High Five: Sulden - Trafoi

03.09.2021

ABOVE THE ORTLER... FREEDOM MUST BE BOUNDLESS...

After a super soothing and relaxing night for both of us, we were able to embark on breakfast well rested. And it was truly enjoyed. We have never seen such an amazing breakfast before! Rolls from whole grain rolls to bread to regular rolls, a selection of cold cuts, scrambled eggs and boiled eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, and jams from A to Z. And then a muesli bar with infinite toppings, filled with hemp seeds, coconut flakes, chocolate, dried fruits, and nuts. In addition, muesli ranging from crunchy muesli to fruit and chocolate muesli, from simple oat flakes to muesli with cookies. The breakfast was a dream!

We then set off strengthened and satisfied into the mountains. Today, the first part of the day consisted of ascent and then descent. First, we walked through a sweet forest area with lots of vegetation, until we gradually encountered gravel fields, which led us to the Tabarettahütte, guided by a flock of sheep.

Afterwards, we continued on to the Payerhütte, this time on paths completely devoid of vegetation and partially with bridges and a section of climbing rope. The Payerhütte is named after Julius von Payer, who, among other things, made the first ascent of the Ortler. For us, the Payerhütte was the highest point of our tour today, just below 3,000 meters. From there, there was a 360° view all around, but the clouds up there and the whistling wind made it quickly chilly. We saw many people who took the via ferrata up to the Ortler, but we stopped there and started the descent.

It was actually quite challenging and also very bleak, as we found ourselves on the shadow side of the mountain, in open country without any vegetation, only in scree. It was actually very difficult to walk there, as walking through the scree was not an option and the path was partially very slippery. In between, we observed groundhogs on their way into the mountains again and took a break at an old, run-down rifugio.

Shortly afterwards, the first vegetation with a few pine trees finally appeared, followed by a forest and with it the sun - the path through the scree beforehand felt somewhat depressing. After a pretty steep descent through terrain that resembles the local Eifel, we were glad we didn't have to go downhill anymore.

Now we are sleeping in a guesthouse in Gomagoi, a very alternative place that somehow seems very deserted and not very busy, fitting for the location. For this reason, we had a menu at the inn tonight and now we have a cozy bed.

Today's stats:

6h 22min

15.1km

1,150m ascent, 1,730m descent

Maximum altitude: 3,050m

Minimum altitude: 1,340m