Collett’s Walks in Ehrwald: The Igels Torn
27th August 2024
The Igels Torn – All You Need to Know About This Popular Walk in the Austrian Alps
The Igels Torn, or Hedgehog Pass, is one of the most popular walks of our centre-based Austria walking holidays. This ‘off the beaten track’ gem of a route provides you with super views back to the Wetterstein mountains. The rugged wilderness of the higher landscape seems worlds apart from the gentle pastures below.
The walk passes lakes, forests, and alpine moonscapes, and allows for spectacular views of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. These photos are from a recent visit with a fabulous group of guests, including a number from a Yorkshire walking group. The weather has been fantastic here, so it was a particularly hot day, but this did nothing to put off this bunch of intrepid explorers!
Walking the Igels Torn in the Austrian Alps
We begin our journey in the charming village of Ehrwald, our base during this Collett’s holiday. The Ehrwalder Bahn, an 8-seater cable car, takes us to the Ehrwalder Alm, a starting point for numerous hiking tours. Located at a whopping 1.500m above sea level, this is a fantastic spot to take in the spectucalr views over the Zugspitz Arena.
We began our walk along the path behind the cable car station and hiked up past the Alpenglühn hut. The trail got steeper when we were approaching the first lake of our day: Igelsee (which translates to Hedgehog lake!).
After walking past the Igelsee, we took the path down past the lake’s edge to make our way towards Igelskar, the highest point of our hike today. However, before we started our ascend, we stopped for a short packed lunch break at the Breitenkopf Hütte, a tiny hut build right at the foot of the Igelskar. The views over the Zugspitz Arena were breathtaking!
Scaling the Igels Torn
We continued our walk up towards the peak of the Igels Torn. The rugged landscape of the higher part of the walk are particularly popular. Every time we have visited, we have been lucky enough to see large herds of Gams or Chamoix, and this visit was no exception. At one point we could see more than twenty!
After braving the short scree descent we stopped to view the wreckage of a Second World War American Bomber. The B-24 Liberator was shot down in August 1944, and crashed near the Brendlsee, where much of it remains.
The Brendlsee is the second lake of the day. It’s a beautiful spot, and a great place to cool down on a hot day. A perfect finish to a great walk with new friends!
Many thanks to Sam, one of our local hosts and walk organisers, for the excellent photos and blog.
Join us in the Austrian Alps!
The Igels Torn walks is part of our challenging Walk Pack for our centre-based walking holidays in the Austrian Alps. When joining us on one of these uniquely flexible walking holidays, we’ll provide you with a selection of tried and tested walks such as this one. So, when will you be heading to the mountains?
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