The Orient Express

Technical difficulty: 7/10
Fitness: 10/10
Objective danger: 8/10 (mostly because of the fatigue management)
Landscape: 10/10
Busy: 2-9/10 (plenty of solitude on the first half, very busy around Praxmar)

A legendary crossing and a right of passage in North Tirol. A once in a lifetime must do for

Starting point: Winnebachseehütte Parking
Ending point: Muttereralm Bergbahnen
Ascend: 6000vm / 18h
Exposition: all but south

Route:

Summit #1

From the hut parking lot at the last curve before Winnebach, follow usually well established ski trail to the Winnebachseehütte. From the hut, pass left of the lake and head north into the Winnebachkar. After a few minutes, keep left and ascend northwest until you find a passage between the rocks that border the cirque. Continue through a scenic bowl towards Zwieselbachjoch. Before reaching the steep ascent to Zwieselbachjoch, veer slightly left to avoid the steep slopes and reach the Grieskogelferner Glacier. Cross the initially flat glacier towards the west, bypassing a steep section with glacier crevasses on the left. From there, ascend the northern ridge, which leads easily to the summit of Breiter Grieskogel (3287 m).

Ski back down to Zwieselbachjoch. Traverse the northern slopes eastwards to save altitude.

Summit #2

Once you reach up the bottom of the valley, skin up again and ascend towards Winnebachjoch. From the col, head north on a fairly steep ascent to the Weißkogelferner Glacier. Cross the glacier westward, then keep left, ascending a short steep slope to reach the north ridge. Leave your skis at the depot, then climb through a short steep gully to reach the spacious summit plateau of Winnebacher Weißkogel (3182 m). This tour is described in more detail here.

Ski down the summit slope. Traverse high up on the northern slopes again for a few hundred meters until you are under a visible narrow col above you.

Summit #3 (technically only a pass)

A short ascent, usually on boots to the saddle of Roßkarscharte (3053 m). In the end there is fixed ropes and can be exposed. Crampons might be necessary.

Ski down northwards through Gleirschtal until the place where summer way to Zischgeles turns off (see GPS). This is probably the hardest spot to correctly navigate to. Turn to early and you will ascend the valley up to Schöntalspitze and your Orient dreams are over :).

Summit #4

Follow the summer way to the summit. It zig-zags through the face and across a tricky steep section until you reach a brought shoulder leading up to the summit ridge. You can reach the summit on the norther ridge (quite technical) or traverse below the summit slope to the normal winter way that ascends the summit through the eastern ridge. After leaving your skis in the ski depot, it is only a few minutes to the summit of Zischgeles (3003m).

Ski down the normal winter way, described here, back down to Praxmar.

Summit #5, #6, #7, #8

The rest of the Orient Express copies the track of its original inspiration - Fotscher Express. We have described this route on this blog before, so you can find the details here.

Pro tip: Convince a dedicated family member (or a loved one) to be your driver for the day. Seriously, bribe them in any way you can. It will make your life so much easier.

Pro tip #2: Find the original blog post from Lukas Ruetz here (in German).

Photos by @bennibru and @the.running.nomad