The 1st of November - the best of autumn hiking

Autumn is the best season for hiking, but I never thought I would be able to pinpoint an ideal day for hiking. As it happens, it appears there is one: the 1st of November. As you probably don't remember, on the 1st of November 2014 I enjoyed a fantastic and sunny hike up the Schneealpe. The hike in today's post took place exactly a year later, and once again we enjoyed blazing autumn sunshine, unbelievable autumn colours, and all round lovely views.

This was a long hike and encompassed a climb of 1000 vertical metres, but because those metres were spread evenly over the whole hike it really never felt that exhausting at all. We set out directly from Payerbach-Reichenau station and wound our way along the edge of the limestone cliffs overlooking the two towns. The route headed upwards along a very familiar pathway through the narrow gorge called 'Eng', which is in fact the german word for narrow... The Eng is overshadowed by steep walls of rock with precariously perched conifer trees, glowing in the sunlight at the tops of these walls but cold and in shadow at the bottom of the gorge.

We finally escaped the chilly but dramatic gorge and came out onto a wide meadow in front of a Gasthaus. We enjoyed our packed lunches sitting on the grass in the sunshine and then headed up on the steeper final leg of our outward journey to the peak of the Krummbachstein. At 1600m this is pretty high, but it suffers in popularity due to its close proximity to the Schneeberg (2000m). Nonetheless the summit of the Krummbachstein rises to a single sharp peak which is well isolated from the surrounding mountains, affording a 360 degree panoramic view.

The peak was drenched in sunshine but also exposed to a strong cold wind, requiring us to brace ourselves firmly and dress up warm while we enjoyed the exceptional panorama. There is a great view of the whole side of the Schneeberg, the flanks of the Rax plateau and the Hoellental. Spruce trees are liberally spread throughout the numerous evergreen forests covering the flanks of the mountain and many of the mountains nearby. These trees are special among pine-like (coniferous?) trees because they change colour then lose their needles in winter. Without them the alps in autumn would be much more boring at high altitudes! As it was, the bright yellows of the spruces contrasted dramatically with the deep greens of their neighbours, dusting the whole view with autumn gold.

The return walk was nicely graded and lead us into a different arm of the same gorge that eventually forms the Eng. The sun was nearing the horizon but had moved around to shine directly along the gorge, backlighting the vegetation with late afternoon sunlight and later painting the pale limestone cliffs a luminous orange. We headed back to the station before sunset, marvelling once again at the leaves of the trees in the village on the last proper autumn hike of the year!

Czech out the full gallery at the link...

Bis bald (und frohe Weihnachten!),

Der Tom

Up a mountain in Carinthia

Continuing my account of my long weekend in the vicinity of Villach...

Both my hosts and I were a little under the weather (I had simply ignored this fact the day before because: well, did you see the photos?) and while consuming large amounts of sage tea (good for the throat dontcha know) we all admitted that a full on mountain attempt was probably beyond us. But none of us wanted to give up the chance of an alpine peak, so we settled on a compromise - drive up the handy alpine road to 1400m and walk the rest!

This turned out to be a great decision, giving us a nice relaxed walk and maximum time in the autumn sunshine surrounded by amazing views. Our chosen mountain was the 'Hausberg' ('home mountain', basically the mountain climbing equivalent of 'local pub') of Villach: the big limestone chunk that is the Dobratsch. Its name is a testament to the mixed-language history of the area, something that is obvious considering the fact that modern day Slovenia is very easily visible from its peak.

We made our way up the nicely graded path, winding between steep grassy hillsides with remnant patches of early snow. The dramatic rise of the Dobratsch above its surroundings (thanks to the erosion resistance of trusty old limestone!) affords great views in most directions. On the way up, the most impressive view was to the east over the valley containing Villach and eventually Klagenfurt. As with the previous morning, a thick low blanket of fog and cloud was tenaciously hanging on, only slowly breaking up to offer glimpses of smaller hills and some of Carinthia's many lakes. A really magical view, with an added hint of schadenfreude knowing that the people who didn't get up early are stuck in the grey mist while you are enjoying the sun!

Up at the top are a very modern Gasthaus, a huge antenna tower, and two chapels, one of which is not ruined. The actual peak lies just above a steep steep drop towards the valley below. The views from this point were really fantastic (I'm saying that a lot in this entry), with the broad and steep-sided valley receding into the distance in a perfect demonstration of perspective, surronded by craggy snow capped peaks. All the more enjoyable for me of course was the way that this valley was so obviously a product of geological forces. The knife straight transition between flat valley floor and mountainous terrain on its southern edge is a textbook example of a fault, and in the valley proper you could see the knobbly deposits of earlier ice ages cut through by the modern floodplain of the river... By this time there was no mist at all and you could see all the way across to the Hohe Tauern some 80km away!

We made our way down on the other edge of the plateau, this time looking out to the south and east at the high ramparts of the Slovenian alps and the dramatic wisps of cirrus cloud above them. A short hike, but rich in amazing views and far better than hiding in the valleys!

Enjoy the photo set at the magic hyperlink!

Bis bald,

Der Tom

Autumn colours in Carinthia

We're still way back in the past here! But it never hurts to remember how fantastic autumn is, even if we may feel a little sad right now that it has slipped away and turned to winter behind our backs! This is post one of two detailing a brief expedition I made to Carinthia (Kaernten) at the end of October. I visited friends who I have hosted repeatedly for many years in Vienna, but like a typical Viennese person, I had never managed to leave the bright lights of the city to return the favour until now...

I stayed in my friends' flat in a big house on the outskirts of Villach, a town of about 60,000 people close to Austria's mountainous border with Slovenia, and firmly among the Alps. However, I did not see anything of the town other than the train station, because there were much more important things around, namely woods and mountains!

It was another one of those warm, sunny autumn weekends that Austria is blessed with. As is common here in that most magical season, the valleys were covered in thick but extremely low hanging clouds/ fog at daybreak, which slowly broke up throughout the day. Waking early on my first morning I was encouraged out into the chilly mist to observe the view from the back terrace and discovered a direct view over fields and houses to a picturesquely perched castle on a nearby hilltop, wreathed in mist. A few hours later and the sun had burned the mist away, leaving the same castle surrounded by bright splashes of colour from the many trees.

After lunch it was time to head towards the castle. Not to go in, but instead to visit the japanese macaques living next door. Over 100 macaques live at the Affenberg (monkey mountain) attraction, chosen because they can deal handily with the alpine winters without having to be brought indoors. The monkeys were brilliant to see, and the whole experience was improved by the wise words of our guide through the enclosure (where the macaques run free and you have to watch out they don't steal your stuff!). My favourite fact was that social skills count for much more than brute strength if you want to push your way up the ladder in macaque society. A heartening thought!

After the monkey mountain we set out further into the woods, following a ridge with occasional views to a large lake to the north and a stunning alpine panorama to the south. The woods were perfect, huge splashes of intense colours making bold contrasts with stands of dark green conifers or moss-covered outcrops of metamorphic rock. In shaded areas the moss, swamp, standing water and bracket fungi provided a silvery blue-green palette in stark contrast to the blazing intensity of the stands of deciduous trees lit by the slowly sinking autumn sun. We wound up and down on top of the ridge for several happy hours, before descending to the shore of the lake (Ossiacher See) just as the sun was setting.

Pictures are as always at the link, and sometime soonish you will get another post about our adventures on days 2 and 3 of my stay!

Bis bald,

Der Tom