Östereich und das Großglockner Abenteuer!

Well, back to the internet finally! We´ve had a very cool week and it seems like ages ago since I last added a post. I have to say that it is so hard to get good internet access here in Lienz, Austria, which is rather surprising, but after a whole day hunting around we finally found this place (its now 8 pm), a small smelly pub with 3 PC´s where they have let us use our USB card.

So now I have to think back ten days ago to Sterzing Vipitino where we set out in the sunny afternoon up valley once I finished blogging at the Cafe. After a short climb (and a beesting because one decided it liked my bosom!) we entered a wonderful steep sided valley and cruised up towards Pfitzerjoch Pass (2246). After some time the road turned to gravel and there was no traffic, it was great. About half way up we came out of the forest to a nice flat grassy spot with a magnificent veiw down valley so we decided to camp there. We spent several hours brewing hot soup and coffees.

In the monring the sun was slow to rise so we decided to climb our pass and have breakfats in the sun on top. We got hotter and hotter as we climbed and ended up stripping down layer by layer till i was in my bra and shorts and Chris just his shorts! We looked pretty strange with our towing mechanism also in action, but luckily when we arrived at the Hütte on top there was no one really about. We sat on a bench with a great view and gradually put on more clothes as the clouds rolled in.

Spiders...

After about an hour we set out on the most awsome downhill. The track was more a walking track and provided some tricky mountain biking, much to the amusement of all the predominantly older walkers pouring up the other side of the pass. Eventually we reahed a big lake for lunch, then down the valley into Zell. At Zell we turned off and headed up again towards the Hohe Tauern National Park. As it grew darker we spoted a cycle path and a foresty park and found a good wee shady spot to hide our tent. This spot was to become known as the ´spider spot´because of the hundreds of daddy long legs spiders which kept crawling up us! It was a big relief to zip up the tent!

We ate breakfast in the park, then headed through Gerlos on a hunt for topo maps of the area. We found a map with some moutain bike tracks on it, and decided to take that round the Gerlos Lake, then up the Wildherlostal Valley. The mtb trail turned from a nice open track t a fallen down tree mission which was pretty interesting with panniers and nvlved much pannier then bike lugging, and highly amused an Austrian family out for a walk. After several hours we finally reached the other end of the lake, and collapsed in a heap on the lake shore for a chilly swim and several hours food consumption.

As the sun went down we climbed further up valley till we spotted the Zittauer Hütte high up on the ridge, and decided we really ought to go there. So, we stashed the bikes and panniers and strapped all overnight gear to our daypacks. The route climbed steeply past a waterfall and it was beauiful in the late evening sun walking up surrounded by towering snowy peaks. We managed to halve the estimated track time, and found a cosy and unsnowy wee spot hiden from the Hütte right besdie the lake just before it got dark.

Sunny but windy in the morning and Chris had only just managed to keep warm all night in his thin wee sleeping bag. We ate breakfast in the lake in the sun and watched enviously as two climbers scaled the snow capped summits of the peak abve the lake. We decided to wander up to the upper lake, which proved interesting due to many large boulders with snow which you fell through up to your waist! We found it easier just to slide on our stomachs in the end, and we reached the lake after several hours which should have taken about 20 mins!

A little frustrated and rather wet, we trudged back down to our cycles in the valley, then out for a 70 km blast through Kramml and Mittersill to Zell Am See where we camped. We glanced up at the snowy peaks asd they whizzed past and wondered which ones it was that Ed climbed a few weeks earlier.

Großglockner Hochalpenstraße

In the morning it was the big climb up over the Großglockner Hochalpine Strasse! So we set off early (for Em and Chris) and with our towing technique down pat we flew up the mountain past heaps of other cyclits, much to the amusement of a bunch of French motorbikers who later tooted and cheered as they past us again. The weather deteritorated as we neared the top, and as we entered the tunnel on the top of the pass we both felt pretty knackered and even Chris thought it was time for a rest day! We had climbed for about 3 hours solid.

We piled on the clothes and descended to a Hütte for heiße Pommes, Apfelstrudel und Kaffee mmmm(our usual favorites by now). It turned out the waiter had spent 3 years in NZ as a ski instructor, and he gave us a good weather report (which was bad, actually) a free hot tea, and a serious warning that our plan to go up to the Erherzhog Johann Hütte (3451) up on the Großglockner, Austria´s highest mountain was crazy - he assured us we would most certainly need an alpine guide...hmmmm.

Rocks!

We pedalled on up to Kaiser Franz Josepf, which is really just a few wee Alpine Hütte at the head of the road. In the mist the place was absolutly deserted and rather eerie, and we found a campspot above the road, which was to become known as ´the Rocks´. This was because we were amongst a grassy boulder field with a crumbly looking cliff above us which during the windy night in Emily´s mind became even steeper and crumblier! Chris spent some time repegging the tent during the night. So all in all not the best sleep.

The days mission was finally REST DAY! And the weather was crappy, so we decided to catch the bus down to Heiligenblut for a supermarket to restock for our planned tramping trip. We bought hundreds of Semmeln breadrolls and Apfelstrudel, then caught the bus 800 metres back up to Kaiser Franz Josepf, where it had started snowing! We biked around trying to find somewhere to stay, but most Hütte were shut because the summer season is over! Finally we found the warm friendly Glocknerhaus, and we stayed in the Lager, which is the bunk room on the top floor, and because of the heavy snow we opted not to cook outside but instead to have a yummy meal inside in the warmth....luxurious!

