Tullenkogel (2552m) from Assling

Technical difficulty: 2/10
Fitness: 4/10
Objective danger: 3/10
Landscape: 7/10
Busy: 3/10

A mellow, sunny ski tour above the Pustertal that’s perfect for a shorter winter day, mixed-ability groups, or “let’s just go enjoy ourselves” conditions. The ascent is surprisingly scenic, and the payoff is a wide-open summit with a wooden cross and a big panorama toward the Lienzer Dolomiten. 

Starting point: Wildpark Assling
Ending point: Wildpark Assling
Ascend: 1350vm / 5h
Exposition: mostly south-east

The ski tour to Bärenkopf (bear’s head) is popular for its outstanding views down to Lake Achensee. But despite parts of the route following groomed pistes, it is not a technically easy outing. We prefer to include the Bärenkopf in a larger loop that first visits the Ochsenkopf (ox’ head, also known as Seierjoch), located to the southwest. As a bonus, we also tag the Stanser Joch.

Route:

From the hamlet of Bichl (above Thal on the Pustertaler Höhenstraße), start at the parking at the beginning of the Rodelbahn. 

After the first switchback, leave the forest road and follow the (often) groomed Compedal ski slope uphill. Near the top of the ski slope, the track steepens and you cut through the forest on signed/marked shortcuts (often indicated with red arrows), crossing the toboggan run a couple of times until you reach the Compedal ski hut (~1920 m) in about 1.5 h. 

Above the hut, continue north over moderately steep meadows—mostly without the need for kick turns—toward the broad Compedal area and a small summit/cross, then drop through a shallow dip (there’s a small “dreamy” hut in here). 

Now the tour becomes a simple, scenic ridge climb: follow the wide back/ridge toward the Tullenkogel. In good snow this feels like a cruise; in harsher conditions, the short steeper step before the summit can be the only “wake-up” section. You’ll top out on the high point (2551 m) with a wooden cross.

Descent:

The classic descent is simply back along the ascent track—fast, safe, and easy to manage in changing conditions. 

If you want a bit more variety, there are options to spice it up with adjacent lines around the Compedal area (see GPS for an example), but the “default” out-and-back is the reason this tour works so well as an easy-day pick.

Photos by @the.running.nomad, @bennibru and @annikasuess