High Ortler Hiking Traverse

You arrive in Merano and check in at one of our basecamp hotels where you find your tour package prepared for you. We have chosen Merano – a spa resort town and one of the most beautiful Alpine destinations – as the base camp for our Ortler hike. For centuries Merano had been the capital of Tyrol. It is surrounded by ancient castles and insurmountable mountains. Merano features a unique old town with a rich history and culture, a scenic embankment with a promenade dating from the Belle Epoque, one of the best Alpine spa facilities, and magnificent botanical gardens.

You begin your hike in a valley 1,500 meters above sea level by climbing to the eastern ridge of the Cevedale group. Shortly after, you find yourself on seldom-traveled trails with minimal infrastructure. It's an uphill trek for about 3 to 4 hours before you reach the destination of today's hike – the Corvo Lakes. It is a group of some 20 lakes that fill hollows between the granite projections of the ridge at elevations of 2,400 to 2,600 meters. The Corvo Lakes are very diverse. There are lakes the color of turquoise located in exposed areas of the ridge and reflecting the blue skies. In the shadows of tall escarpments you will find deep lakes that refuse to give up their chilling dark-blue color even on a bright sunny day. Some lakes have gentle sloping shores with beaches, while others are surrounded by vertical cliffs. You will be overnighting in a nearby hut to be able to admire the sunset from an exposed portion of the ridge.

Today you proceed deeper into the central parts of Ortler-Cevedale over the scenic eastern ridge. This is the last day when you get to walk on warm, sun-drenched slopes. The high mountains await you up ahead. A notable landmark along today's hiking itinerary is the Mount Collecchio that offers a view of the valleys at the foot of the ridge and nearby mountain groups. On reaching the hut around midday, you can have lunch, leave your backpack at the hut, and go up to the lakes of Sternai that feature a view of the Cevedale glaciers in the south-west. This is an optional 3-hour loop hike that adds to your hiking route a 400 m ascent, same descent and a 5,5 km walking distance.

You will have to climb to the Passo di Saent pass – one of the few points where the ridge can be crossed. It separates the Saent Valley from the Martell Valley. The mountain pass elevation is 2,965 m. Right ahead of the pass, the trail gets fairly steep, and it takes some effort to scale it. The pass offers a spectacular view of the valley and nearby summits. An ice tongue of a glacier dips into a hollow under the pass in the northwest and feeds a few small lakes. On the other side of the pass you cross a typical rocky high-altitude landscape with glacier lakes and next to no vegetation. Later, as you descend into the valley through the gorge, the landscape changes, giving way to green meadows and streams. You go down to the green belt and arrive at the hut after traversing slopes sparsely overgrown by woods.

Alpine glaciers have been quickly receding in recent decades, leaving behind vast moraines over which mountain streams cascade down into valleys. Today you will be hiking towards one of the largest moraines in the region – the Solda moraine. The gorge above the Solda Valley to which the trail takes you today was filled with glaciers not so long ago. Now the glaciers have receded, exposing a gigantic hollow and leaving accumulations of glacier-polished boulders. Towering above the hollow are three mountains – the Ortler, Monte Zebru, and Gran Zebru, the dominant pinnacles of the Ortler group. A strip of red-brown boulders descends from one of the Gran Zebru slopes, resembling a river running through the dark-gray bed of the moraine. The panorama of the Solda moraine with the Ortler mountaintops towering above it is one of the most beautiful sights in this part of the Alps. You overnight at a hut perched on a cliff above the moraine and facing the Ortler mounts. This is an exceptionally good location for a hut envied by many.

The hikers who wake up this morning to the sight of the Ortler summits basking in the first rays of sun will never regret going on this trip. The main range of the Ortler group is facing the northeast, and the rising sun colors the mountain tops gold-yellow, setting them off against the backdrop of the moraine that has yet to leave the shadows of the night. Today you will traverse very steep slopes at the foot of the Ortler, skirting it above the Solda Valley. Along the way you will encounter a few moraines, cross a few ridges with only insignificant changes in elevation. As the day draws to a close, you will reach a hut built on an exposed ridge descending into the Solda Valley. The most striking landscapes can be seen from this vantage point when the valley at the bottom is shrouded with clouds, with slopes of the Ortler towering above them.

