Farewell to the Austrian Alps

Friday 21 July 2017

An 'easy' journey home. Usual 7 am breakfast. It would be good to maintain that habit.

8.06 bus to Kitzbühel. I had the receipt for €56 for four passengers on that very bus. But the receipt was not a ticket. "Schisse internet" expleted the driver, who reluctantly let us on.

It was a lovely sunny morning, but not a good driver, for whom the cloud that engulfed Mittersill was more appropriate. We'd dropped into the cloud inversion, but by the time we reached Kitzbühel at 9.20 it was sunny and hot again, for the rest of the day.

After coffee etc and lunch provisions in Baguette, outside which a classic car drew up, we caught the 10.35 to Wörgl where we swapped platforms for the train to Munich Ost, where we should change for the airport.

The train duly paused at Munich Ost, but a lack of urgency on the part of my laid back companions led to the doors shutting just as we were about to disembark.
"Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring"....

Thus we spent the next hour travelling there and back from Munich Central rather than in a café outside Munich Ost.

Never mind, having got to the airport - a vast and somewhat confusing place, I had to wait for an hour before I could drop the hold bag, with all its dangerous contents, off at the easyJet bag drop.

After quite a long queue for passport control, and a search for explosives, we got to the gate in plenty of time. This part of the journey went perfectly smoothly and Penny kindly picked us all up from the airport.

A most enjoyable trip.

Home by 7.30.

Austria - Day 12

Thursday 20 July 2017 - Sankt Poltener Hut to Matreier Tauern Haus (1512 metres)

8.5 km
200 metres ascent
3.5 hours
16000 steps

Marie served us the usual breakfast for a hut that doesn't have a goods lift - bread, sliced meat, cheese, jam, etc plus as much tea and coffee as you like, and even some specially made hot chocolate for Cary.

Then a delay until 8 o'clock when they could check that Markus had actually paid a deposit when he booked on our behalf.

A sunny walk from the start. We climbed to a small summit, Weinbicht (2545 metres), then gradually descended after a contouring section featuring the final snow patch of the trip.

Saxifrage and mouse-ear were growing amongst the rocks. There were lots of large, curious sheep, and fine views across the valley to Gross Venediger.

The path passed three picturesque lakes, Grauer See, Schwarzer See and Gruner See, with tumbling cascades in between them and reflected mountains within them.

We loitered for some time on a bench beside the lower lake, enjoying the mountain scenery from a little below 2000 metres for the first time for many days.

Several groups were ascending. Perhaps Sankt Poltener Hut would do some lunchtime business.

The path wove its way down the valley, with a little bogginess as we passed through cow pastures. Then it threaded in and out of pines, emerging at a car park from where a short stroll brought us to the hamlet of Tauer, where sadly our twelve day trek drew to a conclusion.

We arrived before midday, so had plenty of time to enjoy a lavish lunch before catching the 13.10 bus to Matrei.

The Matreier Taurnhaus came up trumps. Sue and I enjoyed a superb salad of goats cheese, red onion, lettuce, cauliflower, carrot and button mushrooms with a large crouton,  whilst chickens wandered beneath the tables.

The bus delivered us to the door of Hotel Hinteregger, where a cup of tea was enjoyed before a little bit of washing to make us acceptable for the journey home.

Outside, a violent thunderstorm obscured the mountains. We have been very lucky!

A lazy afternoon was followed by a sociable evening with the Collett's staff and clients who are based here, in particular it as good to catch up properly with Graham and Mary, who we hope to see here next year. It's a great location.

Austria - Day 11

Wednesday 19 July 2017 - Neue Prager Hütte to Sankt Poltener Hut (2481 metres)

15 km
700 metres ascent
8.25 hours
30000 steps

It was a busy morning for breakfast at the Neue Prager Hut. Not our favourite hut of the trip, but I suppose the remote situation of the hut and the nature of their clientele (mainly climbers, often novices, going up Gross Venediger) dictates a fairly rigid and impersonal regime. Quite a contrast to Badener Hut.

Armed with well provisioned packed lunches, we set off with a number of others at around 8.15 after Cary had suffered an unsatisfactory phone call with his bank.

