Mt. Similaun is above all known due to Oetzi the Iceman, who was found on the 3,210 m high Giogo di Tisa saddle in 1991. As the mountain belongs to two national territories, first it was not sure whether Oetzi should be awarded to Italy or Austria. Nowadays, however, the world-famous mummy can be visited at the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology in Bolzano, and on the place of discovery there has been established a giant obelisk. The first ascent of Mt. Similaun in the Oetztal Alps took place in 1834. Theodor Kaserer, a priest, and Josef Raffeiner, an alpine guide, were the first to scale this mountain, starting from Madonna di Senales in the Val Senales valley.

For alpinists, Mt. Similaun is one of the classic peaks to scale in the Oetztal Alps. Ascending from South Tyrol, the route starts from Lake Vernago in the Val Senales valley and leads to the Similaun Mountain Hut (3,019 m a.s.l.). From there, the tour proceeds on coarse gravel, until reaching the exposed and steep summit ridge at 3,599 m a.s.l. High alpine equipment as well as rope partners are a must due to crevasses! The formerly popular north face routes are not longer in use because of the danger of falling rocks due to glacier retreatment.