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Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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46.77890°N / 11.17910°E |
Route Type:
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Hiking |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall |
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Time Required:
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Half a day |
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Difficulty:
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Hike |
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Overview
 Looking across the Ulfasalm Pasture towards the Stubai Alps |
From Ulfas in upper Passeiertal Valley / Val Passira a well trodden path leads to Ulfasalm, a pasture / inn at the base of two of the more popular mountains of the area, Matatzspitze, Muthspitze and Kolbenspitze. While you can find lots of signs for the former, Muthspitze usually is climbed in conjunction with the higher Kolbenspitze by traversing the ridge which connects both mountains. Moreover, most climbers visit Muthspitze during the descent from Kolbenspitze since the ridge is panoramic, though in some sense rather exposed.
However, Muthspitze also is climbed in its own right, mostly to avoid the crowds on neighbouring (and slightly lower) Matatzspitze. The mountains share part of their routes but from Schartenalm on they separate. While Matatzspitze is reached via a short but steep climb, Muthspitze is climbed via a longer ridge climb. Also - though exposed - it is recommendable to traverse the ridge in direction of Kolbenspitze at least up to a saddle, called Stoanermandl (stone man) for the large cairn which marks it from afar. From here the trailhead at Ulfasalm can easily be reached through the valley of the Saldernbach Creek.
From Stoanermandl a traverse across large blocks leads to the Kolbenspitze summit ridge and from there a few steps lead to the top of the mountain.
Getting There
See the main page for the itineraries. Be prepared to take a while until reaching Ulfas. The village is located right in the back of Passeiertal / Val Passira.Route Description
On the ridge towards Muthspitze- Start altitude: 1470m
- Summit altitude: 2264m / 2868m
- Prevailing exposure: E
- Type: 2 - 3h over marked paths, 4-5h to Kolbenspitze
- Protection: None
From Ulfas head out on the road which runs south in the direction of Ulfasalm. The road is closed for regular traffic and after a couple of hundred meters turns into a dirt road. It descends into the valley of Saldernbach and soon bends upwards towards Ulfasalm. This building is real popular among the more comfort loving hikers so you can find it quite crowded, especially in the afternoons.
From Ulfasalm a path (Signs: Obere Ulfasalm, Matatzspitze) climbs the lower slopes of Matatzspitze. After two or three turns you reach Schartenalm, an unused building among the trees beneath Matatzspitze. Here the main trail leaves for the summit of Matatzspitze, while the Muthspitze trail (signs: Obere Ulfasalm, Kolbenspitze) leads southwards, passing the building on its western side. The path is narrow and overgrown, hard to make out. There are red and white marks, though only visible in the more obvious places. The path leaves a small forest and crosses a slope to reach a lookout right underneath the saddle to the south-west of Matatzspitze.
The ascent to the saddle is steep and sometimes hidden underneath the underbrush. However there is a large cross, visible from afar, for which you should make. Even if you lose the trail you should be able to get to the cross. Here the real ascent to the saddle starts, a steep affair taking roughly 30 minutes.
Once in the saddle orientation is easy again. You are now on the Muthspitze north-west ridge which climbs a summit directly above the saddle (called Sattel (2143m)). In this lower part the exposure is slight but if you follow the ridge further, after having reached the Muthspitze summit, it gets considerabbly higher. The ridge leads to Stoanermandl and from there on to Kolbenspitze, though the trail does not use the ridge. It avoids Kleine Kolbenspitze by traversingits south slopes and then heading up to the summit ridge, which connects Kleine Kolbenspitze with Kolbenspitze.