Val Gardena hut tour: Through the Puez Geisler Nature Park to the Rasciesa hut
Sissi Pärsch
· 01.07.2025
St. Christina/Gröden, 2 pm. The August sun beats down on our bellies filled with polenta and pizza. A slight sense of unease spreads through me. We have a few kilograms in our stomachs, but not a kilometre in our legs yet. It's 2 p.m. and our e-MTBs are still resting virginly at the fence. The South Tyrolean girls Michi and Ellis aren't too bothered by this.
Ellis shrugs her shoulders. Nothing and nobody is pushing us, she says. On the contrary: "In August, you can only escape the crowds if you drive acyclically." August - that has a slightly reproachful undertone. She has little sympathy for the fact that we have decided to visit her in the high season. We should have come to Val Gardena in May or June, she says, "or in autumn, when the colours are different every day". Ellis and her husband Wolly run the small Kedul Lodge in S. Cristina, one of the most bike-crazy places in Val Gardena. Today, however, she gets to lie down in her own made-up bed at the Raschötzhütte.
I'm fascinated by the Dolomites even in the height of summer - and Michi doesn't even seem to mind the hustle and bustle. She has come over from nearby Val Pusteria and is having a great time at the Val Gardena tourist show. Strolling, photographing and discussing groups of senior citizens. Hikers standing in line at the bus stop with their walking sticks. Desperate parents, unmotivated children.
"And besides," says Ellis as she finally grabs her helmet, "it's enough if we're up at the hut for dinner." She's right, of course. About everything. As we follow her into the Puez-Geisler Nature Park, into the beautiful Langental valley, the hikers are already coming out again. We head uphill on narrow paths. The Geisler peaks soon appear in front of us, while the mighty north face of the Langkofel covers our backs on the opposite side of the valley. It is always so difficult to believe that the Dolomites are real. These rock formations, the soaring needles and peaks, the furrowed pinnacles and pinnacles. In front of them, lush green meadows and tanned barns. Everything is so perfect.
Charge your batteries at the Danielhütte
However, our batteries are by no means full. The steep stretches have really taken their toll. So Michi reminds us to stop at the Danielhütte after 800 metres in altitude and recharge. We're only halfway through the route. Michi says we should definitely play it safe. "We have no choice but to stop for a bite to eat," she says with great sacrifice. So we sit in the warm afternoon sun with spritzers and strudel in cosy lounges and look out over the Sella and Sassolungo - a view that makes you dizzy.
The downhill is then really fun on a potpourri of forest and dirt tracks and narrow paths, all of which are very smooth to ride. We roll through Ortisei in the valley before heading back up to our destination. We are getting calmer. The evening is slowly approaching. The silence is beautiful and the feeling of sharing the mountain with just a few people is even better. Finally, the hut appears in front of us. It is situated on a wide high alpine pasture on a mountain ridge in the midst of an incredible backdrop. Directly opposite stands - mighty and immovable - the Sassolungo, with the Sella massif to its left and the Alpe di Siusi to its right.
The last day guests are just saying goodbye to landlord David Piazza. It is small, his hut at 2170 metres above Val Gardena. It has just 28 beds. We are sharing the Ütia de Resciesa with five Belgian hikers who are stopping here on their three-day Dolorama tour. And with a couple in love who are snuggling up in the corner and have probably reserved the double room. We are accommodated in a quadruple room. David serves up a generous and sumptuous meal: Goat's cream cheese, roast potatoes, vegetables, ribs, steak.
What David has to offer here is a dream. The shower water is warm, the beer from Bavaria, the food sensational, the duvet freshly made. We soon retire to it - the night will be short, even without odour- and noise-intensive roommates. The alarm clock buzzes in the dark. It would be a sin to miss a sunrise at over 2000 metres in the Dolomites. In the twilight, we pedal the short ascent to the Außerraschötz summit and sit down under the massive cross. Then it comes. Blood red and mighty. It rises right between the Peitlerkofel and Geisler peaks, sending its first rays towards the Sella massif and the Langkofel, while the Villnöss valley and the Plose are still in the dark. It is a sunrise that will stay with us. We talk little, photograph a lot.
