Hiking the Wankspitze – best mountain views in Tirol?

Nobody said that the Wankspitze would be easy. Yes, its name is interesting and depending on how you pronounce it you could potentially joke about it – but the Wankspitze as a hike, on the other hand, is no joke at all.

Kurzgesagt (in a nutshell)

The first half of the hiking route goes easy, until the Lehnberghaus. The second half to the summit, is much steeper and more rugged. The Wankspitze (2,208m) is a summit of the Mieming Range in Tirol. It separates the Griessspitzen to the north from the Mieming Plateau to the south. The Lehnberghaus is a private hut, situated at 1554m, and open both in summer as well as winter for sledding (rodeln).

Let’s take it from the start

As you can see in the map above, you start the hike from the parking lot next to the Gasthaus Arzkasten. This is a municipal car park where you have to pay, but a day ticket is just 4 euros and totally worth it, because this particular hike takes a while. Nevertheless, if you have a Welcome Card, parking is free. Guests just have to put the card behind the wind screen or get a free parking ticket at the tourist info. Unless you’re planning to grab a cold beer at the Gasthaus Arzkasten, which means you’re probably in the wrong post? Where was I?

Oh yeah, parking lot. Pretty spacious and well taken care of and you will not have any issues finding a spot, unless it’s a day with very good weather or a bank holiday. Remember, the early bird catches the worm.

On your way up, stop and look around © Paul Pastourmatzis

Detail of the Mieming mountain range © Paul Pastourmatzis

The way up the Wankspitze

The entire distance that you will be hiking is approximately 6.2km, from the parking lot to the summit. More than half of this distance is on a dirt road that leads up to the Lehnberghaus. You should definitely enjoy this while it lasts, because the trail will become steeper and possibly quite challenging for some.

Personally, the Wankspitze always gets to me too. The trick is a steady pace and controlled breathing. Concentrate on the path and don’t get distracted. Well, you CAN get distracted by the views. And you could be tempted to whip out your phone or camera and snap some shots. I’d say you shouldn’t, but you really should (#sorrynotsorry).

Also worth mentioning (for the more experienced or adventurous hikers) is that there is a second way to reach the Wankspitze and come up from behind it through a Klettersteig (via ferrata) route. Just follow the signs for this when you reach Lehnberghaus.

You come up this way. Or is it down? © Paul Pastourmatzis

Lehnberghaus

A really cozy hut (under new management) with great local food and delicatessen, it’s definitely a great motivation for the first 1 ½ hour walk. For any of our readers that like to be more comfortable or save some strength for the rest of the hike, there’s a bus every second Thursday.

Also very important to mention is that the Lehnberghaus has overnight accommodation too, so you can spend some awesome days and nights on the mountain (why not?).

Hey! There’s no time to lose now though; we must continue to the top.

Lacke (Panorama Platform)

I don’t really need to say much here. One can see the entire Mieming Sonnenplateau (sun plateau – guess why!), as well the Inn valley, and on a clear day all the way to the Pitztal glacier (just make sure you bring some binoculars with you). Here’s a visual representation of that last sentence.

Panorama. What are you waiting for? © Paul Pastourmatzis

Through the trees next to Lacke © Paul Pastourmatzis

Almost at the top of the Wankspitze

After that quick break and the taste of what’s to come (the route between Lehnberghaus and Lacke), it’s time to march on. The path becomes narrower; the hike becomes steeper and a bit more rocky. Make sure you plant your steps properly as stones could actually be very slippery (even in dry/hot weather). If you have hiking sticks, I’d definitely suggest you take them with.

There’s only one way from here and that’s up. As I mentioned earlier, stay focussed on the path, with steady rhythm and breathing. It’s only a matter of time until you reach the top – actually another 1 ½ hour worth of your time. But after that, you get to see all this:

All the way down to Ötztal and the Pitztal glacier © Paul Pastourmatzis

The Wankspitze from the distance © Paul Pastourmatzis

The view from above the Wankspitze © Paul Pastourmatzis

That’s what you see through a telephoto lens © Paul Pastourmatzis

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