Moderately difficult ski tour from Niederthai to the Brand in the Ötztal in Tyrol

This short ski tour is an insider tip around Niederthai in the Ötztal Valley.

The tour starts at the large parking lot in Niederthai, at the beginning of the cross-country ski trails. From there, follow the trail for a short distance toward the impressive avalanche ditch in the southeast. This takes you to the groomed forest road that leads into the Grasstalltal Valley.

The forest road then continues past a moated castle to the signposted junction of the summer trail to the Brand. The red-white-red marked trail now leads uphill to the next forest road, which leads up from the Larstigalm.

Continue along this forest road (there may be shortcuts here) to a small hunting lodge. There, follow the trail that branches off to the right and leads steeply uphill through the increasingly sparse forest. Then, climb over a short ridge to a striking stone with a memorial plaque. You have now reached the end of the tour.

On the descent from the summit, follow the ascent trail only briefly, keeping right immediately after the first shoulder of terrain to reach a long and relatively open powder slope.

Further down in the forest, it's best to stick to the road (a sufficiently thick layer of snow is needed to ski through the dense forest) until you reach the hunting lodge. After the lodge, cross to the right bank of the stream until, after a bend, you reach a meadow with several barns. After descending across the meadow, you return to the forest road, which leads you back to the starting point of the tour.