Mountaineering in Ötztal: My first real 3,000m peak

Even at home, packing lists and video tutorials will help you while in Vent you will receive other useful items - such as a water bottle or earplugs for a peaceful night in the mountain hut. Special equipment like climbing harness or crampons can be rented.

Don't be afraid of ice axe, rope and crampons! While a tour to Similaun summit is no walk in the park, it is not an unattainable dream either. Even if you have never been on a glacier before or your previous ice experience is limited to "vanilla, strawberry or pistachio". For "My first real 3,000m peak" you don't need any special prior knowledge about walking with crampons or rope techniques. Certified mountain and hiking guides will teach you the essentials over five days and lead you step by step to the coveted destination.

On the "acclimatization day" (day 2), you will get your first taste of high altitude air: from Vent you hike up to Rofenkarferner glacier, using a chairlift to save energy. Once on top, you familiarize yourself with the equipment and basic mountaineering techniques on rock and ice. You will learn to walk with your feet hip-width apart on the glacier. If you get the crampons caught in your trouser leg, you will be flat on your face faster than you can say "three-thousand-meter peak".

On the "acclimatization day", you can also get a feel for your most comfortable pace. Once you know it, you can climb almost anywhere without overexerting yourself. This is invaluable knowledge as the grand finale (days 3 - 4) is the ascent to Similaun, Austria's eighth-highest peak!

Hiking guide Alfons will accompany you on all five days. He even manages to make the five-hour climb to Similaunhütte mountain refuge enjoyable, maintaining a moderate pace ("Not fast, but steady!"). And like an Ötztal encyclopedia in hiking boots, he has entertaining information about almost every stone along the way.

Why do many sheep around Vent have a migration background, and have done so for 6,000 years? Why do alpine stone pine trees often grow on mountain ridges? And what does the "Zirbengratsch" (commonly known as nutcracker) has to do with it?

At the glacier, a mountain guide takes over the group. Linked by a 9 millimeter thick polyamide cord - the climbing rope - you will traverse crevasses together.

At 3,000 meters above sea level, we have about 30 % less oxygen available than at sea level. Therefore, your heart and breathing work unusually fast. To allow your circulatory system to adapt to the thin high alpine air, there are plenty of breaks during the preparation days. And even on the afternoon before the summit conquest, at Similaunhütte (3,017 m) refuge hut, rest is the main priority. That's the beauty of mountaineering: even doing nothing becomes a useful, purposeful act.

A complete package through and through. From mountaineering gear and accommodations to tours and more, everything is taken care of. You just need to be mentally and physically fit—then all you have to do is book and arrive. Enjoy the experience and leave the planning to the pros.

Unforgettable moments in the high mountains provide an extra boost of motivation to reach the summit:

• Sunrise at over 3,000 meters: the mountains slowly emerge from the night's blue-gray and begin to "glow" in the sunlight.
• True "Greenland feeling" at Brandenburger Haus (Fluchtkogel variant) as you are surrounded by Austria's largest adjoining glacier area!
• Panoramic summit views to the max: whether on Similaun or Fluchtkogel, humans are at best insignificant extras in this sea of peaks.

Your friends are not enthusiastic about hiking? No problem! Thanks to the "My first real 3000m peak“ hiking program even single hikers can enjoy a group experience: a motley group gradually becomes a team that works together better and better, shows consideration for one another and shares unique experiences. You will be challenged, but you can also openly address any discomfort you feel. That's definitely more enjoyable than trying to reach ambitious goals as a lone wolf!

3,000 meter peaks have a special mystique. After all, they are the highest in all of Austria. For many, 3,000 meter peaks represent a barrier that casual hikers cannot easily break. That's probably why we all want to stand on a mighty summit that surpasses this magical mark at least once in our lives. When you have finally made it, you also have every right to be proud! Even if your muscles are aching after the extra-long descent from the summit. But as marathon runners say: the pain fades, the pride remains.