A 6 days and 5 nights hike through Austria’s northern Alps, somewhere south of Salzburg. The Schladminger Tauern are perhaps one of Austria’s best kept secrets and an absolute top destination for what can only be described as a still authentic and completely unspoiled hiking paradise. Far away from the tourist masses and through a stunning and varied Alpine scenery, with centuries old pine forest, rough alpine highlands and meadows, spectacular river valleys, waterfalls and crystal clear mountain lakes. The Alpine huts here are all fantastic and although most have been expanded with more rooms and beds, they absolutely manage to provide the atmosphere of the often more than a century old original mountain huts.
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We travelled by train from The Netherlands to Schladming, which is about a 12 hour journey. We had upgraded ourselves to first class for a bit more comfort, well worth the relative little additional cost. We arrived late in the evening in Schladming, took a taxi and went straight to bed in our Airbnb. It was raining, and the weather forecast for the next few days didn’t look very good… Oh well, let’s see!
Day 1: Schladming – Ursprung Alm – Ignaz Mattis Hütte
The weather forecast didn’t improve for at least the first part of the day. When we stepped outside on the balcony of our Airbnb in Schladming the mountains in front of us were indeed still covered in a blanket of clouds. It didn’t rain though, but that would most likely be different higher up in the mountains.
We wanted to start our 6 day trek a bit easy, so we decided to opt for a shorter hike to our first hut. Our original plan was a rather long trek starting from the nearby Hochwurzen Cable Car station, which leads over a fairly rocky trail and has lots of ascents and descents. So our choice was a shorter alternative. We took a 50 minute (spectacular!) bus ride to Ursprung Alm, at the end of a valley, at just over 1600 meters altitude.
We started our trek from here. It was only about 4 km to our destination hut, with an altitude gain of just under 400 meters. Easy peasy…! We first had a cup of coffee at the alm and waited for the drizzle to stop and then took off at 11:30, in just about dry weather.
We were followed by a thick layer of rolling clouds, which soon caught up with us. The thick fog created quite a dramatic scenery, and the light drizzle that followed didn’t bother us too much. Excellent trails, and we even followed for a while an ancient road, which the Roman Empire built to send their troops into northern Europe. How cool was that!
At 13:30 we arrived at the mountain hut, at an altitude of 1986 meters. The relative small hut had a nice location, just above the Unterer Giglach See, one of two lakes close together below in the valley.
We spent the rest of the afternoon mostly around the hut and the lake. Clouds kept rolling in and out of the valley, which made for an often dramatic scenery that we really enjoyed. The hut was privately owned and the owner also kept quite a few cows and horses in the valley, which late afternoon grazed the grass fields around the hut. Good entertainment!
By 8 pm we went up to the “lager”, a small dormitory style sleeping hall at the 3rd floor, just under the roof of the hut. The weather forecast had improved significantly and we were looking forward to tomorrow, for better weather and quite a serious trek.
We soon slept like babies, only to wake up a few hours later when a small group of hikers arrived at the hut in complete darkness, exhausted from their trek. It turned out they had taken what was our original route, which we had changed for a shorter alternative. We were glad we made that change…!
More photos of today’s highlights
Day 2: Ignaz Mattis Hütte – Duisitzkarsee Lake – Keinprecht Hütte
After our first fairly simple “hütte” breakfast we started today’s almost 10 km trek at 8 am. The sky was almost blue, and the first mountain tops were already lit up by the rising sun. We were really looking forward to today’s trek, which promised a very diverse scenery.
The first kilometer the trail winded gently down to the end of the Giglachsee Lake, passing a couple of old alms and a dozen beautiful free-roaming horses grazing on the meadows. Then the trail started to slowly climb up, around a fairly high mountain to the east of us.
The trail was on the mountain’s shadow side, which made for very pleasant temperatures. We enjoyed increasingly spectacular views to the north, where the mountains bathed in the sun while the valleys below were still covered in a thick blanket of clouds.
After a short break enjoying the views we continued; the trail soon became steeper and steeper, our first serious climb. It didn’t take long though before we reached the highest point of the saddle between 2 mountains, at around 2050 meters. We signed the guest book, which you’ll often find at the highest point between mountains and on summits.
The initial descent was rather steep, but a couple of thick steel cables helped a lot to get safely down. All of a sudden we could see our lunch destination, the Duisitzkarsee lake, where there are a few mountain huts on its shores.
The lake was surrounded by beautiful pine forest and alpine meadows, which made for a very nice descent. We arrived at the lake at 11:30, perfect timing for our lunch.
An hour and excellent meal later we started with the second leg of our trek, one that I was looking forward to ever since I planned our route. The trail was going through spectacular pine forest, which seemed to come straight out of a fairytale movie. The trail was mostly going gently down, and made for a very relaxed walk.
At around 14:30 we passed Neualm, a nice old alm along a crystal clear river. From here onwards the trail started to increasingly climb up through the valley, to the hut where we were going to spend the night. The last part of our trek was the first time we actually felt a bit tired… It later turned out to be the only time!
