Adlerweg East Tyrol

Two giants of the High Tauern. And one path between them.

Adlerweg Osttirol starts at the foot of Großvenediger (3,657 m) in Strödental and nine days later deposits you below Grossglockner, Austria's highest peak. In between: 93 km, roughly 8,000 meters of elevation gain and loss, most of the route above 2,000–2,500 meters. This is not a weekend view walk. It is a nine-day hut-to-hut trek across Hohe Tauern National Park, where glaciers gleam within arm's reach and cell service mostly stays silent.

The name derives from the eagle—Adlerweg, Eagle Trail, is a designation across all of Tyrol, and this East Tyrolian branch is its wildest stretch. Eight thousand meters of climbing over nine days is like ascending Ben Nevis six times in succession, pack on your back, no cable car, and always above treeline.

Terrain and character? High alpine trail that holds altitude. Passes exceed 2,800 meters; beneath your feet lie scree, grassy slopes, and moraines. The heavily glaciated Großvenediger with its Schlatenkees and Obersulzbachkees glaciers dominates the horizon. This is not one long via ferrata—no guided passages appear in the route data. It is exposure, long days, and solitude. Therefore: a sure foot, a head without vertigo, and alpine experience are a requirement, not a suggestion.

Stages connect you hut to hut like beads on string. Day one climbs from Strödental to Johannishütte (2,121 m)—one of the oldest huts beneath Großvenediger, built in 1858. Day two is the toughest: over 1,000 meters of gain to Eisseehütte (2,521 m), named for the ice lake below. Next comes Bonn-Matreier Hütte (2,750 m), the route's highest overnight stop and a balcony over Virgental. Then Badener Hütte (2,608 m) directly beneath Venediger's glaciers. Day five descends to Matreier Tauernhaus (1,512 m)—the route's lowest point, where legs rest briefly. Day six climbs back up to Sudetendeutsche Hütte (2,656 m) in the Granatspitzgruppe. Day seven crosses an old Tauern pass to Kalser Tauernhaus (1,755 m). Day eight peaks at Stüdlhütte (2,801 m), the route's highest hut—and here Czech hearts quicken: founded in 1868 by Prague merchant Johann Stüdl and the very first hut of the German Alpenverein. Day nine descends below Grossglockner to Lucknerhaus (1,918 m). Done. Legs ache, eyes remember.

Who is this for? Fit trekkers with prior multiday mountain traverses under their belts who don't fear exposure or evenings without showers. This is not a family ramble. Those seeking gentler initiation should save this route for later.

When to go? Season runs roughly mid-June through mid-September when mountain huts operate and snowfields on passes are passable. Outside this window, doors shut and High Tauern weather respects no one.

How to book? Huts on the route are managed by Alpenverein sections (Alpenverein), so book stays in advance—either directly with each hut or through the Alpenverein booking system. Half-board is standard: warm dinner, breakfast, mattress in a dorm. During peak season, especially weekends, full huts are not an excuse—those without reservations sleep out.

Nine days. Nine huts. Two giants bookending the route. And between them an eagle's flight along the High Tauern ridge, where every meter of elevation must be earned on your own feet. The eagle flies free. You will fly on foot.