North Cascades Mountain Guides - Expeditions: Ortler

Ortler Grand Circuit

The impetus for this trip began when several of our former Haute route participants wanted to set up another ski mountaineering trip in the Alps. They desired similar technical difficulties, a less frequented part of the Alps and if possible, slightly nicer huts. With that to go on we did some research and came up with the Ortler tour.

This tour is different from most in that it is actually a loop which begins and ends in the same village of Sulden, Italy. The tour takes place in Stelvio National park in the South Tirol region of Northern Italy, close to the borders of Switzerland and Austria. The park itself is one of the largest in all of Europe. It lays between the Bernina group of St Moritz to the West and the Dolomites to the East. The terrain is slightly lower than that of the Western alps, but still heavily glaciated and very alpine. Much of the tour takes places between 10,000-13,000'. There are a number of big peaks in the area (many of which can be skied off of), though they are all shy of the magic number of 4000 meters. This is the equivalent of a 14er in Colorado, and makes the area much less traveled by peak baggers.

The tour is very adaptable allowing for harder and easier variations most days. In general the tour is comperable in difficulty to the classic Haute route. There are very few places that you are forced to carry skis, unless you opt for some of the peak ascents. The huts are well known for great food, incredible coffee and many even have hot showers. The town of Sulden has a major ski resort and is accessible by bus or train from Milan, Venice or Innsbruck.

Ski Mountaineering in the Italian Alps is one of the most unforgettable ski ( and Coffee) experiences you will ever have.
(Click photos for larger view.)

Due to the large number of options available on this tour, we will keep our itnerary flexible to adapt to conditions and the groups desires. The route we are currently planning looks like this:

Day 1 ~ Leave Sulden, ride the lifts up and ski down to the Zufal hutte. From there we will skin up to the Marteller hut.

Day 2 ~ Leave Marteller hut and climb one of two ways over Mt Cevedale. Ski down to Branca hut.

Day 3 ~ From the Branca hut, climb and ski one of the many awesome ski mountaineering peaks.

Day 4 ~ From the Branca hut, climb and ski another one of the many awesome ski mountaineering peaks.

Day 5 ~Leave Branca hut (sadly), and tour up to the Pizzini hut. Ski some of the fine slopes behind the hut.

Day 6 ~Climb the Gran Zebru or ski the glacier below its huge South face.

Day 7 ~ Leave Pizzini hut and climb up Mt Cevedale. Ski down passing the Cassati hut (cappucino!) on the way back to the Sulden ski area. Drop all the way down the ski area and back to town.

If climbing and skiing off of peaks, sounds appealing, this is the trip for you!

In our research we have found that there are many possible variations to this tour and generally the loop will take most parties about 6 days. We have added an extra day to accommodate bad weather and if unused will add a peak climb or another day tour to complete the trip.

Skills Required

While largely a ski tour, the route does offer some great mountaineering opportunities. Most of the peaks in the region can be climbed and skied from without requiring the removal of skis!.

On a tour like this to maximize your enjoyment, the most important skills are skiing skills. While most of the terrain is fairly moderate by resort standards, we typically encounter a wide range of snow conditions. It is important for skiers to be able to comfortably ski black runs at a ski area in any conditions. Further you must be able to perform survival turns (hop turns, stem christie etc.) down steeper terrain and in very difficult snow conditions. Skiers should have some touring experience and be adept at using skins, performing kick turns and skiing with a small pack.

Previous Mountaineering experience is not required though will prove beneficial. We will cover skills such as the use of ski crampons, avalanche transceivers, boot crampons, and ice axes as well as traveling as a rope team. We have factored time into the tour to cover these skills thus insuring a high degree of safety and comfort for all members of the team.

This tour will also demand a high degree of fitness. Obviously you don't need to be an Olympic athlete, as hundreds of people complete the tour every year, though the more fit you arrive, the more you will enjoy the tour. Not to mention having energy to ski an extra run after arriving at the destination hut for the day.

If you have any doubts or concerns about your abilities or skiing skills, please don't hesitate to call and address them. We will gladly offer training advice or we can arrange for some pretrip training to insure your skills are up to speed before embarking on this trip of a lifetime.

Ortler Tour Guiding Fees

There is plenty of room for fresh tracks on the wide open glaciers of the Alps.