Introducing the beautiful Mutspitze and Spronserseen in South Tyrol

For the last holiday of the year, I spontaneously decided to pay the city of Meran in South Tyrol a visit. Spending a few days there, of course I took some time to check out the surrounding mountains. :) In the end, I was able to do two day hikes and I will now write about the first one, which brought me to the stunning area of the Texelgruppe. The weather forecast was looking quite good for that day, with some clouds in the morning and sunshine in the afternoon, so it didn’t really bother me when I woke up and saw an overcast sky, as I knew that the clouds would go away later on. Leaving my guesthouse as early as possible, I made my way to the cable car of Hochmuth and skipped the first slope with a five minutes ride to the Muthof. Wasting no time, I started to walk right away, but it didn’t take long until I had to take a first break. A viewing platform had appeared and was simply too inviting to just pass by. :) Although the clouds prevented the view from being absolutely spectacular, the outlook towards Meran and its surroundings was nevertheless phenomenal.

The first good view of the day :)

A few minutes later, it was time to move on and I took the turnoff just after the viewing platform in the direction of the Mutspitze. Before long, the forest had swallowed me and I can tell you now that the ascent in the woods in South Tyrol was just about the same as in Switzerland. :) Apart from a few clearings with an outlook towards Meran and the lonely restaurant of Mutkopf, the first part hadn't much to offer except loads and loads of trees of course. :) Things started to change once the forest began to thin out and I took another turnoff that was bringing me onto the final ascending slope towards the Mutspitze. Suddenly there were plenty of views to be had, either to the neighboring mountains or down to the valley and naturally I made sure to take a good look at all of them. :)

A picture taken shortly after the turnoff

Whereas the ascent in the woods had been rather gentle, the final slope was pretty steep. Serpentines mostly led the way and the higher I got, the rockier the ground became. Clouds had reigned the sky so far, but the sun made her first breakthrough during that ascent, leaving me with no other choice than to strip down to shirts and shorts although a crisp breeze was still blowing. :) It might have been the perfect weather though, not too hot, but not too cold either and when I eventually arrived on the Mutspitze, there was a big rock, offering some protection from the wind. Having reached the first goal of today, it was about time to sit down for half an hour, eat a snack and enjoy the scenery. :)

View from the summit in direction of the Taufenscharte and the Spronserseen. The mountains in the background are known as the Texelgruppe

The panorama was fantastic, reaching from the higher mountains of the Texelgruppe, to the Alps of Switzerland and even to the Dolomites at the horizon. Only the clouds were a minor nuisance, as they frequently blocked out the sun and sometimes even barred the view. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful stay on the Mutspitze, which unfortunately ended way too soon.

Goodbye Mutspitze, hope to see you again someday :)

Back on the trail, I started to walk towards the Taufenscharte and as I had read in the Meraner hiking leaflet that the way was exposed and only for experienced hikers, it naturally had made me curious what exactly they meant with that. Well, my imagination had probably been a bit too vivid, as the trail in reality wasn’t that difficult to handle. :) It was steep in parts, mostly narrow and rocky and once there were some iron rungs to help with a short descent. All in all, it was a very nice trail but certainly not as hard as I had imagined it to be. :) Eventually having reached the Taufenscharte, I took a right turn and headed towards the next highlight, the lake land of the Spronserseen. Once again, it was a lovely path to walk along and as the sun finally gained the upper hand against the clouds, the illuminated scenery offered some fantastic views for a while.

Just one of those views... :)

Having descended for about 15 minutes, the next ascending slope was destined to bring me to the first part of the lake land. The ascent luckily didn't take too long and at the end of it, a lake called Pfitscherlacke made its appearance. And what a beauty that was! If I would have known that the last sunbeams for the next two hours were shining right in that moment, I definitely would have taken some more time at the lake. :)

What a fantastic start to the lake land of the Spronserseen!

But unfortunately, I didn’t know and therefore moved on to the next lake called Kaserlacke. That one was a beauty too, but without the sunshine for sure made a different impression than the first one. Taking a look ahead, I could see some thick grey clouds forming over the mountains and while I reached the Oberkaser Alm shortly afterwards, I decided to continue anyway, no matter the weather. :) Setting foot upon the next ascending slope, it was longer and steeper than the one before, but step by step brought me to the second part of the lake land. Somewhere in the middle of the ascent however, I felt the first raindrops falling and when I eventually arrived on a plateau with a lake called Grünsee, the few raindrops had become a steady drizzle. Fortunately, a small hut at the lake offered some shelter and served as a good spot for my lunch break. :)

Well, there certainly was nothing to complain about the view from the hut :)

When after half an hour the drizzle still hadn’t stopped, I didn’t want to wait any longer and moved on. Leaving the Grünsee behind, the next lake was just around the corner. The Langsee made its name justice and in good weather probably would be the most stunning one. Bad weather however doesn’t mean that the scenery isn’t beautiful, one just needs to take a proper look. :) There were for example, the raindrops that fell into the lake, looking at them was quite soothing, if not almost hypnotizing. :) Then I started to follow the trail along the bank and when the rain decided to take a break, the surroundings suddenly mirrored itself in the now calm surface of the lake. Together with the shallow water at the shore, the Langsee revealed its magnificent beauty, which I was able to adore for around ten minutes before the drizzle set in again.