Brave Sheep!

The morning was sunny but still cold, and we spent several hours organising all our gear for our 4 day trip. It was a logistical mission fitting it all into our day packs, cos we had to take our tent as well snce not all the Hütte were still open. Finally we biked down to the dammed glacial lake and hid our bikes in some pine trees. Then it was a carefull ascent over a slippery snow covered grass pass. Just as I climbed the track up the last gully I heard a loud ´baaah´bhind me and was shocked to see a wee flock of sheep charging up behind me! I moved out the way and the lead sheep sniffed me, then trotted boldly off leading the rest of the flock along the narrow track with hijm round the corner to some grassy fields! Much different species from Kiwi sheep that´s for sure!

We continued along the hillside teeming with squeeking marmuts, but not a sole in sight! We reached the Salmhütte, dropped the packs and headed up valley to check out the gully we needed to climb to get to the Erherzog Johann Hütte. We thought this route seemed the only possibility because it involved no snow.

The gully looked very tricky until we discovered it had been roped. It was still a bit scary but we reached the ridge where we joined a more major route up to the alpine hut. On the way down Chris gave me some rope ´technique´lessons, and by the time we were wandering back down to the hut I felt alot more confident. We came across an old hut built into a cliffside, it was neat and tempting to stay there, but the valley felt like a freezer, so we retreated down to the warmth of the Salmhütte.

High Ropes

Emily heads up the rope ladders...

Followed by Chris!

In the morning it was a bit warmer and we followed our tracks back up the valley and up the ropes which seemed like fun now! On up the ridge there was some exhilarating climbing up ladders and ropes wih big drops, but it was all straightforward and we were buzzing when we reached the point where the glacial route intersected. Up till that point we had seen no one, and were somewhat dismayed to meet many guided parties chugging laboriously up the much easier glacial route and looking at us very suspisciously for our lack of gear and bycycle helmets!We noticed the lack of oxygen a bit, and arrived at the hut puffing more than normal.

The summit of the Großglockner was tantalizingly close - only 300m above the Hut! But sensibleness fortunatly prevailed, for the sumitt climb was up a steep snowy gully whcih would have been dodgy without an ice axe, but it was sooo tempting, specially with all the bungling amerian tourists going up and down with their guides. Instead we ate apfelstrudl at the hut, then hurried away from the alluring peak across the galcial route, which was by now completly tracked out and very safe to cross. We continued round another wee roped section to the Glorer Hütte.

The Hütte was full with a school group and a hippy crusading group. We cooked outside in the freezing cold, then retreated inside for two delcious ´Kaiserschmarrns´(a traditional Austrain dish made of kind of crumbled pancake with apple sauce). The people in the hut were amazed to meet kiwis tramping in Austria (?), and we had a really nice evening. We met a friendly Austrian fellow in the hut named Niko who planned to walk the same way as us the following day, so we agreed to walk together.

In the morning we headed up the Böses Weibl, (Niko translated: Mad Woman!!) (3119). On the summit you could see thousands of snowy peaks, it was beautifully clear and warm and we bathed in the sun on the summit munching on snacks and generally enjoying ourselves. Then we descended steeply down a snowy ridge and further down into the grassy slopes at which point Niko headed off down valley. We continued around past the closed ElderfeldHütte and past 2 alpine lakes, to a third where we found a campspot in the sun. We were still at about 2500m, so it was pretty chilly, but we had a wee feast and contemplated our fun trip.

In the morning we were woken by shepherds calling down all the sheep from up high (winter is coming!). We walked down into the lovely pine forest for breakfast, then it was 3 hours walk back to the bikes at the dammed lake. Many trees are going ominously red and yellow - which was beautiful but a tad concerning! Once the panniers were retrieved and lunch had been eaten we cruised down back through Heiligenblut to Winkerln. From there we climbed a small pass (Emily in the lead...and she could hear Chris puffing!! so she had to put in an extra strong push at the top, tehehe), and Niko came past honking in his car. He was glad to hear we had survived our chilly night at the lake. Then on down into Lienz.

Orienteering!

What? Orienteering? Somehow, and I don´t know how on earth he managed it, but the random wee campsite Chris picked up by a lake on a hill just up from Lienz turne out to be the site of the Austrian champs...and Chris really didn´t know it was on. In the morning, right beside our campspot, were erected many Silva tents, and people in brightly coloured O gear milling all around. So, of course, we went and found out if we could run. It turned out the actual champs was the previous day, but today was a teams event which Chris and I could compete in unofficially. So we set off and Chris got lots of the controls while I got some. It was cool terrain, open forest with heaps of big boulders, and was apparently a brand new map! Big Dolomity mountains towered in the background.

After the orienteering we swam in the lake, and decided to spend another night in the campground which was actually now closed for winter, but they were happy for us to stay another night so we had the place to ourselves. Today has been a day of shopping and interneting, preparing to finally enter the Dolomites and head out of Austria and into Italy...looking forward to our idealized picture of pizzas, warm beaches and ice creams...hmmm we shall see!

OK, bis bald und tschüß!

And here (fingers crossed) is a video of us mountain biking over the pass! Let me know if it works or not...I think I´m getting a bit technologically advanced for my own good!