Walking in Austria. Kev Reynolds

       Route 93 Ströden – Essener-Rostocker Hut

       Route 94 The Venediger Höhenweg

       The Tauerntal

       Route 95 Europa Panoramaweg Goldried – Kals-Matreier-Törlhaus – Kalser Höhe – Goldried

       Route 96 Matrei – Sudetendeutsche Hut – Matrei

       Walks from Kals Am Grossglockner

       Route 97 Kals – Stüdl Hut

       Route 98 Kals – Glorer Hut – Lucknerhaus

       10 Karawanken

       Introduction

       Route 99 Bärental – Klagenfurter Hut

       Route 100 Klagenfurter Hut – Bielschitza

       Route 101 Schaidasattel – Hochobir

       Appendix A Useful Addresses

       Appendix B Bibliography

       Appendix C Menu Items

       Appendix D German–English Glossary

       Appendix E Index of Routes

      

      From the Fuldaer Höhenweg walkers gain a direct view of the Taschachferner (Ötztal Alps, Route 15)

      INTRODUCTION

      At four o’clock on a June morning in 1967 I gazed breathless with wonder as the sun rose out of a distant valley, and flooded its glow across a sea of mountains whose snowfields and glaciers turned pink with the new day. My companions and I had spent the night with neither tent nor sleeping bag for comfort on a summit modest in altitude but generous in outlook, and greeted the dawn with smiles of delight. Then we descended as fast as we could. As we did we won a second sunrise, then another, and another, racing for pre-dawn shadows while the sun hastened to spread its goodness over all the Eastern Alps.

      I was young then, leading walking groups in Austria’s mountains, and loving every moment, every trail, every summit, valley, lake and meadow starred with flowers. Loving the pure alpine air, the cleanliness of the villages, the punctuality of bus and train, the certainty of a waymarked path, the smiles of each hut warden amused by my poor attempts to speak German. Loving life.

      Forty years on I no longer race to beat the sunrise. Instead, I linger, sprawl on an alm pasture and dream. A klettersteig can still set my pulse racing, and trails continue to seduce me into wonderland, but now I take my time to get there. I’ll sit for ages and listen to the birds, a stream, or the brush-strokes of the wind against a rock. But the sight of chamois or marmot thrills me even more than it did four decades ago, while a pass is as good as a summit, a mattress in a hut as welcome as any hotel bed, a night under a blanket of stars as enriching as ever.

      Austria’s Alps still draw me back, and repay every visit a thousandfold.

Austria’s Alps

      With more than 40,000km of well-maintained, waymarked footpaths; with countless attractive villages, hospitable hotels, inns and restaurants, pristine campsites, the world’s finest chain of mountain huts, an integrated public transport system, and breathtaking scenic variety, Austria must surely count as one of Europe’s most walker-friendly countries.

      It’s a country of great diversity, whose mountains range from gentle grass-covered ‘hills’ of around 2000m, to rugged limestone spires and turrets erupting from a fan of scree, or snow-draped, glacier-clad peaks whose reflections are cast in crystal-clear lakes. In their valleys some of the continent’s loveliest villages are hung about with flowers in summer. On mid-height hillsides centuries-old timber haybarns and stone-built chalets squat among the pastures; these are the alms which add an historic dimension to the landscape. Elsewhere, heavy-eaved farmhouses double as restaurants; some provide accommodation in a rustic setting, and complement the hundreds of mountain huts built in remote locations, virtually every one of which exploits a viewpoint of bewitching beauty.

      The Leoganger Steinberge, seen from the Spielberghorn (Kitzbüheler Alps, Route 54)

      The Eastern Alps of Austria extend from west to east in two distinct but roughly parallel chains of around 400km each, before subsiding in the wooded hills of the Wienerwald. The chain which carries the German border is known as the Mittelgebirge (the rocky Northern Limestone Alps), while its southern and higher counterpart, the Hochgebirge, is distinguished by such snow-draped and glacier-clad groups as the Silvretta, Ötztal, Stubai and Zillertal Alps. In the heart of the country Austria’s highest mountain, the elegant Grossglockner, reaches 3798m and casts its benediction over the surrounding valleys.

      This is a guide to ten mountain districts stretching eastward from the Rätikon Alps on the borders of Liechtenstein and Switzerland, to the little-known Karawanken, shared with Slovenia, in the sunny province of Carinthia. Each district has its own distinctive appeal, with fine scenery, plenty of accommodation, and numerous walking opportunities. There’ll be something to suit every taste and all degrees of commitment. And you’ll no doubt be left wanting more.

      Rätikon Alps

      In Vorarlberg, Austria’s westernmost province, the Rätikon Alps spread along the borders of Liechtenstein and Switzerland on the southwest side of the Montafon valley. These are limestone mountains, ragged and rugged, with a choice of valleys flowing from them down to the Montafon trench, from which access is most easily gained. The highest summit is that of the 2965m Schesaplana, a walker’s peak at the head of the Brandnertal, whose main resort village, Brand, is on a bus route from the railway station at Bludenz. Schruns, Tschagguns and Gargellen also make useful valley bases, but with several well-situated mountain huts built in the high country below attention-grabbing peaks, some of the best walks either start from particular huts or make tours from one hut to another.

      Silvretta Alps

      At the 2354m Plasseggenpass limestone gives way to crystalline rock, which continues into and throughout the Silvretta Alps, and takes the Hochgebirge and the border with Switzerland further east. The Silvretta mountains have their fair share of glaciers and snowfields, and elegant peaks such as Piz Buin and the Dreiländerspitze. More huts offer accommodation for walkers