Today you hike along the slopes of the northern Ortler down to the Trafoi Valley. After several days of hiking in high-altitude conditions, today will bring a very pleasant change of scenery with the warm air of Alpine meadows and the freshness of pine woods. The Trafoi Valley is nestled between the slopes of the nearby Frontier Ridge that traces the border between Italy and Switzerland. This valley is famous for a switchback road with 48 hairpin turns leading to the Stelvio Pass. From the valley you return by bus (self-guided trip) or with a private transfer (guided trip) to Merano where rest and the comfort of the basecamp hotel await you.

The trip has come to an end. You can spend the rest of the day in Merano and recharge your batteries in pools of the spa facility or visit the ancient Tyrol Castle that lends its name to this Alpine region.

This itinerary takes you from the Ulten Valley to Solda – a village at the foot of Ortler. It follows to the days 2 to 5 of the primary hiking itinerary. You will see most of the highlights of Ortler including the lakes of Corvo and Sternai, the Passo Saent and Martitschjoch passes, the moraine of Solda, and the Ortler and Gran Zebru peaks. When you reach the moraine of Solda, you can use the nearby cablecar to descend to the village and then take a bus to Merano (self-guided trip) or go with a private transfer arranged by us (guided trip).

This itinerary follows the main route from the Ulten valley to Solda. It is one day longer than the shortest 6 Day Tour as you will stay overnight at a hut at the foot of Ortler on Day 5 and walk through the moraines on the following day before you descend to Solda. There are 5 full walking days on this route.

This tour extends the classic High Ortler hiking route to the Passo Stelvio pass (2,758 m). This itinerary reaches the western extremity of the Ortler Group and then takes you to the Fallaschkamm mountain range. Fallaschkamm is the natural border between Italy and Switzerland. It features a panoramic trail on the Italian slopes with exciting views of the Ortler Group. The 10 Day Tour itinerary has a more difficult hiking schedule compared with the primary itinerary. It includes two 8-hour crossings with a daily cumulative ascent 1000 – 1150 m, similar descent and the walking distances of 12 – 15 km. There are no glacier crossings and no via-ferrata. This is itinerary includes 7 hiking days and is good for experienced and fit hikers.

This 9 Day Tour is for experienced hikers as it includes an ascent to the Cima Sternai peak (3,443 m). This peak is located at a distance from other summits and offers an excellent panorama of the Ortler group. The ascent requires a dedicated day, while the rest of the route remains unchanged with respect to the primary 8 Day Tour itinerary. You will stay 2 nights in a hut at the foot of Cima Sternai, and thus can ascend the peak with a light backpack. There is a normal walking trail to Cima Sternai, but it crosses a small glacier. We are providing you with the gear that you will need for the glacier crossing: you will pick it up in the hut and leave in the same hut when you are back from the peak. Near the peak, you will walk on several sections of secured trail, not a via-ferrata.

The 10 Day Tour adds two options to the classic Ortler route: an ascent to the Sternai Summit and an extension of the itinerary to the Passo Stelvio pass. This is a more difficult itinerary: you must be comfortable walking 7 – 8 hours with daily cumulative ascent of 1150 m. You will stay 2 nights in a hut at the foot of Cima Sternai, and thus can ascend it with a light backpack. The path to the Sternai Summit crosses a small glacier. We are providing you with the gear to cross the glacier: you will pick it up in the hut and leave in the same hut when you are back in the afternoon. There are several recently built sections of secured trail near the summit, not a via-ferrata. Two daytime treks to Passo Stelvio are relatively long. You will reach the western extremity of the Ortler group the Stelvio pass, from where you will walk on the slopes of the Fallaschkamm following a panoramic trail in front of Ortler.