In its vicinity lies the natural lake called Piburger See.
Originally the lake's hollow was an old valley parallel to the Oetztal valley. After the last ice age a massive rockslide blocked the valley at its south-eastern end and covered its entire bottom. That's why water impounded and formed a lake. Because of its location amidst crystal rock Piburger See lake holds very soft water. In mid-summer surface temperature reaches up to 24 Celsius.



If you want you can walk around the lake, but we opted to continue our walk towards Oetz. Soon you will have to cross the Oetztaler Ache via the Wellerbruecke.
The Wellerbruecke rapids here are regarded as some of the best in Europe for kayaking or wild water rafting.





Finally we reach Oetz. Oetz is very popular with tourists so it is a rather busy village, but despite bustling building activities since WWII and the people's desire for modern housing, many buildings in the old part of Oetz have been preserved. Especially picturesque is the architecturally unspoilt center with its accumulation of old buildings that are built close to each other. Just explore the old town centre by yourself and pick up our GPS trail afterwards.





We leave the busy town behind us and continue our walk along the Oetzaler Ache towards Sautens.



Sautens has a beautiful parish church that was build between 1830-1831.
In 1999 the outside of the church was renovated and in 2007 the interior of this Parish Church has been renovated as well.



As we arrive at our hotel the sun pops out for a few minutes.

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The name Timmelsjoch is older than that of the Brenner, first being documented in 1241 as "Thymelsjoch", but the road officially opened up for public on July 17th, 1959 after four years of construction work.



Due to the exposed high mountain situation the opening date of the Timmelsjoch - Hochalpenstrasse depends essentially on the snow situation as well as area conditions.
According to experience the road can be opened mostly between the end of May and the beginning of June and is closed in fall (in winter the road is ofcourse also closed).

The pass had just opened up and therefore the amount of snow was still enormous.



Slowly we drive into the Oetztal valley. We just don't know where to look first.






Even Elgar was enthusiastic about this 'secret gap' in the alps. He was thrilled to be out of the car and enjoyed the scenery. But all good things come to an end and with one more look we drive on towards Oetz.



This was an exceptional beautiful day. We really can recommend anyone to take this pass instead of the Brennerpass, but only when you have plenty of time and the weather is good.

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It is a beautiful spot where one can see the peaks of the Dolomites rising above you.
Rosa suddenly looks very tiny in this wilderness.



From here on, you will have to climb up. The track in the beginning is not too difficult but at some point in time becomes rather tricky. Not advisable to go up when it is raining, because the rocks will become very slippery. There is even a robe on some spots to guide you on the stony path, which is progressing rather steeply.



Suddenly you are in the midst of rocky scenery. Take your time now and then to catch your breath and to enjoy this rough terrain.



Finally after a tough struggle we manage to get passed this rocky scenery and upon looking back you'll notice what you have achieved. A climb up from 1603m to 2440m through massive rocks. We are proud that we made it and really enjoy the impressive scenery.




As a reward you can see the Tierser Alpl Hutte (2440m) in the far distance. Our next goal for today. And the view from this hut is absolutely fabulous. Especially when the sun is shining and there is still lots of snow visible. A good spot to have something to drink or eat, but don't forget the time as you will have to catch the bus back to the hotel and it is still about 2 hours from here to the cable car.



The hut is huge; in summer it must be very crowded here.
After a well deserved lemonade, we continue our way towards Kompatsch, which is situated in the valley below at 1844m.



We opt for tracknr. 2, which will cross the Rosszahne (Denti de Terrarossa), a zigzagging descend towards the valley. The surroundings are just awesome and you actually do not know where to look first.
Upon reaching the Rosszahne you will have a lovely view over the Seiseralm.



After the descend from the Rosszahne the track is rather easy-going. Don't forget to look back now and then. When you look at underneath picture you can see the Rosszahne track (the zigzag route on the lefthand side of this picture). It started to rain as were nearing the cable car and had to put on our raingear. We reach Kompatsch and thus the cable car, which will takes us to the bus station down below.



Yessss.....we made it to the bus station on time ! We even had to wait 1 hour before our bus would come to bring us back to the hotel.




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A view small chapels for praying can be found along the track, or one can encounters cattle.

At a crossing (where you have to turn right to continue this walk), you can opt to walk a few hundred meters further to get to the Volser Weiher, a small lake where one is allowed to swim. There is also a restaurant nearby.

After a short peek we turned back and picked up our track again (track nr. 1). There is another lake, Huber Weiher (1096 meters), which we enjoyed more than the Volser Weiher. Most probably because it was somewhat quieter than at the Volser Weiher lake. Even Rosa was enjoying the scenic view. A good place to drink somewhat before one has to go up to the Tuffalm, which is at 1274 meter altitude.

One can decide to take the steep climb up through the forest (track 1) or follow the paved road which slowly gains elevation. We opted for the paved road. Both tracks lead to the Tuffalm, a very beautiful hut with a huge terrace.

After enjoying a lunch at the Tuffalm we continue our track. We tried to find Track nr. 1 (but then the lower track) that goes directly towards the Hofer Alpl (1340m) but somehow were not able to find it. So we ended up following a track (also numbered 1) higher up on the hill. The first few hundreds meters are really not easy. Not because of a difficult track but because it goes up rather steep over a short distance. We did not have the time to go to the Hofer Alpl which can be reached by taking a detour over Track 3, but continued on Track nr. 1. Now and then you have a great view over de surrounding area. Via the so-called Hammerwand we end up at Track nr. 7, leading to Restaurant Schonblick.

We follow the paved road for only a short period, before we turn right into the forest again (Track nr. 0).  Although Ums does not look that far away, the descent still takes about 30 - 45 minutes. And guess what ....... the last kilometer it started to rain and we arrived at our car soaking wet (despite the raingear we quickly had put on in the forest). How nice !!

Nevertheless a pleasant walk which we can recommend to anyone.

More stunning walks can be found in this booklet which unfortunately only is available in German, but which we can certainly recommend.

And don’t forget to buy a map of the region. Despite the GPS it is always a good idea to have a map with you as well.

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