Loop in Otztal over Piccard Brucke

Technical difficulty: 5/10
Fitness: 7/10
Objective danger: 5/10 (the area around Piccard bridge has a lot of exposed sections)
Landscape: 7/10
Busy: 3/10

A beautiful alpine round loosely following the course of 26km distance at Gletscher Trailrun. Through long valleys and awesome exposed rocky sections, makes up for an amazing day in the mountains.

Starting point: Obergurgl
Ending point: Obergurgl
Length: 22km
Vertical: 1600m
Speed: A mix of runnable trails and slower technical sections

Route:

Leave the village of Obergurgl, following the signs towards Ramulhaus on the right side of valley. The trail gradually climbs as you get deeper into the valley, until you reach the turning off point below the Ramulhaus hut. You can extend the run to the hut, which does not add a ton of distance, but some 300 vertical meters. You can also traverse flatly below the hut and head towards the Piccard brücke.

The descent to the river with a hanging bridge is very technical, with solid rock slabs and a lot of fixed aids to help you along the way. After the bridge, climb a couple of hundred meters uphill again, before turning north-east and traversing the hillside and descending over more technical sections towards Langtalereckhütte. The hut is a great place to have a break and get some refreshments.

From here, the trail turns into a forest road for a few kilometers, and leads you mostly downhill north-east, before eventually turning eastwards and leading you to the Schönwieshütte (another great place for a break).

We continue on the last uphill of the day east to a well-visible Hohe Mut Alm, which is right next to the top station of the cable car from Obergurgl. From here the trail leads you along the ski slopes back down to the village in no time.

Photos by @the.running.nomad and @bennibru