Gumriaul

Description

The Gumriaul hides in the sunny side of Pustertal, way above the wonderfully located town of Anras (1262 m). A distinct ridge with a vertical wide gap brings it and its northerly neighbour, the Gölbner, together. The south-facing ski terrain of the Gumriaul is extensive and inviting, even if there is a five kilometre forest trail to tackle at the start. This and the at times poor snow quality may be the reasons why the Gumriaul leads a really very isolate existence in the winter. Starting point is the little hamlet of Goll (1245 m). From the area bypassing the Abfaltersbach we head on to the Pustertal alpine road and follow  this through the village of Asch which provides plenty of view, until after around 2.5 km a road sign to the left shows the way to the village. Having reached the last farmhouses the road once again bears left (west) and proceeds above the superb fields to Kollreid farmstead (pay attention to the yellow signposts). Just before this, where the road proceeds down slightly, a forest trail now bears right to Ascher Alm (barriers, not many parking options). The sparsely signposted forest road (2a) is the ascent and we do not leave it until we reach the inn. After 1 ½ hours we get to the inn and the yellow signposts take us east to the little Wiesensattel (1942 m) beneath the Spielbichl. The goods road ends here and we keep proceeding around the mountain ridge in a northerly direction into Mühlbachgraben. After a crossing which takes in an ascent, the terrain becomes steeper and heads left in hairpin bends from Mühlbachl into the mountains via a lovely trough system. From 2400 m there is the option to cross to the east to the superb Anraser See or to continue to use the little narrow valley to get to the trapezoid-shaped summit structure. The subsequent steep and often windswept southern slope (up to 35°) should only be tackled when conditions are safe, otherwise it is recommended that you avoid this and ascend via the left (west), not-too-difficult summit ridge, where, along the summer trail we get to the highest point which has a wooden cross (4-5 hours from the valley). Ski storage available depending upon the conditions. Descent along the ascent track.

Additional ski tour tips can be obtained in the ski tour guides by Thomas Mariacher. These are available here: http://www.grafikzloebl.at/verlag/buecher/