While the picture definitely does the scenery justice, the reality was still so much better :)

Having come as far as the end of the lake land, I decided to venture even further and pay the Hochgangscharte a visit too. That meant ascending again, but as the slope was rather gentle and the sun finally made her reappearance, the ascent was just half as bad. :) Turning left at the designated turnoff, it took another ten minutes until I had reached the Hochgangscharte. Being a spectacular cleft in the mountains, there was no other choice than to sit down again and take another longer break. :) But after all, the gap also had a lot to offer: to one side a panoramic view towards the Vinschgau valley and the Alps of Switzerland, to the other side a view back to the Langsee, where suddenly a rainbow appeared right over the lake, as the drizzle simply wasn't giving up. :)

What a fantastic end to the lake land of the Spronserseen! :)

Once it was time to move on, I was curious what was awaiting me during the forthcoming descent, as I had read in the leaflet that parts of it were secured with ropes and chains. Well, this time around, it certainly was more difficult. Not only was the trail steep, narrow and exposed in parts, but due to the rain before, the rocky ground was all wet and I took good care to check where I was stepping. As advertised, there were a lot of chains and ropes and they surely helped to make the descent easier.

A gorgeous view at the beginning of the descent. You already can see some chains to the right side of the trail :)

While "the worst" was over after about 15 minutes, the rest of the descent to the Hochganghaus turned out to be a piece of cake. Even the sky started to clear at last and the shining sun turned the way down into quite a lovely affair. :) Once at the Hochganghaus, I had plenty of options on how to continue and after taking a look on the map, I spontaneously decided to head back to the Hochmuth cable car. Taking the turnoff onto the Meraner Höhenweg, the woods soon swallowed me once more and would only give way again when I had reached the Leiter Alm. There I took a last break, before it was time to return to the Muthof. On the leaflet, that part was again designated for experienced hikers only and well, it definitely wouldn't be for someone suffering from vertigo. The trail led along a steep mountainside and while to the left there always was a rock wall, the abyss was just waiting to the right. :) The path was rather wide though and there was enough space for a secure walk along that section. All in all, it was a terrific ending of today’s hike, especially because the sun was starting to set at the horizon amidst a heap of clouds. Frequently I had to turn around to admire the spectacle, the sunbeams enlightening the Vinschgauer valley to my feet.

If only every hike would end like that :)

And last but not least, the trail ended at the viewing platform from the morning and I took the chance for another good look, this time without any disturbing clouds. :)

The last good view of the day! :)

The time was running out however and the last cable car ride was approaching fast. Taking in the fabulous scenery and the wonderful sunset for a final time, I headed down to the cable car and rode back with it to Hochmuth. For my first hike in the area of South Tyrol, today couldn't have been any better. Even though the weather wasn't the best, it was exactly that which turned the hike into such a memorable one. Looking forward to visiting South Tyrol again in the future, who knows if maybe someday, I will have the chance to revisit the Mutspitze and the Spronserseen when there are not so many clouds in the sky. :)

Highlights of the day: the diversity of Mother Nature

This hike is for you if:

- you’re looking for a challenging day hike

- you want to check out the lake land of the Spronserseen

- you’re looking for some fantastic views over Meran and its surrounding mountains

- you don’t mind plenty of other people on the trail

This hike is not for you if:

- you don’t like to walk along exposed trails

- you’re not a fan of steep, rocky and narrow mountain paths

- you want to get away from civilization

As plenty of people use the trails above Meran, there also were plenty of markings and it wasn't very difficult to find the way. As mentioned above in the blog post already, there are some sections that are recommended for experienced hikers only. Notably, this is the part from the Mutspitze to the Taufenscharte, the descent from the Hochgangscharte to the Hochganghaus and the part on the Meraner Höhenweg from the Leiter Alm to the Muthof. As you should know by now, I'm an experienced hiker and my judgement might be different than yours. So, bear in mind that if you decide to do one of those sections, you should do so only when you have previous experience on similar trails. Especially the descent from the Hochgangscharte is difficult and nothing for newbies. If you suffer from vertigo, all the aforementioned parts are not recommended, as there are exposed paths in every section. In summer, the Oberkaser Alm is open for visitors and might be a good spot for a lunch break. As there are plenty of trails, there also are plenty of possibilities for a lovely day hike. So, have a look on the map beforehand and choose what you want to visit. :) Please note that besides the Hochmuth cable car, there is also one at the Leiter Alm, taking you up or down the mountain. Just make sure to check the timetables, in order to not miss the last one. :)