At 15:30 we arrived at the Keinprecht Hütte, at almost 1900 meters altitude. We were pretty tired after quite a long day trekking..!
We spent the sunny afternoon on the hut’s terrace, enjoying some cold beers and making up our choice for dinner. This hut was managed by the Alpen Verein and had a Michelin Star chef as consultant. That became obvious when we had dinner, which was probably the best meal we had on our entire 6 day trek!
More photos of today’s highlights
Day 3: Keinprecht Hütte – Trockenbrot Scharte – Landawirsee Hütte
Today was a relative short hike, as we had decided to break up the normally 1 full day trek into 2 days, just to make sure we can enjoy the day without pressure to move on. We enjoyed the early morning hanging out around the hut and watching the horses grazing the surrounding meadows.
At 9 am we finally left for the 4.5 km trek to our next hut, the Landawirsee Hütte. We only had to gently climb almost 400 meters, and then down to the hut; again easy peasy! Or so we thought…
We soon passed an old alm and some ruins of miners. Silver mining was big business here, particularly from the 14th to 16h century! At the end of the 19th century mining stopped.
We continued the descent to the bottom of the valley, where we initially were a bit confused about the right trail. Left or right? No GPS, but I had taken screenshots of a detailed map and soon we were back on the right track.
The “gentle” climb soon wasn’t as gentle anymore as we thought, and particularly the last few hundred meters to the saddle (“scharte”) between two mountains were quite steep.
At the top of the “scharte” we already saw our next destination hut right in front of us, as well as the nearby lakes. The last part of the trail was just going down, over a mostly fairly easy trail.
At 12:30 we arrived at the Landawirsee Hütte, great timing for our lunch. We really liked this less popular hut; it was small and cozy, with an excellent dormitory and bathroom facilities. The dining room was the nicest of all huts, and probably still looked the same as a 100 years ago!
The rest of the day we relaxed at the hut’s terrace and walked to the Unterer Landawirsee lake, one of two lakes just a few hundred meters further up from he hut.
Dinner time inside the hut was great; a very warm atmosphere and we had quite an enjoyable social evening. We had dinner together with a group of 5 Czechs, who had come from the direction we were heading the next few days. Some great insights in what was coming our way soon.
More photos of today’s highlights
Day 4: Landawirsee Hütte – Golling Scharte – Golling Hütte
This morning we had a little dilemma, as we had to decide which route to take to the Golling Scharte, the saddle between the two mountains ahead of us. The “normal” route was going down into the valley first, followed by a fairly long and steep ascent. There was a shorter route though, which led straight to the half-way point of that long ascent, without going down first. The catch was that this shorter route was only for very experienced hikers, as it had a long section where you had to hold on to steel cables and cross an almost vertical rock outcrop… We eventually decided to go for it!
After we passed a rocky section of the trail with some steel cables for support we thought “was that it?”. Well, it wasn’t… Soon we reached the indeed almost vertical rock wall, with thick steel cables to hold on to, for dear life…! I had to stow my camera away and focus, so unfortunately no photos…
Let’s put it this way: it was on the edge of what I considered safe, particularly for Mega. But she did great, and carefully followed my instructions where to put her feet, one slow step at a time, and making sure to hold tight the cable, with both hands! Quite an adrenaline rush…
Now the really steep ascent started, over a large field of rocks and no trail anymore; just a rock here and there with an Austrian flag painted on it…! I guess our adrenaline was still pumping, and soon we reached the Golling Scharte, at 2326 meters altitude.
Ahead of us was still no trail. Just an endless slope of large sharp rocks and occasionally an Austrian flag painted on one. Pretty tough on the knees, and the first time I decided to use my trekking poles. That helped a lot to relieve the knees. We took our time, concentrating on every step down on the rocks.
Finally we arrived at the bottom of the valley. Here an enormous natural amphitheater forms the start of the valley, which we eventually would follow all the way down to Schladming, over the next 2 days.
What a beautiful valley this was! The Untertalbach river originates here, filled by multiple small waterfalls cascading down from the surrounding mountains. This small river flows to the Enns in Schladming, which eventually flows into the Danube river and on to the Black See.
At 12:45 we arrived at the Golling Hütte, after just a bit more than a 6 km trek, again an excellent time for lunch. We had deserved that, after a very nice day trekking from one to another valley, through a spectacular and diverse landscape!
We spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the terrace, together with an Austrian couple. Tomorrow they were also going to the same hut as us, the Preintaler Hütte. The popular route leads over the mountains and what the locals call the “mirror of god”, the Klafferkessel, a highland filled with crystal clear lakes, a relic of the last Ice Age. To get there is not easy though, as it’s a non-stop steep ascent of 1100 meters, taking very fit hikers at least 3.5 hours. And that’s only the first part, at the end you also have to go down almost a 1000 meters, over a steep and very rocky terrain…
More photos of today’s highlights
Day 5: Golling Hütte – Riesachfall – Riesachsee lake – Preintaler Hütte
We were not sure to be fit enough for the route across the Klafferkessel, so we decided to take an alternative easier route. That route was about 11 km, much longer, but with all together only a 500 meter ascent and descent.