It was unexpectedly spitting with rain. In fact the morning was mostly cool and cloudy, though at one point the sun shone brightly enough for lots of sun cream to be applied.

There were wired sections that dictated a slow pace on a day on which after leaving the main path at Alte Prager hut we only saw four people all day - on the river bed above Venediger Haus - presumably hunting for minerals. A brutal 300 metre ascent up a wide stream bed followed this near encounter.

A couple of tricky snow slopes presented themselves. Justification for bringing axes and crampons, although Sue was the only one of us who took full advantage, using her Yaktrax to cross a steep slope that the rest of us found a way around.

Lunch was taken out of the cool breeze at a path junction leading to Innergschloss.

The  weather then turned - into a glorious sunny afternoon. The shiny noses of curious sheep and cows were adored by Sue. The path contoured with gentle undulations on a superb belvedere route over mixed ground. From grassy corries to rough boulderfields, care needed at times; Cary fell off the path at one point. Ouch!

There weren't quite as many varieties of flowers on today's route, but spring gentians were fairly dominant. Lots of marmots were seen, as well as a pair of Bartgeier eagles, whose massive wingspans floated above us for a while.

Eventually we passed under some incongruous power pylons and found ourselves confronted by today's destination.

Tea and apfelstrudel were enjoyed on the sunny verandah whilst we waited for Cary, who was solving his banking problems lower down the path with the last vestiges of his phone signal.

We are the only visitors tonight and are almost outnumbered by the staff at this 'off the main drag' place. We have the luxury of two separate rooms, so nobody is resigned to a top bunk, and Cary is sharing with me.

There are no showers but the washroom does have warm water.

Best soup of the trip - many different vegetables - then bauerngerösta mit spiegelei (fried potato and bacon bits with an egg on top), followed by peaches cake. Excellent.

Austria - Day 10

Tuesday 18 July 2017 - Badener Hut to Neue Prager Hütte (2796 metres)

11 km
1000 metres ascent
6.25 hours
20000 steps

For those who went up Innerer Knorrkogl, add 0.75 km and 100 metres ascent. The 30 minutes taken is included in the 6.25 hour timing above.

Verena and Marco provided a more basic breakfast than usual, as much tea, coffee, bread, ham, cheese and a selection of jams as you want, with - for a small charge - a self made sandwich for lunch.

It was a perfect blue sky morning, suitable for t-shirt and shorts but not too hot up at 2600 metres.

We set off at our usual time of 8 am, waved off with a present of soap from Verena and Marco (who are pictured with us outside the hut) and took an hour and a half to amble 3 km to the only col of the day, Lobbentorl (2770 metres), adorned with war and other memorials and a large crucifix.

En route were some formidable banks of flowers, including one of the biggest stands of edelweiss we've ever seen. That was after big banks of sticky primroses and banks of leopardsbane. The views into the green valley that descends to Gruben were lovely, with just the occasional distraction of some short and easy wired sections where the path encountered a steep drop.

Sue and Susan toddled off to climb Innerer Knorrkogl, a summit a hundred metres higher than the col. Meanwhile Cary and I admired splendid views across the Schlatenkees glacier to our objective for the day, Neue Prager Hütte, perched in the distance on a rocky outcrop.

From the green of the view to the south we now moved down towards the glacier and the brown and grey rockfields and debris that accompany it. It was easy going through the rockfield to reach a good path along the lateral moraine. Sue and Susan debated a shortcut across the glacier that's described in Allan Hartley's Cicerone guide. They eventually decided against it, and we now think the route is no longer safely possible due to the receding glacier.

A group of six Brits was encountered. They were heading to Badener Hütte. We are currently sitting exactly where they were last night in Neue Prager Hut. But this is being sent Much Later due to technical problems.

Quite a number of people were seen today, as we're in an area from which people ascend the Venediger summits.

After a 400 metre ascent, from the valley bottom, we paused at the Alte Prager Hut, a derelict building on which some sort of renovation work is taking place. A pause to enjoy a bird's eye view of the glacier was obligatory.

A gentle rocky path then led up the final 300 metres in 35 minutes to our home for the night, reached at 2.15.

