Verbella AlpOn the way to the Verbella Alp, the hike takes you across a number of big and small ditches which empty into the Verbella Brook. On its course from the Verbellner Winterjoechle to where it flows into the Zeinis Brook, it is fed by the Schaftaelitobel, the Bruellende Seetobel, the Aelpletobel, the Scheidseetobel and the Tschuggatobelbach. About 700 meters into the valley in the direction of Verbella – Alpe, the path runs along the river bed of the Verbella Brook. Here you will cross the pressure tunnel which runs from the Kops Reservoir through the Versal Massif and then below the Tafamunt down to the Kops I cavern power plant. A good 400 meters down the trail there is a small hut sitting directly on the Verbella Brook. It serves to divert water from the Verbella Brook into the Kops Reservoir. Above where the water is diverted, the water flow of the brook is unequally higher. On the mountain side, a smaller brook flows in its erosion gulley down to the Verbella Brook.
Of course hunting plays a considerable role in a community like Gaschurn with great expanses of land. Altogether there are 17 hunting grounds within the municipal territory of Gaschurn. Two of them are co-operative hunting grounds while 15 are private hunting grounds. The first reports about hunting come from around the year 1300 when the Walsers started to settle in the valleys and the highlands that had been occupied by the Romanians up until then. After walking for about 3 km on the Tyrolean side, the path heads back towards Vorarlberg, leaving the Verbellner Winterjoechle behind and heading towards the Gaschurn Winterjoechle. Soon the path takes us towards the end of the valley along the Valschaviel Brook. Some of the scenes from the movie “Der Bergkristall” by Peter Vilsmair were filmed here in the spring and summer of 2004. With a few props, the May field settlement was turned into the impoverished mountain farm from the story. The surrounding mountains are an impressive background with their snowy and sometimes scary winter faces. It was no wonder that the people that lived in the Alps made the effort to drive their cattle up to the various mountain pastures year after year. It wasn’t possible to survive on the high May fields all year round and yet they wanted to take advantage of the vast mountain pastures and hay fields.
Audiofile
P13-1 Verbella Alp.mp3
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