Old snow on the north face of the Puitkogel

... seen from Gahwinden. In the bottom right corner you can see a small lake. The color suggests it's a glacial lake, but it's just old snow on the slopes. There is a hiking trail past that lake and up the valley, to the Weißmaurachjoch (2923m), the saddle on the left. The saddle is a junction of several routes: For hikers, it connects the Pitztal on this side with the Pollestal on the other, but it is also the start of the Mainzer Höhenweg gets serious. Despite its name ("Weg" is German for road or path), it's a long alpine climbing route. Easy climbing passages and short glacier crossings make it quite unsuitable for hikers. Several sections have cables, which makes it easier, but as a result of the receding glaciers, in 2012 I was told that the cables in some places ended much higher than the level of the glacier. There were plans to improve that in the near future, but I don't know if it has been done yet. 28 June 2012.