Although we've been on our feet for a while, the real awakening moment doesn't come until after breakfast at David's (which is, of course, too hearty again): Michi christens trail number 35 the "Wachrüttler Trail" and is completely blissful. It's a trail to her liking: rocky slabs of rock, technical narrow sections, tremendous views. At the Tschan meadows, the ground becomes soft and your fingers can let go. It's crazy! Sunrise, breakfast in the hut, a kilometre-long trail through the solitude. And it's not yet 10 o'clock when we reach civilisation in Val Gardena.
After the trail descent over to the Schlern
Our senses first have to get used to the noise level and the traffic again. Just quickly from one side to the next, up to the Seiser Alm. The anticipation is great on the way up. After all, the high plateau is as famous as the Kastelruther Spatzen. However - as we discover after a relaxed, quiet ascent - it is actually just as popular. The crowds wander along the tarmac roads and the horse-drawn carriages clatter along. I am irritated, Michi is amused: "Look what there is to see here. It's really exciting." Ellis laughs, I shake my head. How good it is to be able to make rapid progress on an e-MTB ...
At the Mahlknechthütte, however, we turn off in the right direction. The tarmac is behind us - and so are the crowds of tourists. The more beautiful the paths, the fewer the people. At the foot of the Plattkofel we stop off at the Zallinger Hof, watch the Haflingers grazing and the Dolomites being beautiful. It is an incredible mountain range. All three of us have already experienced a few corners of it. But the two days with overnight stays in mountain huts have left a very different impression. Speaking of two days ... The final trail spits us out in St. Christina at almost the same time as we started the day before. You can hardly pack 24 hours more into a day.
Day 1: From S. Cristina to the Rasciesa hut
- Length: 28 kilometres
- Uphill: 1867 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 1189 metres in depth
The route starts flat from S. Cristina in Val Gardena into the Vallunga, which branches off towards the north-east at Selva in the Puez Group. From the valley floor, however, you soon make a U-turn and head uphill below the ruins of Selva Castle (spectacularly clinging to the rocks of Monte Stevia). Take paths 298 and 299 to the Danielhütte, where you can recharge your batteries.
Downhill, you follow trail no. 298 and finally reach the forest road via Peza and trails no. 6 and 9b, which climbs around 800 metres in altitude from Ortisei to the Rasciesa hut. If you have tired legs or a weak battery, take the funicular railway in Ortisei.
Day 2: Via Seiser Alm back to St. Christina
- Length: 41.7 kilometres
- Uphill: 1460 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 2138 metres in depth
Maximum concentration is required right at the start from the Raschötzhütte: trail 35 from the Raschötzhütte turns out to be a real wake-up call with its stone field. It becomes really gentle over the Tschan meadows before descending into the forest. At the Pineder Kreuz junction, branch off onto the 8A and finally via the 9 to the industrial zone of Pontives. The route runs alongside the motorway and the Val Gardena stream for a while before climbing up to the Alpe di Siusi on the other side of the valley before reaching Runggaditsch. At Compatsch you change to path 253 - there is a lot going on here. From the Mahlknechthütte and the Rifugio Zallinger (both have charging stations), the route becomes more secluded. Finally, follow trail no. 223 to St. Christina, but turn off onto trail no. 30 for the finale.
Info bike area Val Gardena
Arrival
The 25-kilometre Val Gardena can be reached by car via the Brennero motorway, exit Chiusa/Klausen/Gröden. The mountain road winds its way for about 20 minutes to Ortisei, S. Cristina and Selva Gardena. You can also get to Bolzano very easily by long-distance bus and train. Then take the South Tyrol transfer to Val Gardena/Gröden, suedtiroltransfer.com
Accommodation
The legendary Kedul Lodge run by biker couple Ellis and Wolly Mussner is located in S. Cristina, tel. 0039/0471/793308, kedul-lodge.com
The Rasciesa hut (Ladin: Ütia de Resciesa)
The house is located at 2164 metres above Ortisei. A funicular railway leads up to the high plateau - it is 1.4 kilometres from the summit station to the hut. The wooden building was completely rebuilt in 2010 and offers appropriate (alpine) comfort. The landlord David is also an excellent cook and outstanding host. The hut offers a total of 40 beds. From double rooms with private bathroom to a dormitory with 14 (double) beds. Overnight stay from 65 euros. Info: Tel. 0039/328/3345986, rifugioresciesa.com
The GPX data for the tour
BIKE subscribers can download the GPS data free of charge: bike-magazin.de then under "My area".
