a local train to Rabland / Rablá, right next to Partschins and walk to the Texelbahn in half an hour.

Pfossental / Val di Fossi

The Pfossental is a side valley of the Schnalstal / Val Senales. The entrance is close to the pretty small village of Karthaus.

Just like the Pfossental, the Schnalstal is a dead end too: the only way in is from the Vinschgau valley, at Kompatsch / Compaccio.

Routes overview

Normal route from the South

 

From the Rifugio Petrarca/Stettiner Hütte, a marked trail leads all the way to the south summit. After a rockfall incident in 2008 high on the route and the ensuing investigation, it was decided the old route was too dangerous. A new route has been constructed recently. The name of the route is the same, "Grützmacher-Steig". From the hut continue upstream, going up a shoulder of rocks and grass passing near a vein of quartzite, then gaining a ridge at the edge of the small residual glacier-snowfield under the southern slope of the mountain. There is a small melting lake.

On a good path, always quite steep, continue climbing keeping close to the South-East ridge until you meet a crossroads: on the right the old track no longer usable due to landslides, on the left you continue on the new path, which is partially aided by iron ropes. In this way, some sections of easy climbing on steps, debris terraces, and areas of stones with good traces alternate with others with short cables that help the progression. We move gradually until we reach the South ridge of the mountain; from here continue to the right, first on the wire then again on the south-east side on an easy path up to a short exposed slab and just beyond a vertical wall of 5 m (exposed) facilitated by cable and 3 metal steps . After passing it, continue along easy rocks until you get back to the ridge, now just a few meters from the top. Follow a short, thinner passage than the ridge, then lowering to the right, you go around the cross and reach the large summit plateau, surmounted by the cross.

Normal route from the north

Normally starting at the Hochwildehaus, the route from the north leads over the Gurgler glacier to the northern base of the rocky ridge. From there it's just a short climb to the northern summit, followed by almost 400m along the ridge to the south summit (UIAA grade II), secured by cables. This route is frequently combined with the traverse of Annakogel and is called the "Gustav-Becker-Weg".

Ski descents

In winter and early spring it is possible to ski down all the way to Obergurgl by a couple of different, very long routes. One route follows the Langtalereck Ferner, starting well below the south summit, and also a bit north to northeast, another follows the Gurgler Ferner from just below the north summit.

Red Tape

No fees no permits required

When To Climb

Summer and early fall are the season for hiking up to the south summit from Italy, or traversing the grade II ridge. The best period is from June to September, as long as there isn't too much snow. In 2007 for example, a big cold front resulted in a lot of fresh snow in the Alps early September, creating serious avalanche risk and making the southern route too dangerous.