The Martell Valley’s educational glacier trail
General
The educational glacier trail begins at the end of the road close to the Enzian hut, and is a round walk that is around 10 km long and which involves an ascent of almost 600m. The route has been divided into 9 sections; a resting place has been created at the end of each of these sections. The walk will take a reasonably seasoned walker between 4 and 5 hours, including stops at the observation points.Overview of the individual sections of path:
| Section no. |
Section of path |
Average walking time (not including breaks) in min. |
| 1:
| From the end of the road to the Zufallhütte cabin |
30 |
| 2:
| From the Zufallhütte cabin to the Plima wall (*) |
15 |
| 3:
| From the Plima wall to the waterfall |
15 |
| 4:
| Ascent to the valley uplands |
30 |
| 5:
| To the terminus of the Hohenferner glacier |
30 |
| 6:
| From the glacier terminus to the left moraine |
15 |
| 7:
| From the moraine to the Martell hut |
15 |
| 8:
| From the Martell hut to the Plima wall |
30 |
| 9:
| From the Plima wall to the former Hotel Paradiso al Cevedale |
30 |
*an additional 15-20 minutes should be added if you wish to see the Plima gorge. Stage 1
After parking your car in one of the parking spaces, follow the path in the direction of the Zufallhütte. This was built in 1882 by the Dresden section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club (DuÖAV). Today it is owned by the Milan section of the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI). In 1927, the Milan section of the CAI renovated the hut, extended it in 1929 and named it “Rifugio Nino Corsi” in memory of the skier and alpinist.
Nearby there is a small church and some ruins, evidence of a building complex that housed the Austrian military command during the 1st World War.
Observations:
From the hut we can see cliffs with lots of scratches on them. These were caused by material from the moraine, which was pushed from the glacier into the valley around 7000 years ago.
Stage 2
After the Zufallhütte, the path leads on directly to the cliff wall opposite, then follows an easy mule track to the valley terrace where a view of the mountains can be seen with Monte Cevedale towering above them. You then reach the second station. Large blocks of stone were used on the left-hand side of the dam wall; the year 1893 is chiselled into one of these stone blocks. This dam wall was constructed to withstand the impact of the escaping water masses.
Observations:
One significant feature of the landscape, which strongly characterises the right-hand side of the valley, is formed by a large ledge on which are the Schran and Ultenmarktferner glaciers. Large moraines have been deposited in the centre of the valley, caused by the ice fronts of the Cevedale and Langenferner glaciers and which date back to the Little Ice Age.
Stage 3
Before crossing the dam wall, it is possible to make a short detour to the start of the gorge, which the Plima has carved into the valley floor. You can walk on the bank of the stream to the tunnel in the cliffs.
Cross the dam wall right to the end and pass over a small bridge to the foot of the cliff wall and a waterfall that was formed from the waters of the Hohenferner. The resting place is located here.>
Observations:
The chaotic pile of scree and the small boggy area are immediately noticeable; these were definitely deposited recently.
Stage 4
This section of the path is the most difficult of the entire walk, as it goes over the 200 m high rocky rise so as to reach the terrace lying above it (path no. 37). From here the landscape looks wonderful: the view to the Königspitze is magnificent.
Observations:
You can see a wide flat area, which ends in a row of terraces that correspond to the various phases of erosion. Of particular interest in this area are several moraine walls arranged in concentric form, which were formed by the glacial pools of the Hohenferener and Ultenmarktferner glaciers.
Stage 5
Follow the path, and after passing by a small but typical pool of water, climb up to the flat area in front of the large side moraine. Soon you will reach those rocky rises above which the terminus of the Hohenferner glacier is located.
The resting place is located at 2670m near a strikingly yellow marking: it is one of the markings used by the employees of the “Service for measuring glaciers in the South Tyrol” (Dienst zur Gletschervermessung in Südtirol) to measure the changes in the glacier’s terminus.
Observations:
The area immediately surrounding the terminus of a glacier is always unique due to its wild beauty: this also applies to the edge of the Hohenferner glacier. A recently formed moraine wall is of interest. It is to be ascribed to the expansion of the glacier around 1985. The distance between the terminus of the glacier and the edge of the moraine wall corresponds to how far the glacier has retreated in the last few years.
Stage 6
Walking along the edge of the glacier, you will be able to see some of its typical features, such as its structure, its colour, its striking layers and the form of its edge as well as the appearance of the lower section. This section of the path may be described as the highlight of the entire educational glacier trail. Following the left-hand glacial stream, you will reach the bottom of the little valley. A path makes walking easier, and leads to a large boulder at the part of the moraine crest where the resting place is located.
Observations:
The panoramic view of the ice front as well as of the interior of the valley bordered by the two large lateral moraines is interesting.
Stage 7
From this last resting place, climb down the outside of the moraine, and follow the steep track close by to reach the Martellerhütte. This new hut (opened in 1981) belongs to the sections of the South Tirol Alpine Club. It is in a location with extremely good views above the lynchet. It is an important starting point for many different climbs to significant summits: Cevedale, Vendigerspitzen and via Fürkelescharte to the Pejo Valley in Trentino.
Observations:
From the hut, you can admire the glacial pool of the Fürkele (in particular the moraines) and the Cevedaleferner, which is bordered by the rocky ridge and leads to the Zufallspitze. Finally, in a clockwise direction, you will see the large glacial pool of the Langferner glacier.
Stage 8
From the Martellerhütte, path 103 leads back down into the valley. Here you can see numerous moraine deposits in the central part of the valley only several hundred metres from the dam wall. The outermost wall indicates the presence of a glacier snout, which reached to approx. 2300m. Walk along the Plima stream, which rises from the Hohenferner waterfall, and you will reach the dam wall via a bridge.
Observations:
This resting place is located between those of the 3rd and 4th stages.
Stage 9
From the dam wall, return back to the Zufallhütte and follow the path to the finish near to the Hotel Paradiso. This was built in the years 1933-35 and opened to visitors in 1937. In the 2nd World War the hotel was the headquarters of the German military command. In 1952, it was purchased by an Italian who renovated it and painted the outer wall red. The Fuchs family took it over in 1966.
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