We decided to do a there and back route up the Breitebenkopf as we could walk there from the campsite. We started with a 2.5km walk along the road into the Seidlwinkltal before starting our ascent. From the start it was clear this wasn’t a popular route as the ascent was very overgrown, and it was also very steep. The steepness combined with the brutal heat made this very hard work. On the map there was a walking path which made its way directly up the mountain and an old zig-zag forest road, which looked even more overgrown than our path, however eventually we emerged to find the overgrown forest road had turned into a newly made stone forest track. So at this point we decided to leave the official walking track and take the much longer, but much less brutal forest track up to the end of the forest. From here we left the stone path and again joined an old track and then a very unworn path up the spur towards the Weichselbachhöhe. This became increasingly steep towards the top, and we were certainly glad when the summit. Read the full article…

Grubereck is the first high mountain on the eastern side of the Rauris valley which meant that despite its relatively modest height would have excellent views to the north, south and west. We didn’t start as early as we would have liked, as the first bus on the weekend was surprisingly late, which meant we had a very hot ascent up to the peak. Initially on the ascent we had fleeting views over alpine meadows looking north into the larger mountains towards the end of the Rauristal on the way up to the Bründlalm. From here the ascent became very steep and relentless, but we eventually emerged out onto the grassy summit ridge where the views really opened up and became really enjoyable. We were shocked to arrive at the summit and find a very civilised bench with a table, which made it an obvious spot for some lunch, it was just a shame about the flies due to the lack of wind. From the summit we descended to the Karalm, where I was really looking forward to a stop for a cold drink and maybe some cake, however we. Read the full article…

I planned this walk back in spring, but for various reasons we had not got around to doing it. Given the day before a 4 day weekend in Germany was forecast to be perfect weather, we decided to extend the weekend and take the Friday off as well. There were two options for this walk, the first from the valley with more ascent, but less descent, or the second from the lift station, with less ascent but more descent. We decided to do the ascent from the valley, which was certainly hot in the morning sun. The route took us from Hundsdorf, up to the Roßkopf and then up to the Baukogel which was the start of the ridge. The ridge then took us over Hirschkopf and Reißrachkopf before finishing at Schwartzwand. The ascent up to Roßkopf was initially on a track before moving onto a not very well trodden path up through grassy meadows, which was a lovely ascent. As we climbed the views were getting better and better, and in very good time we were at Roßkopf where we quickly ate most of our lunch. From the Roßkopf. Read the full article…