Hiking in Austria

In September, 2000 I took a summer off from work. One of the things I did was travel to Austria. I spent a week hut-to-hut hiking in the Karwendel Alps north of Innsbruck and another in the towns. My journal only covers my time hiking.

I took a small pack with one change of clothes, outerwear, a few snacks, and my camera. Everything else was supplied at the huts. As a guide, I used Walking Austria's Alps, Jonathon Hurdle, The Mountaineers. I would recommend this book as it provides useful information and good itineraries. A night at a hut cost no more than $10 with an alpine club card.

The Karwendel range borders Austria and Germany. It is lower in elevation than the more southerly ranges. I chose it because there was new snow in the higher areas.

Tuesday, September 5, 2000, Scharnitz to the Brunnsteinhütte

It's a beautiful train ride from Innsbruck to Scharnitz, just south of the German Border. From Scharnitz I walk across the border into Germany and start my way up the Westliche Karwendelspitze. It takes less than two hours to arrive at the hut, midway up the mountain. A 65 year old German and I are the only guests. He does not speak any English but is very patient with my German. He has been hiking the Alps for 50 years and knows all the huts. Alone, in marginal weather, he is headed for a klettersteig (a somewhat technical route protected by cables and ladders) the next day. He warns me to be careful but admonishes himself, at the same time, for doing such a route alone. This is the same hut I visited from Mittenwald six years earlier when a group of Austrians brought along their horns and played songs on the mountain.

This is one of the windows of the Brunnsteinhütte

Wednesday, September 6, Brunnsteinhütte to Hochlandhütte 

The first half of this route takes me to the top of the Westliche Karwendelspitze and has some klettersteig sections that are made worse by fresh snow and falling rocks. I am relieved when I reach the bowl above the Karwendelbahn (cable car), the end of the dangerous section. I opt out of climbing over the Predigstühl on the second half due to my experiences on the first half. The Predigstühl  is a steep, rocky subpeak that involves more klettersteig. Instead, I hike around it. The descent from the top of the Westliche Karwendelspitze leaves me wishing I had brought my trekking poles. I reach the Hochlandhütte in six hours, just before the rain. The hut is small but well run. Prices are a little high and food choices are limited due to the fact that the hut can only be supplied by helicopter. I meet a friend here, Frank, an English speaking German.

Thursday, September 7, Hochlandhütte to Karwendelhaus

Frank and I hike through perilously loose scree to reach the Bärnalpl pass. Crossing over the pass, we entered Austria. The path from the pass to the hut is infested with roots which slows our progress. We get caught in the rain. After 5.5 hours, we arrive at the huge hut. It has hot showers and great food!

Friday, September 8, Karwendelhaus to Engalm

After two days of rain, cold, and snow in the upper elevations, I wake to a cloudless, blue sky. I head down into the next valley towards the Falkenhütte which is midway. Rising out of the valley, I leave the trees and enter one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. Sheer, spectacular, snow-covered peaks serve as a backdrop to the grassy slopes. Soon I hear the lowing of the cows accompanied by their cacophonous bells. Climbing to the top, I reach the Falkenhütte, at this moment quite possibly located in the most beautiful spot on the planet. The wood-shingled covered hut sits at the top of the hill, strapped to the ground by steel cables that anchor against the fierce winter winds that exact their price for this beautiful scenery. The sheer cliffs of the Karwendel ridge form the backdrop. Looking out from the hut, I see cows grazing on the slopes that drop steeply below the snow-dusted peaks on the opposite side of the valley. This is the quintessential alpine scene. I have a beer and lunch here.

Crossing high above the next valley, I reach a saddle with yet another spectacular view. I don't know how much more of this I can take! Dropping down into Engalm, I enter what sounds like a clock shop at high noon. The cows with their bells are everywhere. Tourists sit on benches and watch the cows. Apparently cow watching is one of the major activities around here, especially with the elderly tourists. I get a bed in an eleven bed lager at the Eng Gasthof. Approximately $15 for bed, shower, and breakfast. Not bad! I write this as I am sitting at the gasthof's cafe, eating apple strudel and drinking hot chocolate.

Saturday, September 9,  Engalm to Lamsenjochhütte

As it turns out, the hut is very crowded as this is Saturday. A call ahead from Eng would have gotten me a better bed. They stick me in a cramped, dusty, lager in an outer building above the generator. It's awful. Even though I have plenty of the day left, I decide not to climb the 600 vertical meters to the top of the Lamsenspitze because I have no helmet or harness. The route is a klettersteig and winds perilously under the sheer face. Many less prepared go, but I recall the rocks falling on the Westliche Karwendelspitze. Instead, I relax on the grassy hill above the hut.

Lounging here, I reflect on my journey. As I walk through this well-trodden landscape, I am reminded of a talk I attended. The speaker had just been on a safari in a protected area in Africa. Here the animals were wild. Guns were not allowed. If a lion attacked you, you had no defense. You never knew if a lion would jump out of this clump of grass or that. The speaker said he had never felt so alive as in that wild place. He also advocated the reintroduction of the grizzly into Colorado. His claim is that our wilderness areas are missing that element to be truly wild. While I'm not sure I want to experience that level of wildness, I do appreciate how wild our wilderness still is. I know there are lions, black bears, bull elk, moose in some places, all potential dangers. I know I have to protect my gear from the less dangerous critters like marmot, pika, and squirrel that would raid my food, . These all exist in abundance. When I stop along the trail in the Colorado wilderness, I can hear birds, insects, and the warning cries of marmots and pikas. These areas are alive. These alps, on the other hand, are relatively tame. Wildlife is less abundant. When I stop along the trail, I hear mostly the sound of sheep or cowbells, charming but not wild. Cell phones work everywhere in the Alps. You are never more than a few kilometers from hut or village. Of course the comfort and pastoral beauty is why I'm here. It is wonderful but definitely not wild. Even the tougher routes are protected with cables and ladders. This is a more sedate, civilized way of enjoying the mountains. It is good for a change, especially after a long season of hiking, backpacking, and climbing. Nevertheless, I feel most alive when I am in the wilds of Colorado. Insert John Denver's Rocky Mountain High here :-).

Sunday, September 10,  Lamsenjochhütte to Schwaz

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