16.5 km
900 metres ascent
8 hours
34000 steps
After a night of rain battering the roof of the hut, and a forecast of wetness, it was something of a surprise to get up to a bright sunny morning.
Breakfast was again excellent, with an eat as much as you like buffet at this 2802 metre hut. Okay, they do have a goods lift, but this was a good experience. For a small fee we were also allowed to make our own butties for lunch.
The top picture was taken as we set off back down the 700 metre slope/precipice past a number of gruesome memorials to the dam. Thankfully uneventful.
A very pleasant contouring path beside Stausee Mooserboden was marred for me by a stumble that resulted in my camera being bashed. Goodbye Canon G16. I didn't like you anyway.
The other three all have cameras anyway, and hopefully I'll get a little bit of insurance money towards a Not Canon camera.
The next two pictures were taken from more or less the same place amidst magnificent scenery at the inflow to the reservoir. Then it was a pleasurable ascent to the 2639 metre Kapruner pass. On the way we met Johannis, last seen at Krefelder Hut. He was with one of his friends and two lads from the party of seven at Krefelder. They had all made it to Rudolfs Hut, but the other seven had decided to take a bus to Mooserboden before all meeting up again after the 700 metre ascent to Heinrich-Schwaiger-Haus. We set them a 1 hour 20 minute target for the ascent.
Lunch was taken soon after this, our only encounter with anyone between Mooserboden and Rudolfs Hut.
Then it was a steady climb to reach Kapruner Torl (2639 metres) just before the cloud engulfed this narrow notch. A steady contouring descent brought us into clearer weather and eventually a view back up to the pass (fourth picture).
An easy descent and an abrupt ascent - I took the easy route 14 and the others took the quicker route 711 via a ladder and stemples and wires - brought us to Rudolfs Hut. More a sort of well equipped hotel near the top of a cablecar station. The bottom two pictures were taken outside this hostelry, which offers a wide selection of activities and walking routes.
We have an excellent en-suite room for four, and are replete after beer and buffet on Cary's birthday. We will make up for an absence of cake in a couple of days time.
Maps: We are now on Kompass 1:50000 number 46, and that will cover the rest of the trip. We started on the second map of number 50, which covers the Hohe Tauern National Park in three maps.
We also have Alpenvereinskarte maps numbers 36 and 40 - the 1:25000 maps of the area sold through the Austrian Alpine Club.
Lots of interesting flowers have been spotted during the last couple of days, highlights being frog orchid, purple saxifrage, alpine toadflax, round-leaved saxifrage, bearded bellflower, lesser wintergreen, Tofield's asphodel, creeping avens, mountain house leeks, and many more.
Here's hoping that this will transmit more easily than yesterday's effort.
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