Stubai mountain lakes: Turmferner See

Description

Just a few decades in age, this glacial scour lake stands at 2,890 metres above sea level. Lake Turmferner was formed by the most recent retreat of the glacier known as “Turmferner”. This glacier forged its basin and filled it with its own melted snow and ice. Even after the most recent ice age, lakes of this type have continued to spring up in many different places. One prominent example is Lake Constance. The water found in Lake Turmferner is clouded by what is known as “glacial milk” – water that contains very fine stone deposits that have been ground by the ice. Its surface area spans approximately 14,500 m² and is situated in the barren high-mountain landscape beneath the “Apere Turm”. Despite its location at nearly 3,000 metres above sea level, its summit can be reached without having to traverse a glacier. That is why its name includes the term “aper”, meaning snow-free. The lake’s surrounding landscape is dominated by glacial deposits and moraines, the scars left behind by once-mighty glaciers. Lake Turmferner is roughly 175 metres long and 100 metres wide.

TOUR DESCRIPTION
Follow the summer path on many winding paths, initially briefly through trees, until you reach the Alpeiner Alm, from where the Franz-Senn Hut is already visible. The hut can be reached in about 1.5 hours. From the Franz-Senn Hut, continue along the stream in the direction of Alpeiner Ferner. On the Alpeiner Ferner plateau, at approximately 2,500 metres, the trail leads to the lateral moraine, in the direction of the Verborgener Berg Ferner. Continue along the path in the direction of the Aperer Turm. Shortly below the summit, you reach Turmferner See lake. The walking time from the Franz-Senn Hut is about 3 hours. The same route leads back to the starting point.