At 7:30 we left the hut, under a slightly more clouded sky than the last few days. The first part of the trail was a short but steep descent to the gravel access road that the hut uses to bring in supplies.
From here on the valley widened and we walked the next hour relaxed through pine forest and grassy meadows with grazing cattle, their traditional brass cow bells clinging with every step they made. It doesn’t get more Austria than this!
Soon we reached the “tourist” trail to Riesachfall, a series of waterfalls cascading down a narrow gorge and a popular tourist destination, particularly for locals. A narrow trail follows the river through the gorge and leads past numerous waterfalls.
You have to climb dozens of steep steel stairs and cross a couple of bridges, occasionally crossing the river and offering spectacular views of the waterfalls. Certainly not for those with vertigo..!
We really enjoyed this trail, a unique experience to get up close with different waterfalls. It was a bit busy with day-tourists, but nothing compared with more popular Austrian mountain destinations such as Tirol or Karinthie, where I spent a lot of time hiking through the mountains at younger age.
At 11:00 we reached the end of the “tourist” trail and suddenly we were in an entire different scene. Right ahead of us was the Riesachsee lake, sandwiched between mountains covered in pine forest. A fantastic landscape, Austria at its best!
The Riesachfall area was quite touristic, for obvious good reasons. But fortunately no specific tourist facilities, other than the trail we just did. No picnic benches, nobody selling anything, just a couple of traditional alms where you can have a meal or drink. We didn’t really feel like hanging out with others though, so we decided to find ourselves a nice and quiet spot for a picnic lunch break. And a nice place we found!
After our picnic we continued following the lake shore, through pine forest and crossing beautiful meadows with an occasional wooden alm. We soon saw the end of the valley ahead of us, with right above the valley our next hut, the Preintaler Hütte. The gravel road soon ended and a small trail led up into the pine forest, for the final climb of our day.
At 14:00 we reached our hut, at 1656 meters altitude our “lowest” hut. The hut had a great terrace overlooking the valley below, and a nice traditional old alm located right at the back. We had a light meal and spent the rest of the afternoon watching hikers come and go…
In the afternoon the weather started to change and thick clouds rolled up into the valley, soon covering the mountains in a thick mist. Again quite a dramatic scenery, with the surrounding pine forest trying to peek out of the mist. We were happy to be at the hut, as most of the hikers that today took the route across the mountain had not yet arrived…
Late afternoon the Austrian couple we met the previous day finally arrived at the hut. They had taken the route across the Klafferkessel, as that was the reason they came to Schladming. They showed us spectacular photos of the lakes, but also told us about their grueling trek. They were pretty exhausted and had terribly sore knees… We were glad we had chosen our alternative route, but also vowed to one day come back here and then make the climb to the lakes and “mirror of god”.
More photos of today’s highlights
Day 6: Preintaler Hütte – Riesach Fall – Sondl Alm – Schladming
Our last day…! What a shame. The entire valley and surroundings of the hut was still covered in a thick mist, and a light drizzle did not bode well for this morning. So we finally again took our rain coats from deep in our backpack, ready to go, when all of a sudden the rain stopped. Here and there blue sky was fighting the clouds, quite a relief. Nothing against rain, but trails become slippery and it just means you can’t enjoy the surroundings as much, as you have to focus on every sep you make.
So we were lucky and at 8 am we left the hut behind and, what I only realized back in The Netherlands, also my rain coat…!
We knew the trail from the day before, as the first part of the route was the same as he way we came. We didn’t mind that at all though, as the pine forest here was one of the best we have seen along our entire trek.
Slowly the weather improved further and eventually the sun slowly showed itself once in a while. We passed the meadows and a couple of alms again and soon arrived back at the Riesachsee lake.
Around 11:00 we were back at the start of the Riesachfall gorge. From here on we entered again the valley we went through the day before, but now further towards Schladming, some 10 km further down the valley. We decided to walk for as long as we enjoyed it, and then just take a bus.
The valley was beautiful, and so typical for Austria. It looked like time had almost stood still here, with traditional wooden alms and cows grazing the green fields. What a hikers paradise!
The weather kept getting better and better, so we decided to keep going, with just a short break for one last traditional meal, at the Sondl Alm. Goulash and Kasnocken, typical Austrian spätzle noodles.
We continued our walk, eventually all the way to Untertal Ort, just outside Schladming. We had walked 17 km today..! But that was enough for the day, and from here we took a short bus ride back to Schladming, where we took the train back home in The Netherlands. A sleeper cabin this time, as we would travel through the night..! Worth the extra money.
More photos of today’s highlights