The hut is less rustic and more impersonal than last night's abode, but quite acceptable nonetheless. We enjoyed tea and apfelstrudel before installing ourselves in room 7.

Dinner was good, and yahtse followed like a bad penny.

Austria - Day 9

Monday 17 July 2017 - Bonn Matreier Hut to Badener Hut (2608 metres)

10.5 km
700 metres ascent
7 hours
22000 steps

For those who went up Rauhkopf, add 1.5 km and 300 metres ascent. The extra 1.5 hours is included in the 7 hour timing.

Waking to a perfect blue sky day, windless and warmer than yesterday, we were breakfasted and away by 8 o'clock. There's no packed lunch option here but they are happy for us to make butties from the breakfast buffet. The food is excellent, with last night's choice of three desserts luring most guests into having a bit of each.

After exploring a small chapel near the hut, we set off along the path to our first col of the day, Kalberscharte. Shortly before reaching that, a path left the main route to climb the 3070 metre summit of Rauhkopf. The others were intent on bagging this minor summit. I joined them until the rock became uncomfortably steep. So I'm sitting now in bright sunshine - no shade available - in the rocky coire between Kalberscharte and our next obstacle, Galtenscharte, from which I'm led to believe will be the trickiest descent of this entire trip.

The third picture down is the view from my rocky stance deployed whilst I waited for an hour and a half for the others to climb Rauhkopf.

Once they reappeared, it was a short boulder hop to the Galtenscharte and some photos (fourth down, featuring Grossglockner) before the long descent via lots of essential wires. This was the crux of the entire trip. Great care was needed as we slowly moved down the rock face. Right at the bottom we met a group who were about to ascend. They kindly waited until we were away from the  bottom wire. On we wandered, across much easier ground with kidney vetch and forget-me-nots taking the place of the spring gentians and edelweiss of yesterday.

Two lunch breaks were needed - Sue is pictured with our view from the first of these.

Towards the end of the walk, a 400 metre climb to Badener Hut (pictured - bottom) took us through a zone of fleabane and fragrant red clover interspersed with ubiquitous harebells.

It's a hut with 57 beds, of which 17 are occupied tonight - us, a group of 9 (two Dutch families) a threesome and a lone German cement expert (a collector of minerals) who has joined us for dinner.

Writing this has become increasingly difficult as there are two resident guitarists and numerous vocalists, featuring Cary who is sitting next to me. It's noisy Penny!

The flowers are spring gentians. 

Austria - Day 8

Sunday 16 July 2017 - Johannis Hütte to Bonn Matreier Hut (2750 metres)

13.5 km
1300 metres ascent
7.5 hours
28000 steps

A fabulous mountain day. Markus joined us for the morning's walk to Eissee Hut, over the 2955 metre Zopat  Scharte. A lovely cool ascent of 800 metres in the shade of the steep mountain side.

The col was in the sun, allowing us to linger at this high point. After the recent rain the air was wonderfully clear, with views to many Austrian summits, and to the Dolomites to the south.

During the day several ptarmigan were seen, one with a young family. Marmots sprouted from all angles and there was a distinct absence of cows on the steep ground.

After leaving Johannis before 8 am, we reached the Eissee Hut at 11.30. Lunch was enjoyed there in an idyllic setting on the verandah, before hordes of visitors arrived from the valley. It is Sunday, after all.

Whilst Markus then went on his merry way back to Dornbirn and an environmental project that starts tomorrow, the rest of us enjoyed the gently undulating belvedere path that ends in a meandering ascent to this welcoming Hut. The schnapps was most welcome. Thank you.

We took 7.5 hours, but with no threat of a storm we savoured the route and could have moved more quickly, though care was needed on the wired sections. Edelweiss and spring gentians lined this afternoon's path, as well as the alpine moon daisies that I photographed.

Various birds were seen, including an eagle soaring on the thermals high above this hut.

After arriving here at 3.30, time has flown as we've chilled out and washed our shirts and knickers etc, and before we knew it we were tucking into an excellent buffet meal.

Some projects were hatched during discussions with Markus:

1 LEJOG by mountain bike
2 Transalp bike ride - 6 days in late August/early September 2018
3 Eastern Lake District backpacking  before the Calderdale MTB Marathon in October 2018