I met Connor once six years ago in Vancouver to shoot for his photography project, Project Pilgrim, which he completed in support of mental health before walking the Camino de Santiago across northern Spain back in 2016. On his way to walk the Camino once again this summer, he made a few stops throughout Europe, one of them being Austria, so it made sense for us to figure out a way to spend a weekend together in the mountains.
I'm currently living in Salzburg and he was making his way through Italy and Slovenia before heading to Switzerland, France and Spain, so we met up in the little mountain city of Innsbruck, in the heart of Tyrol, home to exceptional scenery and some stunning hiking trails.
Even though the forecast said rain, when we made our way above the clouds of the Zirbenweg, one of the most famous trails above Innsbruck, we were greeted with sunshine and blue skies overlooking the city.
ZIRBENWEG HIKE DETAILS
When: June to October
Where: trail begins at the top of the Patscherkofelbahn gondola and traverses the Tux Alps to reach the top of the Glungezerbahn gondola
Difficulty: easy
Length: the hike is 9.31km, including the extra bit up to Zirbensee, which took us just over 2 hours
Directions: the trail is really well marked with yellow sign posts all along the route between the two gondolas; an interactive map can be found here
Bathrooms: yes, in the hut near the Glungezerbahn gondola, as well as at the middle station on the way back down the Glungezerbahn
Public Transit: take the J bus from Innsbruck to the Patscherkofelbahn gondola and ride it to the top (€30 roundtrip per adult). The Zirbenweg is well-marked and, with minimal elevation gain, traverses vertically to the top of the Glungezerbahn gondola, which you ride back down to the bottom. The 4134 bus drops you back at Innsbruck Hbf.
