Ski special: Austrian tour rooms at the top

Moving from hut to hut, ski-touring offers exhilarating routes through unrivalled landscapes. Stephen Goodwin follows his nose to the next plate of cured ham and rösti

The nose is under-rated as a navigational instrument in the mountains. Descending the snow-blanketed valley of the Dorfer beck in Austria's Venediger mountains, it was our noses as opposed to more hi-tech GPS devices that located the Johannis hut with pinpoint accuracy. The aroma of cured ham and rösti - basically a fry-up - that emanates from these inn-like mountain refuges is unmistakable. And we were ready for it. Ski-touring is a sure generator of appetite and thirst.

We had been travelling on skis in the Venedigergruppe for four days, including an ascent of the Grossvenediger, at 3,667m the third highest mountain in Austria. Our crossing from the Kürsinger hut on the north side of the range, where we had based ourselves for the first three nights, over a 3,000m pass and down to the Johannis hut in the south was intended as a less arduous day, but a change in the weather ensured it was not without a frisson of uncertainty.

As we swung down the Dorfer glacier a warm mist enveloped us and it began snowing, gently but persistently. Before long, we could see only a few metres beyond our ski tips and any tracks that might have led to the haven of the hut were buried. The valley hereabouts is wide and cut by the trenches of side streams. In such undulating terrain and minimal visibility it would have been easy to pass by the hut without spotting it. But then the nose twitched. Soon we were parking our skis, brushing snow off our kit and entering the warm fug of the hut.

Our four days had touched all the basic elements of ski-touring in Austria: an approach to the first hut (the Kürsinger in this instance) on forest tracks, over snow-covered pasture and a higher glacier stretch to reach a large hut where we would sleep and eat; two-day tours in sunshine to impressive peaks - the Grossvenediger and then the Grosser Geiger (3,360m) - carving our own tracks in fresh snow many miles from any piste; and finally, a day when the weather deteriorated but the warmth and conviviality of an alpine hut were at hand.

Ski-touring, or ski-mountaineering at its sharper end, is the art of travel in the mountains at their pristine winter best. The skis look similar to the ordinary piste variety but the bindings are hinged at the toe, enabling one to skim the ski uphill in a walking motion. Adhesive "skins" attached to the soles of the skis prevent them from slipping backwards while ascending. For descent, the skins are removed, binding heels are locked down, and the skis become essentially an alpine downhill set-up.

Next stopAustria. The three most popular areas are the Otztaler Alps and the Stubai, both in the province of Tyrol, and the Silvretta in the west, straddling Tyrol, Vorarlberg and a corner of Switzerland. All three ranges are ideal for multi-day tours. The Venediger offers something closer to "wilderness" skiing; distances stretch out and there fewer travellers.

Looking back through my mountain diaries, it is revealing how the entries dwell on the sybaritic pleasures of the huts. (Surely there should be a less spartan word for these places than "huts".) Take the Franz Senn hut in the Stubai, named after a local priest who pioneered mountain tourism in Tyrol. It sits at 2,147m, some 400m above the road head, but there is no need to slog up with a heavy rucksack. Simply put your sack on the same cable hoist that transports the food and barrels of beer,then "skin" up amid dwarf pines and willow scrub.

The hut is the logical start for a week-long hut-to-hut tour of the Stubai group, but it is also very popular with weekenders. We opened our account here with an ascent of the Wildes Hinterbergl (3,288m), leaving the hut in a cold, dawn light and skinning up the easy-angled Alpeiner glacier. Skiing uphill is a rhythmic, contemplative business: get the pace right and you can almost daydream your way to the top.

Early starts are the norm in ski-touring so as not to be caught out in heavy, avalanche-prone snow later in the day. Compensation for the rude awakening comes in the afternoon. Our ascent of the Wildes Hinterbergl took about four hours; we paused for a snack on the summit, surveying other potential objectives, and then cruised the softening snow back to the Franz Senn. After that it was tough choice between an afternoon nap or a beer on the sun terrace.

1. PIZ BUIN

At 3,312m, the sparkling jewel of the Silvretta, and the peak that gave its name to a sun cream. It is usually approached from the Weisbadner hut, though you must leave the skis and climb the last 250m on crampons.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to montafon.at

2. GALTÜR

The resort village at the head of Paznauntal, gateway to the Silvretta, is the most westerly of the ski-touring areas of Austria. A place to enjoy skiing in the mountains without too much stress or strain. You can enjoy a mulled wine or draught beer at the commodious huts.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to montafon.at

3. WILDSPITZE

At 3,770m, this is the highest peak in Tyrol. Ideally the high point of an Ötztal hut-to-hut tour, but it can be reached in a day trip from the Pitztal valley using the "Pitz Express" glacier subway. Casting off from the top of the lift system, the ascent takes about three hours. There is a fabulous 10-mile descent back to Pitztal.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to pitztal.com and oetztal.com

4. SIMILAUN

At 3,606m, a favourite of the Ötztal range, reckoned to be one of the best ski-touring areas in the Alps. Not far from Similaun was found the 5,000-year-old mummified body of Ötzi the iceman.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to oetztal.com

5. ZUCKERHÜTL

At 3,505m, an aptly named sugar loaf of a mountain, highest peak in the range and feasible as a day trip from the valley using the Stubai cable car, which can make it rather crowded.

FURTHER INFORMATION: stubai.at and stubaier-gletscher.com

6. FRANZ SENN HUT

Above the resort of Neustift, makes an ideal base for ski-touring in the Stubai Alps, knocking off a peak and then skiing down to the pleasures of the sun terrace for late afternoon.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to stubai.at and stubaier-gletscher.com

7. VILLGRATER BERGE

In the south of Austria, above the small resort of Sillian, this group of relatively gentle hills can be good for day tours and is a handy retreat when conditions in the higher mountains are poor.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to hochpustertal.com

8. GROSSGLOCKNER

(3,798m). Austria's highest mountain, part of the Hohe Tauern and a splendid objective. But serious mountaineering, with exposed rock and ice climbing to reach the summit from the ski depot.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to hohetauern.at and osttirol-tourismus.at

9. VENEDIGER GROUP

A wilder area, part of the Hohe Tauern National Park, and crowned by the most extensive sheet of snow and ice in the Eastern Alps. The Grossvenediger (3,667m), ascended either as a day tour from the Kürsinger hut or as the high point of a mutli-day traverse of the range.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to hohetauern.at and osttirol-tourismus.at

10. DACHSTEIN

Set apart from the main alpine chain, the Dachstein, or "roof stone", is home to the Austrian National Ski Tour - a 25km crossing from the glaciated lip of the plateau towards Hallstädt lake. Can be done on standard piste equipment and need only take a couple of hours, but you will probably linger over chocolate cake in a hut during the afternoon.

FURTHER INFORMATION: go to dachstein.at and schladming-rohrmoos.com

HOW TO GET THERE

The UK's most active ski-touring group is the Eagle Ski Club (eagleskiclub.org. uk). With more than 1,000 members, it organises some 40 ski trips a year and the Austrian Alps are invariably in the programme.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Beware, ski touring carries all the risks of winter mountaineering, notably avalanches and glacier crevasses. Make sure you join a guided group or hire an individual guide. For more details on ski touring and Austria go to austria.info, alpenverein.at and alpintouren.at (the latter is in German only).