Everything you carry
You carry your own rucksack from hut to hut. We recommend a rucksack of 30 to 35 litres, packed to no more than 8 kg without water.
On the Stubai Ridge Walk the biggest climb comes on day 3, over the Hohe Scharte at 2,575 m. You walk 10.4 km with 1,116 m up and 677 m down to Karhütte at 1,898 m. Pack with that day in mind, since it is where a heavy rucksack slows you most.
What the hut gives you
Every night is half board, so dinner and breakfast are included. You sleep in a shared dormitory. Where a hut has a private room, you can ask for one and pay the difference on the spot. On the Stubai Ridge Walk the second night is at Gasthof Wildbach, a valley inn at 1,460 m. The other nights are in alpine huts.
The hut gives you blankets, a pillow and hut slippers, and some huts have a shower. It does not give you a sheet. A hut sleeping sheet is not included on any route, so it goes on the list below.
I have worked the stove in a busy hut kitchen. One kitchen cooks for the whole house at one sitting, and a group that walks in late keeps the whole room waiting. Lunch is not included: buy it at a hut on the way or ask your hut for a packed lunch the night before. Drinks are not included either, so carry money for them.
The list
- Rucksack of 30 to 35 litres
- Rain cover for the rucksack
- Waterproof jacket and overtrousers
- A warm layer for the evenings and the passes
- Boots you have already walked in at home
- Two sets of walking clothes, one to wear and one to dry
- Something dry to change into at the hut
- Hut sleeping sheet
- Head torch for the dormitory at night
- Earplugs
- Sun hat, sunglasses and sun cream
- Warm hat and gloves
- Water bottles for 1.5 litres
- Food for the first day’s lunch
- Wash kit and a small towel
- First-aid kit
- Money for lunches and drinks
- Proof of insurance with mountain rescue cover
Insurance with mountain rescue cover is required, and we do not take walkers without it.
What stays at home
Leave behind the second pair of boots, the full-size towel, the spare fleece and anything you are packing just in case. Anything you would use only in the valley stays at home too.
Weigh it before you go
Pack the rucksack at home and put it on the scales before you add water. If it is over 8 kg, take out spare clothes first, then anything packed just in case.
If you want to test your packing on a short route first, try the Ötztal Hut Taster. It is 28.2 km over three days, with nights at Gasthof Ronach and Fernerblick Hut.
